Free Christmas Tree Skirt Pattern
Create the perfect backdrop for all your presents with Sally Stevens' clever star-shaped Christmas tree skirt pattern. This project can be sized up or down to fit your tree, or floor space... we'll show you how
Published:
Get ready to make your next family heirloom with this quilted Christmas Tree Skirt Pattern by Sally Stevens. We’ll show you how to make a tree skirt to treasure for years with this surprisingly easy to sew quilt pattern. Homemade tree skirts really are the ultimate DIY Christmas decoration. We’ll show you how to craft your own step-by-step from strips of fabric. Shop for festive fabrics or use scraps from old clothes and bedding to give this project a more sustainable twist.
“For this weekend-friendly project I’ve brought together patchwork braids in an eight-pointed star to create an eye-catching Christmas tree skirt,” explains designer and maker Sally. “Follow the layout provided below or mix and match strips and cornerstones as you choose. I’ve even drawn up a handy table to help you make a skirt to fit whichever size tree you have!”
If you’re new to quilting, you might find our guide to quilting for beginners worth a read before you get started on this project. We’ve also got a great tutorial for how to make a Christmas stocking and the best Christmas sewing patterns to get your seasonal stitching started.
This project was first called Braided Boughs and published in issue 54 of Today’s Quilter magazine.
How much fabric do I need for a Christmas tree skirt?
For festive fabrics inspiration stock up your stash:
Here’s a detailed breakdown of how much fabric you’ll need to make this Christmas tree quilt pattern.
- Fabric 1 (coral flowers) – 1⅝yds
- Fabric 2 (newsprint) – ¼yd
- Fabric 3 (trees) – ¼yd
- Fabric 4 (teal stars) – ¼yd
- Fabric 5 (coral stars) – 3⁄8yd
- Fabric 6 (white/ribbons) – 3⁄8yd
- Fabric 7 (green berries) – 3⁄8yd
- Fabric 8 (tree branches) – 3⁄8yd
- Backing fabric – 4yds
- Wadding – 72in square
Circle and Segment templates
Download our Free Christmas Tree Skirt Pattern
Quilted Christmas Tree Skirt: finished size
Your finished Christmas Tree Skirt will measure 60in diameter if you follow our step by step guide. To change the dimensions, scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out how to change the size of your tree skirt.
Fabrics used
Merry & Bright Collective by Art Gallery Fabrics.
Notes
- Please read all instructions carefully before you begin.
- Trim the selvedges away from all of the fabrics.
- Use a ¼in seam allowance throughout.
- Press every seam as it is sewn.
- WOF = width of fabric.
- RS = right sides.
- WS = wrong sides.
- Straight binding was used for the outside edge of the skirt. If you prefer to use bias binding, you’ll need more fabric.
If you’re new to quilting, you might find our beginner tutorials helpful. We’ve gathered the top quilting kit for beginners and written a guide to quilting for beginners so you can start crafting! You can also learn how to bind a quilt with our step by step guide.
How to make a tree skirt – free Christmas tree skirt pattern
You Will Need
- Cotton fabric (For the quilt top, binding and backing (see notes))
- Batting
- Basic sewing kit
- Sewing machine
- Thread
Total time:
Cutting out
Step 1
From Fabric 1, cut as follows:
- Sixteen (16) 2½in x 12½in strips.
- Eight (8) 5½in squares for the skirt centre.
- Forty-eight (48) 2½in squares for the cornerstones.
- Six (6) 1¾in x 10½in strips for ties.
- Six (6) 2¼in x WOF strips for straight binding.
- One (1) 2¼in x 20in bias strip for inner circle binding.
Step 2
From Fabric 2, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 5½in strips.
Step 3
From Fabric 3, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 6½in strips.
Step 4
From Fabric 4, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 6½in strips.
Step 5
From Fabric 5, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 7½in strips.
Step 6
From Fabric 6, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 9½in strips.
Step 7
From Fabric 7, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 10½in strips and sixteen (16) 2½in cornerstone squares.
Step 8
From Fabric 8, cut sixteen (16) 2½in x 11½in strips.
Assembling the strip sets
Step 1
Sew a 2½in Fabric 1 cornerstone square to the short end of a 2½in x 5½in Fabric 2 strip. Press the seam away from the cornerstone to reduce fabric bulk in later steps. Make eight (8) of strip set A (Fig 1).
Step 2
Sew a 2½in Fabric 1 square to the short end of a 2½in x 6½in Fabric 3 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set B.
Step 3
Sew a 2½in Fabric 1 square to the short end of a 2½in x 6½in Fabric 4 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set C.
Step 4
Sew a 2½in Fabric 7 square to the short end of a 2½in x 7½in Fabric 5 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set D.
Step 5
Sew a 2½in Fabric 1 square to the short end of a 2½in x 9½in Fabric 6 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set E.
Step 6
Sew a 2½in Fabric 1 square to the short end of a 2½in x 10½in Fabric 7 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set F.
Step 7
Sew a 2½in Fabric 1 square to the short end of a 2½in x 11½in Fabric 8 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set G.
Step 8
Sew a 2½in Fabric 7 square to the short end of a 2½in x 12½in Fabric 1 strip. Press as before. Make eight (8) of strip set H.
Assembling the braid segments
Step 1
Sew a 2½in x 5½in Fabric 2 strip to the top of a 5½in Fabric 1 square (Fig 2).
Sew a strip set A to the right hand side of this unit (Fig 3). Then, press the seam away from the cornerstone.
Step 2
Sew a 2½in x 6½in Fabric 3 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set B to the right hand side of the unit (Fig 4). Press as before.
Step 3
Sew a 2½in x 6½in Fabric 4 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set C to the right hand side of the unit (Fig 5).
Step 4
Sew a 2½in x 7½in Fabric 5 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set D to the right hand side of the unit.
Step 5
Sew a 2½in x 9½in Fabric 6 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set E to the right hand side of the unit.
Step 6
Sew a 2½in x 10½in Fabric 7 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set F to the right hand side of the unit.
Step 7
Sew a 2½in x 11½in Fabric 8 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set G to the right hand side of the unit.
Step 8
Sew a 2½in x 12½in Fabric 1 strip to the top of the unit. Sew a strip set H to the right hand side of the unit to complete the first braid segment (Fig 6). Make seven (7) more segments in the same way.
Joining the braid segments
Step 1
Use the segment template provided to mark and trim each of the eight (8) braid segments (Figs 7 and 8). A ¼in seam allowance is included on the template.
Step 2
Join the segments together in pairs, carefully matching the seams (Fig 9).
Join the pairs into fours (4) (Fig 10). Join the two (2) halves along one (1) segment seam only. Leave the final seam open for adding the ties.
Adding the ties
Step 1
Fold over and press ¼in on one short end of each tie strip (Fig 11). Topstitch approx 1⁄8in from the folded end to secure.
Step 2
Fold each tie in half lengthways and press. Open out and fold the two (2) long edges to the middle. Press again. Fold each tie in half to enclose the raw edges and press. Topstitch approx 1⁄8in from the folded edge to secure (Fig 12).
Step 3
Mark three (3) evenly spaced placement points for the ties, on each side of the open tree skirt seam. Pin the unstitched short end of each tie to a mark, matching the raw end of the tie to the raw edge of the tree skirt. Topstitch approx. 1⁄8in from the edge to secure. Pin the ties away from the open seam to avoid catching them in the stitched binding.
Quilting and finishing
Step 1
Cut the backing fabric into two (2) pieces, each 72in long. Join together side by side. Trim to 72in square and press.
Step 2
Lay the backing fabric face down. Place the batting on top. Lay the tree skirt over the top of the batting and spray baste, pin or tack to secure the three layers. If you use spray baste to help secure the layers temporarily, always spray the batting and not the fabric.
Step 3
Quilt as desired. Sally quilted a decorative stitch along each of the radiating seam lines and also along the centre of each ‘round’ of strips (Fig 13).
Step 4
Fold the tree skirt in half and then in half again. Finger press to crease and then open out. Use the circle template provided to mark a circle in the centre of the tree skirt, aligning the creases with the marks on the template. Carefully cut out the centre circle.
Step 5
Join the binding strips end to end, sewing with diagonal seams to reduce bulk. Create a strip of fabric for straight binding, at least 250in long. Create a 20in long bias strip for binding the centre circle.
Step 6
Fold the straight binding strip in half WS together all along the length and press. Fold over and press the beginning raw edge to neaten.
Step 7
Matching the raw edges and, beginning at the centre circle, pin the binding strip all along the outer raw edges and open seam of the tree skirt, neatly mitring the inner and outer corners as you go.
Step 8
Stitch in place with a ¼in seam. Leaving 1in extra for folding over to neaten the end raw edge, trim away any excess.
Step 9
Turn the binding over to the back of the tree skirt and hand stitch with a slipstitch or ladder stitch to secure. Your Christmas tree skirt is complete!
How to change the size of this quilted Christmas tree skirt pattern
- If you wish to make your tree skirt smaller or larger, simply omit or add one more ‘round’ of sixteen (16) 2½in strips and cornerstones.
- Each round omitted will reduce the diameter of the tree skirt by approx. 7in.
- Each round added will increase the diameter of the tree skirt by approx. 7in and will require a further eight (8) 2½in cornerstones and sixteen (16) 2½in strips. Each additional round of strips needs to be at least 2in longer than the previous round of strips. A larger backing will also be needed. See the table below for details.
Give your Christmas tree a handmade edge
Sally’s free Christmas tree skirt pattern is the perfect project to start making in preparation for the big day. It’s practical, pretty and will save your feet from spiky needles. Make your Christmas tree skirt in fabrics which match your aesthetic or use scraps to make it a stash-busting project.
Whatever fabrics you decide to use we know your Christmas tree skirt will be the talk of the town. Grab all your festive fabrics and get sewing!
Discover more Christmas sewing projects with Gathered
We hope you’ve liked sewing this Christmas tree skirt – leave a comment below to let us know how you got on. Take a look at our best sewing machine for quilting and long arm quilting machines reviews while you are here.
Authors
Sally Stevens loves to design and quilt and to share her skills. She’s a TV quilting and sewing demonstrator who is also a quilt designer, pattern writer and editor. Once the editor of two multinational patchwork and quilting magazines: Popular Patchwork and Fabrications – Quilting for You. Sally is also a long-standing member of ‘The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles’ and spent five years as the editor of their Region 11 newsletter. She regularly writes patterns for Today’s Quilter and Love Patchwork and Quilting magazines and has appeared on TV as a Guest designer for Sewing Quarter TV.
