Holly Leaf Christmas Tree Skirt DIY

In keeping with my tradition of making a Christmas tree skirt every year, this year I was inspired by the tree skirt I found online at Pier1. 

I already had crushed velvet fabric (although not in the color pictured) I picked up last year to make velvet pumpkins.  That didn't happen so the fabric came in handy this year using it for my skirt. The tree skirt was quite easy to make and is really a no-sew except for the silver bells I tacked on the hollies. I chose to use wide metallic ribbon instead of fabric for the holly.  It was much cheaper and thicker than fabric and was available in the regular ribbon section at Hobby Lobby @50% off that day.


Materials used:

• 1 1/2 yds of crushed panne velvet (JoAnn)
• 2 rolls (18ft each) of 4" wide silver metallic ribbon (Hobby Lobby)
• 1 pkg Wonder-Under paper backed fusible web (JoAnn)
• Bells
• Holly pattern
• Scissors
• Iron

To get started,  I made a plain round skirt using the same easy and quick technique as before with my snowflake treeskirt  and my poinsettia treeskirt so I'm not going into any details here.

The  crushed velvet fabric doesn't fray so I didn't finish the back closing edges (keeping with the no-sew) and the round edges were covered and sealed by fusing on the holly leaves.

Next, I drew a very large holly leaf pattern on cardstock and cutout.  Then, I followed the directions for pressing wonder-under onto the ribbon, and after

drew 33 hollies on the paper backing. Each leaf was approximately 9 1/2 inches long and I was able to make 21 from a 18 feet roll of ribbon and 12 from the second roll.  

Once I had most of the hollies cut out from the first ribbon roll, I started ironing the leaves on the edge following the fusible web directions and the pattern of leaf placement of the skirt from Pier1. During the process of fusing the fabric onto the velvet, I added a line crease while the fabric was warm (using the back of an xacto knife) in the center of the leaf for a more dimensional look.  

(Sorry, it's been raining and gloomy for a few days so the coloring in the photos is a bit off)

And finally, I added three silver bells to the grouped leaves.

The skirt looks so glamorous at night under the lit white tree with the purple ornaments.

I can't decide which one I like the best of the three Christmas treeskirts I've made so far.   I do know Pier1 also has a matching mantel scarf - maybe I'll just start another tradition. Stay tuned!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Holiday Crafting!

Linking To:  http://canarystreetcrafts.com/turn-shine-no-11/