Poinsettia Christmas Tree Skirt

I've been shopping for a Christmas tree skirt and couldn't find one that I loved that matched my decor and didn't cost a fortune. After running across a few tutorials for felt flowers, this idea for a beautiful DIY skirt came to mind. It's fairly simple to make with just a few supplies and can easily be customized to any size and color. Check out this Instructable to see how you can make one too!

• Wool felt, 3 yards (48" wide) Note: I used ivory wool felt from the fabric store for the flowers and ivory velvet for the base, but you can use felt for both if you like. I could only find felt in 36" width and did not want a seam in my skirt, so I opted for the velvet which came in 48" width.
• Permanent fabric glue
• Scissors
• Clothespins, regular size and mini
• Assorted beads (for flower centers)
• Buttons, 3
• Velvet ribbon, 1 yard
• Needle and thread
• Petal pattern (pdf file attached)

This pattern is for a 48 inch diameter tree skirt. Each poinsettia is approximately 7 inches in diameter, and I used 48 poinsettias to make this skirt. You can scale this to whatever size you like, and of course the amount of material used will need to be adjusted as well.

Begin by cutting out 3 petals per flower, using the attached pattern. Next, fold each petal at the center as shown in the photograph and apply fabric glue to fasten. Finally, fold the entire petal in half to make a "V" shape, apply glue, and secure with a clothespin. Repeat with two more petals. Allow glue to dry.

When glue is dry, remove clothespins and glue the 3 double petals together at the center. Secure with mini clothespins to hold until glue is dry.

Remove clothespins and add beads for centers. I attached the beads with a needle and thread, but you can glue in place if you prefer.

Voila! A beautiful felt poinsettia. Repeat to make a total of 48 flowers.

Begin with a 48" square of fabric. Fold in half and then in half again to make a 24" square. I tied a pencil to a 24" piece of string to draw a quarter circle shape. Hold the end to the string at the center point and rotate the pencil, drawing an arc shape. Cut out and unfold to get a 48" diameter circle. Cut a 6" circle in the center using the same process. Finally, cut radially from the outer edge to the center to make a slit for putting the skirt around a tree.

Glue the poinsettias around the skirt using fabric glue and allow to dry. I used two rows of flowers, fairly close together to get a full appearance. You can customize however you like. It would be pretty with multiple colors of flowers too!

Finally, sew on the buttons and make loops from the velvet ribbon and sew on for a closure.

My pup Chase thought it made a very nice bed!