Turn a Quilt into a Tree Skirt

In this blog post, I will show you how I turned a square quilt pattern into a tree skirt. I used my Single Snowflake Pattern for this tree skirt, but you could use any block based pattern.

The Single Snowflake quilt, pictured below, was designed as a simple, modern quilt to honor winter and the holidays. Growing up in Minnesota, it is difficult to not get excited about snow when winter first begins. I can't say as much about snow in April, however. If you want to use this pattern for your tree skirt, grab it HERE. 

While I firmly believe you can never have too many handmade quilts, I decided I should turn one of my single snowflake quilts into a tree skirt. Doesn't a snowflake go perfectly with a Christmas tree? In part, this idea began when I found a thrifted wool skirt in my fabric stash. You can see the thrifted green cotton and wool I used below. The grey wool seemed perfect for the snowflake, but wool isn't normally what I want in a comfy quilt. So, why not a tree skirt?

Below are the directions for how I expanded on the single snowflake pattern to make a  tree skirt. 

Turning a Square Quilt into a Tree Skirt

The single snowflake quilt pattern is made of 9 blocks. To expand on this pattern, I knew I would need to expand out on each of the four sides. First, I took the middle block in each of the 3 throws and replicated it. Since I didn't need the size of a full block, I decided just to do a partial block with some added negative space. It is up to you how large you want to expand. Just keep in mind, it will expand that much on each side. 

While the expansion builds up on your middle blocks, it does not add anything above the four corner blocks. Since I did not want the shape to be a perfect square, these corner blocks could not be squares. Next, I copied the size of my additional blocks and cut these diagonally. So, each square you just made is copied for size with a plain piece of background fabric and then cut diagonally making 3 pieces as shown below. Depending on your pattern, you could repeat part of the block on this triangle.

To sew the new pieces on, first sew the three pieces necessary for a new row together. As you can see in the picture above, these 3 pieces create a row. You will make a total of four rows like this. Each of these will be sewn to a side as shown below. I have separated each block for clarity in the diagram.

Once I had my finished quilt top. I decided to cut into the middle and cut out a circle for a tree. This step could be done now, or you could cut into your quilted tree skirt after quilting it with batting and a quilt back.

After you have finished the top, it is time to quilt. I quilted my top just to batting. I laid the quilt top right side up on the batting and pin basted it to the batting. I placed pins along the edge of the skirt where I would be sewing.  Quilt your top in any design you choose. Cut off your excess quilt backing so it is the same size as your tree skirt. 

Now it is time to add the backing. Your backing should be cut to the same size as your tree skirt top. If you would like to add ribbons that will tie the opening shut, they will need to be added at this step. Place the short end of a ribbon on the cut opening in tree skirt. One ribbon should be on each side. The ribbon should be extending  into the skirt so you will not see it while sewing. Place your backing right sides together with your quilt top and pin around the edge. I also put some safety pins in the middle to keep it firmly in place. 

Next, you will sew along the outer edge of your tree skirt, up along the cut, inner circle and partway back down the cut. You will need to leave a space about 12" in length. I have shown this below. Flip your tree skirt right sides out and topstitch 1/4" from the edge along every edge. Be careful to close up your opening when you topstitch.

Place your new tree skirt around your tree base and enjoy. I love how mine fills up with pine needles as they fall from the tree. 

I love to hear from you. If you try this tutorial, please leave a comment below letting me know all about it.

Happy Sewing!