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Holy December, Batman!
Like it or not, it's that time of year again. Lucky for us, I've got a great project to use up all those triangles from last month's table runner project that is sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
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Here's what you'll need to get going on your very own mod Christmas tree skirt:
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Fabric triangles, lots and lots of traingles (I've made 15 table runners for the upcoming nuptuals, so I have a TON of triangles lying around. This is a great way to use up some scraps, just cut them into right triangles of approximately the same size).
1 1/2 yard coordinating fabric (for the bottom of the skirt)
Thread
Sewing machine
Fabric scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Let's get started, shall we?
The first thing you may say when starting to line up the hypotenuse of your triangles is, Whoa, these triangles are not the same size. I hear ya. Cutting has never been my strong point. But we will make these triangles match up, just watch. First center the smaller triangle on the larger one, as so:
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Sew a straight line down to attach these two together. Before you open it back up to look at your beautiful new square, go ahead and cut off the excess on the two sides of the larger triangle, so they ARE the same size. NOW open it up and look at your pretty little square. Nice, huh? Now do this about one million twenty-four more times.
Feel free to press your seams open so the finished squares lie nice and flat on your table. After we have our twenty five squares, it's time to figure out how to piece them together to make strips of five squares each.
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Be sure to put pretty sides together when sewing your squares! Keep adding on to one end until you have five squares across, then begin a totally new strip.
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At this point, you should have five long rectangles, made up of all those smaller squares. Now we get to start sewing these together to create the top of our tree skirt!
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Once all your skinny rectangles are sewn into one giant square, it's time to get rid of those ugly raw edges and also cover up the back (or, bottom) of the skirt.
I bought one yard of coordinating fabric as a remnant at the fabric store, but it's not quite big enough to cover my 5x5 tree skirt.
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Lucky for me, I had MORE triangles I needed to use. If you are doing this project from scratch, get 1 1/2 yards to cover the back. Me? I just added on another row of triangle squares, obviously (this used the last of my triangles! Hooray!). Once you have a bigger back square, just cut the coordinating fabric so it is the same size as your 5x5 top piece.
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Here's where it all starts to come together: put your coordinating (backside) fabric on top of your 5x5 topside, pretty sides together (which means, you should be looking at the ugly side of both pieces of fabric now). Pin all the way around and sew this huge square with a 5/8 seam allowance. Yes, ALL THE WAY AROUND. Don't worry about leaving a hole to turn it pretty side out-- at least, not yet.
After you've sewn the two big squares together, pick one corner and draw a diagonal line from that corner to the center of the big square. We are going to (gasp!) cut this line open. This makes the opening that fits around the trunk of your Christmas tree.
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Once you've cut down your pencil line, sew these two new openings closed, only this time, Yes, leave a hole (so we can turn this sucker pretty side out!).
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Before we flip it to see the pretty side, however, take your fabric scissors and cut some small notches into the seam, right around the point of this cut-out triangle (in the center of your skirt). Clipping your seams (but not into the stitching!) makes for an smoother look once we turn it right side out.
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Flip this pretty side out, and iron all the edges for a nice, clean look. Sew all the way around just once more (closing that hole up, and making your edges look so pretty!) and then you can officially enjoy the holidays with your own handmade tree skirt. Nice work!