Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Ruffled Burlap Tree Skirt Tutorial!!


I'm making a tree skirt for my Harvest Tree and I thought it might be fun to make a tutorial, so you can make your very own Ruffled Burlap Tree Skirt too!! I've never made a tutorial so I truly hope you find this useful! I would love for you to follow along!!

I'm the type who never uses a pattern and I kind of make things on the fly, so this ought to be interesting!

Disclaimer: I am not a professional seamstress!!! User 
accepts all risk, real or imagined!!

Step 1: Purchase your burlap! I bought 5 yards because it:
A. was on sale
B. I had a 20% coupon on top of that!
Step 2: Make the base.....Figure out how big you want your tree skirt to be. My tree is 6 feet tall, but rather narrow, so I am making mine 47.5" in diameter.
I figured this out by laying my tape measure (you could also use a yardstick, as shown!) on the floor underneath the tree and deciding how large to make it.

I wanted it to show, but not look gigantic, plus my tree is in the corner, so it has to be able to fit!! 47.5" seemed about right since I'm incredibly lazy and 47.5 is the width of my panel  there won't be presents underneath, and I also don't have to sew panels together!! If I was making this for a Christmas Tree, I would go bigger!

Step 3: Make a square. I made mine the width of my panel: 47.5". The easiest way to do this is to fold the corner of your burlap over to make a triangle, then cut straight across.
Step 4: Fold your square into quarters, which means fold in half, then fold in half again.....
Step 5: Fold your now much smaller square into a triangle.....just fold one corner over to the other corner. 
Then, fold it over again, so that you have an even narrower triangle. 
This will give you a much easier way to cut the edges. 
Cut off the hangover from the end of your smaller triangle. 

Then, go back and round it off a little more.....


(warning..the fabric is very thick at this point, so use sharp scissors!) If your curves aren't exact, you can go back over and trim them once your skirt  base is unfolded, which is what I did. Burlap doesn't always cooperate, and if you are a perfectionist, I guess you could iron everything straight and perfect, and then cut, but who has time for that??!

Step 6: Unfold one of the triangles to go back to your original triangle, then cut the pointy end off in a quarter circle. 
Don't worry about precision here, this is where the tree trunk will go, and it won't show!! Tip: If you are making this to go under an artificial tree, make the quarter circle a bit smaller, because there is essentially no trunk, just a pole!!

Cut up one side to make your opening! Then open it up and see what you've got! 










Step 7: Check for fit (Optional).....

Just put the base under your tree, and see if it looks like the right size..if it's too big, trim it down a bit. If it looks too small, add wider ruffles and let the first row hang off the edge more. This will give you a few extra inches. Mine isn't perfectly round in places, but I will even it out as I pin the first ruffle on!

Step 8: Time to sew!! 

You will want to sew around the outside edge, the inner circle and up the opening to prevent your tree skirt from morphing into a big ball of twine!! A zig zag around the edges is great, or even a simple straight stitch if you don't feel like using up all your thread! I set my zig zag stitch about 1/4" back from the edge, because I want it to fray a little, just not come apart!! Now that your base is made, you can set it aside for a minute.

Moving on to the ruffles!!

Step 9:  Determine how wide you would like your ruffles....I cut 4" strips for mine (the ruffles will be a bit shorter due to the gathering process), but it's totally up to you. 

Measure your strips, then cut them from the long side of your burlap...this will give you looong ruffles and you won't have to piece too many of them together (hopefully!)!! 




Tip: Remember to make your rows perfectly straight by removing a single strand of burlap where you want to cut......



Step 10: Make your ruffles......First run a stitch (I zigzagged) around one long side of your strip to prevent the twine ball thingie from happening as I mentioned above....
Then, take your strips of looong burlap and ruffle them on the machine...if you have a ruffle foot, great, please use it! I don't, so I just shove my burlap in the machine as I go so it creates little ruffles! 

Do this with all your loooong strips (how many will be determined by how big you are making your skirt, and how wide you are making your ruffles). I made 7 looong strips..... 4" wide and approx 4 yards long.

Step 11: Attach your ruffles.....pin your first ruffle to the edge of your base, the easiest way is to lay it out on the floor and pin away!! 


 I pin, then stitch one layer at a time for simplicity. It's no fun trying to hold the other ruffles out of the way while sewing! 




 Set your second row so it overlaps the first slightly. 
Then pin, sew, repeat!.........
                             All done!!

Step 12: Pat yourself on the back!! You've just made a super easy, darling Ruffled Burlap Tree Skirt!! 


Fabulous job!!


Well, that's it everyone!! I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as much as I've enjoyed making it, and I hope it helped!! 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!!

Sharing at......


Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special
Made in a Day
sew many ways
52 Mantels














29 comments:

  1. Love the tree skirt made of burlap ! Really cute !

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is a seriously gorgeous tree skirt - a matching table cloth would be amazing!!!
    Your newest follower - would love to have you come by and follow back when you have the time!
    Hugs,
    Suzan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your tree skirt is just beautiful and you did a great job with the tutorial! Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is darling! I LOVE it!So lovely with your tree! Thanks for leaving a tutorial for this!
    Sandy ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. The burlap skirt is so cute!!! I'd love to make one for Christmas! Looks so pretty under your beautiful Harvest Tree!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is so charming and so darn adorable. You make me wish I knew how to sew! I love the idea of a Harvest Tree...yours is gorgeous!

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Adorable!!! Love the idea of a Harvest Tree! This is my first time visiting your blog. I'm a new follower and looking forward to coming back.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So, so cute! You did an amazing job! Great tutorial too! Hopped over from Potpourri Friday and I'm happy to be your newest follower. Would love to have you stop by for a visit. Blessings ~ Judy @ www.vintagestreetdesigns.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great tutorial! This is beautiful. I want to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is a very pretty ruffled tree skirt, Deanna, and your tutorial was excellent! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog the other day and leaving encouraging words--I'm a new follower!

    ReplyDelete
  11. ¡your work is beautiful!, congratulations
    A hug from Costa Rica

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's beautiful and your tutorial you wrote an easy to follow tutorial! Thanks for sharing your project and creativity at Potpourri Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That is just darling and what an awesome tutorial! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Inspiration Friday this week. :-) I'm off to put it on our Facebook page so be sure to stop by and grab a "Featured At" button from us!
    Vanessa

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful skirt! I do think you're more of a seamstress than you said...great job! :) I love the way the ruffles look.

    I'm a new follower and look forward to seeing more of your talent. Stop by and say hi when you can!

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  15. You my dear are in no way a lazy gal! This is just beautiful and perfect for your harvest tree. (Which I love too!) Visiting you from the linky party over at Elizabeth & Co. Thank you so much for sharing!!
    Have a great day!
    Your newest follower Barbara.

    ReplyDelete
  16. P.S...sharing your link on my facebook page.
    Ciao
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh how adorable! I am not sure how I ended up here, but I am a new follower :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your ruffled tree skirt is awesome! The tutorial is great...very easy to follow. I need a new tree skirt myself. Maybe I'll try one of these!

    Have a lovely day!
    Deborah

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is just adorable! I've got to try this for Christmas, my old tree skirt has just about had it. Thanks for the great tutorial!

    ~Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is such a cute and brilliant idea! I am going to have to try this for my Christmas tree this year :) Thank you for sharing! Your blog is lovely and I am now following you. I look forward to your future posts!

    Blessings to you,
    Stephanie
    www.theenchantingrose.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. This looks great! Following you back from sarahsaturdiy.blogspot.com.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've never thought of a Harvest tree! Love it and the burlap tree skirt is way cute. I envy your patience doing it, it was worth it! Also, thank you for adding me:) I look forward to looking around your place.

    Regina

    ReplyDelete
  23. Adorable addition for your tree! I love burlap - it is so versatile!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think that was the first tutorial I saw that bothered to do the stitching to prevent a mess in years to come. Kudos for taking the extra steps!

    ReplyDelete
  25. replica bags aaa quality gucci fake r3g87i3j46 replica bags aaa quality replica bags from china free shipping hermes replica handbags m4v24e6v65 replica bags online Get the facts u2s91x7w01 luxury replica bags replica bags uk a8p81p3x18

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by, and especially for taking the time to comment! I can't tell you how much your comments brighten my day!
Hugs~ Deanna