Chroma Tree Skirt

I think it was during the design phase when I realized that Chroma would make the perfect tree skirt. I mean, come one, it's just perfect for it... right? When it came to choosing colors, I pictured vintage Christmas toys and decorations. Can you see it?

The process was really quite simple when I thought about it. Make the quilt top and quilt it like normal. In this case, I choose to quilt each triangle segment with a dense wishbone. I love the texture this created. Towards the center, when the triangle segments got quite small, I grouped them together with the matching segment below it to create a larger section that was easier to quilt.

The difference comes into play at the trimming stage. This is the make or break moment... cutting into the perfectly good quilt, that slice from the outer edge up to the center. I cut a circle out of the center, just eyeballing it so that my binding would sort of match up with the points of the first layer of triangles.

Next step was creating a bit more binding than the pattern calls for, about 70 inches more. The pattern states that BIAS binding is needed and in this case it's DEFINITELY needed. That tight circle in the center really needs the flexibility that comes with the bias cut fabric. I also needed to create some ties to keep the skirt in place around the tree.

For this I used the same fabric as my binding, but not bias cut. I used (6) 8" x 1.5" rectangles. I folded each rectangle in half, width wise, right sides together and sew a quarter inch seam. I then used a safety pin to turn the tubes right side out but hooking the pin into one end, closing the pin and then feeding it thru the tube and pulling it our the other end. To finish the ties I simply tied one end into a knot and left the other end raw, ready to be sewn into the tree skirt during the step when attaching the binding. The last tip I have for you is that I first attached the binding to the back of the tree skirt first and then finished it off sewing the binding to the front. This makes it simple to add in the ties in your desired spots during that last finishing step.

Overall, I am in love with how this turned out! What a great treasure to have, I'm sure I'll be excited each year as I pull it out of storage and wrap it around the tree. From my home to yours, I hope you have a good holiday season. Love, Taralee