As I was unpacking our Christmas decorations recently, I found a brand new set of placemats that I don’t even remember purchasing. Does that ever happen to you?? Happens all too often to me……They are bright and festive so the idea popped into me head to make a Christmas Tree Skirt out of the placemats. Why not?? Right?? Off I went to figure out the geometry. I only had 6 placemats, so I would have to make that work. After quite a bit of figuring and finagling, I finally came up with a configuration that would work for this small tree.
Here’s a list of supplies you will need for this project:
6 quilted placemats
1/2″ Ribbon
Bias Binding
The placemats were already in the shape of a octagon with 2 long sides and 2 short sides in addition to the 4 diagonal sections.
These are standard sized placemats that are double faced and have nicely finished edges around the perimeter of the placemats with a serger stitch.
I cut each placemat from corner to corner as shown with the black lines. I also trued up the other side and discarded a small section on each side.
I cut 3 placemats in one direction and 3 in the other directions. By cutting the placemats in both directions as in the above 2 photos, your sections will all be face up and the outer edges will all match nicely. You will end up with an extra pair, because you will only need 5 pairs for the tree skirt.
I laid all 10 sections out on the table and then butted them together to create a circle. This gave me a 10 pie shaped sections with an uneven outer edge that created a scalloped outer edge.
Next I butted each section together and stitched them with a wide zigzag stitch starting at the outer edge.
I joined the long edges together first and then short edges together. This will create a completely closed tree skirt. No need to leave an area open, just slip it over the tree stand before setting up the tree.
Starting at the outer edge, I then stitched red ribbon over each of the joined sections to create the pie pieces of tree skirt. I later went back and tucked the outer tail of the ribbon over to the back side and hand stitched it underneath.
Here’s a close up of the ribbon stitched down on both edges of the ribbon. The red ribbon really finished off the skirt nicely and defined the shape.
In the photo on the left, I cut a small section out of the center of the tree skirt to create the hole for the tree. I finished that center hole off with a small piece of bias binding for a nice neat finish. This is pictured in the right photo.
Here’s the finished Repurposed Christmas Tree Skirt. A simple, beautiful little tree skirt made out of placemats. Imagine using a plain set of placemats. This DIY method makes the perfect plain canvas for embroidery or any other embellishment. My placemats already had a pretty festive print, so the ribbon was just enough.
I don't know how you figured this out, but great idea. I really enjoy following your stuff and I can't wait to see your next post. Good Job. I bet your Son loved it : )
So pretty! Wow, you have such a creative mind, I love that it's a re-purposing project too!
This is great! I always see old pretty place mats at the thrift store that could be used for something like this.
Thanks! He LOVED it!! Stay tuned for more to come!!
Thanks Elise for such a nice compliment!!
Thanks Merissa!! I would love to find a set of vintage placemats and make another tree skirt.
Thanks Meegan!!
OMG! How lovely and creative. When I first read your post about taking placemats and making a tree skirt I wasn't sure how it would look. It looks fabulous! Now I'll have to add festive placemats to my After-Christmas shopping list.
Very great upcycle project! Thanks for the step-by-step!
Love this tree skirt and I am so glad you figured out the math! I am good at sewing , but not at math.
Thanks Thaleia!! Good idea to check the after holiday sales for placemats!!
Thanks Elle!! Glad you liked it!!
Thanks Cynthia!! The math was a little tricky, but it all worked out.