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Sunday, July 12, 2015

Frosty Cabin Tree Skirt Tutorial

Hey there! We are continuing Christmas in July with this fabulous Tree Skirt Tutorial from the Crafty Quilter! Be sure to stop by Julie's blog! It is full of quilty inspiration! :)


Hey everyone! My name is Julie Cefalu and I've been quilting for 16 years and I work and teach classes in a local quilt shop in California. You can also find me at The Crafty Quilter. I have lots of free tutorials and tips on my blog that I hope will inspire you. I'm really happy to be sharing my Frosty Cabin Christmas Tree Skirt tutorial here at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. Frosty Cabin tree Skirt from The Crafty Quilter



For this project, I'm using the Frosty Forest collection by Cherry Guidry for Benartex.Frosty Forest collection small


 The finished size of this tree skirt is 46" wide. Fabric requirements:
Backing: Pieced scraps to measure 52" square or 3 1/8 yd of a single fabric (which will leave you with lots of extra). Binding: 5/8 yard Cutting Instructions: Fabric A, White
  • (10) 2 1/2" strips, subcut into (8) 2 1/2" x 28 1/2" rectangles, (4) 2 1/2" x 20 1/2" rectangles, and (4) 2 1/2" x 12 1/2" rectangles
Fabric B, Frosty Forest Poinsettia Circles, green
  • (4) 2 1/2" strips, each subcut into (4) 2 1/2" x 24 1/2" rectangles and (4) 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles
Fabric C, Frosty Forest Poinsettia Circles, aqua
  • (6) 2 1/2" strips, subcut into (4) 2 1/2" x 16 1/2" rectangles and (4) 2 1/2" x 32 1/2" rectangles
Fabric D, Frosty Forest Dots, red
  • (1) 8 1/2" square
  • (24) 2 1/2" squares
Fabric E, Frosty Forest Owls, white
  • (6) 3 1/2" strips, subcut into (4) 3 1/2" x 20 1/2" rectangles and (4) 3 1/2" x 25 1/2" rectangles
  Assembly Instructions: (All seams use a scant 1/4" seam allowance). We're going to be working in rounds, similar to a courthouse steps block. Round 1: Beginning in the center, stitch a fabric B 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangle to opposite sides of the fabric D 8 1/2" square. Press towards fabric B. Round 1 diagram On the remaining two fabric B rectangles, stitch a fabric D 2 1/2" square to each short end. Press towards fabric B. Stitch each pieced unit to the remaining two sides of the fabric D center square. Press towards the rectangles. corner stone match and pin Round 2: Repeat that same process as above, using fabric A 2 1/2" x 12 1/2" rectangles. round 2 angled Round 3: Repeat again, using fabric C 2 1/2" x 16 1/2" rectangles. Round 4: Repeat again using fabric A 2 1/2" x 20 1/2" rectangles. Round 5: Repeat again using fabric B 2 1/2" x 24 1/2" rectangles. Round 6: Repeat again using fabric A 2 1/2" x 28 1/2" rectangles. all rounds numbered   Round 7-9: These rounds will not have red 2 1/2" squares attached. It's more efficient to stitch together a fabric C 2 1/2" x 32 1/2" rectangle, fabric A 2 1/2" x 28 1/2" rectangle and fabric E 3 1/2" x 25 1/2" rectangle. Make sure to center each strip onto the preceding one. They will be decreasing in length. Repeat to make a total of 4 strip sets. last round strips sewn Stitch a strip set to each side of the tree skirt. It's best to fold the strip set in half to find the center and match it to the center of each side. last rounds center matchall rounds and first border   Trim corners. Using a long ruler, trim each corner of the tree skirt. Line up the 1/4" line of the ruler so it's on the outer 2 1/2" red cornerstone seam and the 45 degree line of the ruler is lining up with one of the strip seams. Trim. Repeat for all corners. corner trim ruler placement final   Stitch the remaining Fabric E border rectangles to each corner, centering the strip on each corner. (It will be slightly longer than necessary). Press towards the border. corner border center creasecorner borders placed   Trim each corner even with the previous side. corner border trim ruler placedall corners trimmed   Layer the tree skirt top, batting and backing. Baste they layers together and quilt. I did simple stitching in the ditch. stitch in the ditch   Using a bowl that is about 6" wide, draw a circle in the middle of the red, center square. Stitch or baste by hand 1/8" outside the drawn line (away from the center). Circle drawn   Find and mark the center of one long side of the tree skirt. Mark the center of the circle. Using a long ruler, line it up along the center marks and cut straight into the tree skirt until you reach the circle. cut center line   Cut around the circle on the drawn line. center circle cut   Binding: Since the center of the tree skirt is a circle, it will be necessary to use bias binding for that section. The rest of the binding can be cut on the straight of grain. Cut the straight binding fabric into (5) 2 1/4" x WOF strips. Sew together with diagonal seams. I've used two different fabrics for this one. Cut the bias binding into enough strips to measure 2 1/4" x 50" long when sewn together. This will also create the ties for the center opening. Note: You can cut all of your binding strips on the bias if you prefer. binding strips I have a few thoughts on attaching the binding. I decided to sew my binding onto the back of the quilt and then wrap it around to the front of the quilt. I then machine stitched it into place, close to the folded edge. This is the opposite of traditional binding, but I knew that I wanted to stitch it all by machine and so this is the technique that I used. Feel free to use whatever works best for you. The following instructions and photos are based on my method. Begin by attaching the straight binding, starting at the center circle, using a 1/4" seam allowance. binding begin stitching   The first corner you come to will be a right angle, and you will miter the corner as you normally would. The rest of the corners will be a wider angle and need to be approached differently. Before you get to the next corner, fold the fabric to the right so that it is lined up with the next edge. Finger press, forming a crease. binding fold up and away   You will stop stitching with the needle down at the crease and then pivot. Stitch along the crease, out to the corner.binding crease corner final   Now you'll fold the binding up and away from the corner, very similar to when you made the crease. You should see a straight line from the new edge of the quilt and the edge of the binding. binding fold up and away final   Next, fold the binding back down on itself, with the top folded edge just above the corner. Pin and begin stitching at the fold.binding fold back down final.   Continue around the whole quilt, ending at the other edge of the center circle. Trim the binding tail even with the circle's edge. binding trim end   Lightly press the binding out and away from the quilt. binding press   The corners will miter automatically on the first side. You'll have to fold them to miter on the other side.mitered corners front and back   I use Wonder Clips to hold the binding in place as I stitch. I use a pin to hold the corners. binding clips and pin   Make sure your bobbin thread matches the back side of your quilt. You want to stitch as close to the folded edge as possible. binding front stitch start   Stop and pivot when you get to the corners. Continue stitching around. binding front corner pivotbinding front corner done   Now it's time to add the bias binding around the center circle. Clip the curves of the circle every inch or so (just a scant 1/4" inside the cut edge).bias binding clip curves   Prepare the binding by folding the short end of the binding tails 1/4" and press. Then press the length in half.bias binding end turned   Find the center of the binding and pin it to the center of the circle. Bring the binding to the opening of the circle and pin. bias binding beginning placement   Begin stitching at the opening of the circle, easing the binding around and pulling the clipped sections straight in front of you as you go. Continue until you get to the other side of the opening and stop. bias binding clip curves Bring the quilt to the ironing board so you can press the binding away from the first side. bias binding circle stitched   Press the tail section that will form the ties. Press the raw edges in 1/3 of the way. Then press the folded edge over to meet it. bias binding tails pressedbias binding press second   Clip or pin the binding in place around the circle. center circle clipped   Begin stitching at the binding tail (the tie end) close to the edge. bias binding start Continue stitching onto the center circle opening. bias binding stitching ties And all the way off the other opening onto the final binding tail (tie end). Continue until you reach the end. bias binding stitch ending Your binding is complete and your ties are finished! center circle done and tied Enjoy your Frosty Cabin Tree Skirt! Christmas Tree Skirt Complete copy


Thanks Julie for this adorable Tree Skirt Tutorial! :) You can find Julie:

5 comments:

Christine S said...

So pretty and great instructions!

Kathleen said...

Beautiful! And now that I see it before it has been cut for a tree skirt, I can see it would also make a beautiful table topper!

Lee said...

So pretty! Great tutorial - thank you!

Brandy said...

Thank you for clearly explaining the center circle, I struggled with that when I made a tree skirt last year and this will make it so much easier the next time around!
~Brandy
brandizzle7133 at gmail dot com

Rachell said...

Is it easy to use a jelly roll for this?
I have a Kate Spain Solstice roll ......

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