Wednesday, 28 August 2013

How To Make Special Tree Skirts To Use At Christmas Time

By Debra Cooley


Making specially decorated tree skirts for the Holiday season is a great project for both adults and kids. They can be held as a record of the wonderful year that has passed and a good way to record those precious hand or foot prints of your kids. They make wonderful gifts for your family and friends as well.

Consider trying out a few ideas before you settle on one. A few examples are that you might put the whole family's hand prints or even footprints on the skirt. Your youngsters' feet together with their hands would be lovely too. You could even add the paw prints of a pet on one as well. To make sure that each one is perfect, draw around your kid's hand or foot with a marker or pencil, then go back over it in paint. If you don't prefer the paint you could buy extra felt and trace their hands or feet and then cut them out and glue them to the actual tree skirt.

To make the skirt itself, locate the middle of the material square. Fold it in half. Indicate the middle of it by marking it with a marker.

Snip a layer from the fabric, Position one end of a measuring stick on the middle dot, measure out thirty inches in width, and then mark another dot. Do this every three to four inches to create an arched shape. Cut the material along this marked range. Open up the fabric; you should now have a sixty inch open hole.

If you would prefer to an easier method, try putting a mug in the middle of the fabric and then tracing around it to make the hole and then follow that by cutting a slit up one side to make an opening.

Lay the material right side down. Squeeze a foot of glue on the border of the tree skirt. Bring the edge over about half an inch or as much as you would like to hem, and press it all the way down to secure it. Continue gluing foot length segments until you've hemmed up the complete skirt, then use the same method to hem the middle circle and then the slit line. Let the glue completely dry. Trim it twelve inches at a time, glue some flowery gold trim round the fringe of the tree skirt for an extra hit of glitz, let the glue dry.

Now it is time to add the hand prints. Have the kids place their hands in the paint and then place them on the skirt firmly. Urge them not to move while the hands are on the skirt. Have them pull their hands straight up and not to the side after they are finished.

Have each kid use the squeeze container of paint to write their name next to their prints. Cut an decoration shape from the left over fabric, use the squeeze container of color to add designs and the date, and then allow it to dry. Glue the decoration onto the tree skirt. Position the middle starting around the base of the tree and then fix around the base however you like or package it and other specially made tree skirts for gifts this holiday season.




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