DIY Vintage Quilt Christmas Tree Skirt

It’s officially holiday season! If you love a good holiday project that combines sewing and home decor this one is for you! I’ve partnered with Baby Lock to create a free, Christmas tree skirt sewing pattern that uses a vintage quilt. It’s the perfect way to repurpose an old quilt or family heirloom and transform it into a new keepsake you can enjoy every year.

You don’t need to be a master seamstress to create this project either, just your sewing machine and a few tools and you’re on your way to creating new holiday decor.

I’m using my Baby Lock Soprano sewing machine for this project. It’s roomy enough to easily maneuver a bulky project and even comes with a quilting extension table that you can pop on for even more workspace. My favorite feature that makes this project a breeze is the advanced pivoting feature. Whenever I release the foot petal, the needle is in the down position and the presser foot is lifted so I can quickly pivot the quilt/fabric around a corner or curve.

Ready to get started? Keep reading to learn how to make your own vintage quilt Christmas tree skirt.

Supplies

Free printable tree skirt pattern
Found vintage quilt, washed and dried

Approximately 8 yards of .5″ double fold bias tape

Tools

Sewing machine

Baby Lock Edge Joining Foot

Fabric Scissors or a rotary cutter

Fabric marker or chalk (I love using my daughter’s Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers)

Quilting clips

Step 1

Download and print the free tree skirt pattern at 100% (do not scale) on 8.5″ x 11″ paper. Trim the right and bottom sides of each page and use tape or a glue stick to piece it together. Cut out the skirt size you want. I’ve included 3 sizes in the pattern: the small has a 36” diameter, the medium has a 42” diameter, and the large has a 48” diameter.

Step 2

If you’re using a vintage quilt, hand wash and dry it before beginning. I find a long soak in Oxiclean seems to do the trick.

The tree skirt pattern is a quarter of the finished size. Lay the quilt flat so you can see the entire design and choose which area you would like to use for the tree skirt. You can lay the pattern flat to trace it with a washable marker. Keeping in mind to mirror the pattern piece three times to create the entire circle shape. I chose to fold my quilt in half and only mirror my pattern piece once. If your quilt is very thick and lofty, I recommend tracing the pattern flat and mirroring the paper pattern as you work your way around the circle. Once traced, use fabric scissors or a rotary cutter to cut out the tree skirt shape.

Step 3

Choose where you want the opening to be and cut a straight line from the center to the outer edge using fabric scissors or a rotary cutter and ruler. This is where the ties will go.

Step 4

Pin and sew the bias binding all the way around the edges. Starting from the back, or wrong side of the quilt, line up the right side of the bias tape with the outer edges of the quilt and use quilting clips to hold the bias tape in place. Sew in the first folded edge of the bias tape along the inner circle of the tree skirt.

I love using the Baby Lock Edge Joining Foot every time I sew bias binding. It makes sewing and aligning the bias tape a piece of cake. If you haven’t tried it before, I cannot recommend it enough!

Step 5

Use scissors to trim the seam allowances wherever the quilt is extra thick and lofty. Depending on the condition of your quilt and how much batting was used, this might mean you need to trim all the way around before sewing the bias tape on the right side.

Step 6

Press the bias tape on the wrong side of the quilt then flip the quilt over so the right side is facing up. Fold the bias tape over towards the right side and use the quilting clips to hold it in place. Sew close to the edge all the way around. If you want to sew in a cute label, like this star one, this is the time to do it!

Step 7

Cut 4, 20″ long pieces of matching bias tape. Edge stitch the bias tape closed to create long, ribbon like ties. Finish the edges on one end of each piece by folding the raw short edge of the bias tape over 1/2″ and then 1/2″ again. Sew the folded edge closed. Repeat on the other 3 ties.

Determine where on the tree skirt you want your ties, fold the raw, short edge of the bias tape in 1″to and clip it into place. Sew the ties onto the skirt. To make them extra secure, you can sew a rectangle through all layers of fabric. Repeat with the other 3 ties and then you’re done!

Want to add a little shimmer? You can use metallic gold pearl embroidery floss to hand quilt sections of the quilt, like I did, to add more texture and a subtle shimmer. A simple running in the center of each star or quilt block does the trick.

Now you have a beautiful, unique tree skirt to enjoy each year.