DIY Tree Skirt Using an Upcycled Thrifted Wool Blanket

Last year we used a blanket, artfully folded around the tree, as a tree skirt for my Mom but this year I had the idea to make a DIY tree skirt using an upcycled thrifted wool blanket.

Of course I searched all year and didn’t find anything (I was hoping for cream), but, at the last minute, I scored the perfect aqua wool blanket!  A pure wool blanket is the best for this project, as it will felt after being washed in hot water and dried on a hot setting.  If it’s pilled at all, use a sweater shaver to restore it to like-new condition.  This is a twin size, which is great but if you find a larger wool blanket you can always use the extra to make a DIY felt leaf garland, DIY felt table runner, DIY felt cup cozies or DIY felt ornaments!

This blanket, after laundering, ended up being approximately 60″ in width and 80″ in length, so it was probably for a twin bed.  Folding the blanket in half across the width gives the perfect size for a tree skirt, to cover the plastic tree stand, drape nicely and extend out under the lowest branches of the tree.

Once the blanket is folded in half, mark the center with a safety pin and measure 30″ inches out from this point to form a half circle,  marking each spot with a pin as you move along.  You should end up with a semicircle shape. Cut along this top layer to form half the skirt and then the bottom layer to complete the circle.  It is difficult to do both layers at once because the wool is very thick.

Then cut a straight line along the fold to the safety pin in the center.  Now you have a large circle with a slit to the center.  The size of the opening around the tree truck will vary.  If you have an artificial tree it can be quite snug to the trunk so cut a small circle accordingly, you can always enlarge it if you need to.  If you have a fresh tree you will need room to access the base in order to water the tree regularly.  This opening is about 10″ across, which ended up being a little bit too large, so slits were made with the tip of sharp sewing shears at evenly spaced intervals of approximately 2″ around the opening and then white grosgrain ribbon was threaded through to gather it enough to keep the skirt from sliding off the tree stand.  To keep the tree skirt somewhat snug around the tree the grosgrain ribbon was tied into a bow.

The opening along the skirt was also secured with three buttons, and again,  the buttonholes were just small slits made with the tip of the sewing shears.

The bottom looked a little plain, though – we had plans for something more elaborate but ran out of time:

The addition of the grosgrain ribbon at the top of the tree looked so pretty that I decided to repeat it at the bottom of the tree skirt, where I spaced the slits 3″ apart and then threaded the grosgrain ribbon through. Making the slits smaller than the width of the grosgrain (this one is 1″ wide) will give the ribbon a little gather where it goes through the wool.  Once the ribbon is pulled through and the gentle folds formed to your liking, the ends can either be knotted underneath the tree skirt at the beginning and end or left long enough to make another bow on the top of the tree skirt where the two sides meet.

This is an easy project which takes less than an hour to make, once the blanket has been washed and dried.

I just love how this DIY tree skirt turned out!  It’s simple but sweet, and ties into the DIY felt animal tree ornaments I made – plus the color is perfection!  This no-sew DIY tree skirt can be made from any wool, but I love the idea of re-purposing an old wool blanket for this.