DIY No Sew Ruffle Tree Skirt Tutorial

Well here goes nothing!! This is my very first DIY tutorial!  For this one I chose a No Sew Ruffle Tree Skirt.  I believe the first tutorial for this popped up on HGTV.com but I searched the internet for other tutorials, got a good idea of what supplies I needed and went to town.  

The Materials include:

-Whatever fabrics you desire. I started out with six yards of fabric.  I had to go to the store and get more! The tutorials I saw online said you would only need four.  I found this to be completely false.

-5x5  Canvas drop cloth (found at Home Depot for around $7)

-Next you need ribbon

-Scissors

-Hot glue gun

-AT LEAST one 24 pack of xtra long glue sticks (I ended up having to buy more)

GETTING STARTED

I am going to try and make this as idiot proof as possible because the first attempt at this i cut my canvas in half.. opps! So firstly, take your canvas and fold it into quarters ( fold into a square).  I did this and then drew a line on it to cut, therefore after you are done you will have a circle.  Next you will cut out the middle to form a smaller circle ( where the skirt will wrap around the tree.

After you cut the hole in the middle you unfold it all and this is what you have.  

Next you will cut a straight line from the outer edge to the inside circle, thus making it possible to wrap your skirt around your tree.

DO NOT attempt to burn the edges of your canvas so it doesn't fray.  They are highly flammable.  There is a warning sticker on it.  Apparently you can buy glue to keep fabrics from fraying! Good to know!

Next you need to cut your fabric.  Initially I was cutting 3" strips for both my gray and yellow fabric but after gluing these on I decided to make my white strips 4" to take up more room.  Also, I initially was going to use burlap instead of white but it was SUCH a pain in the butt to work with, so I switched to white fabric.

You will need to cut a lot of fabric! After this the fun begins!! Now you get to glue all of this fabric to your canvas!

Measure about 1.5" from the bottom of your canvas to begin gluing.  In order to make the ruffle effect you slightly pinch the fabric together or fold it over your finger.  I apologize this is quite vague but once you begin you will get the hang of it! 

You will literally spend hours upon hours gluing.  Just hang in there because the end result is beautiful!! 

For me I had to sit on the floor to do all of my gluing because we don't have a large kitchen table.  I would recommend having a yoga mat and a pillow to sit/kneel on.  Otherwise your knees will hate you!

So!

Just keep gluing until you have covered up your entire canvas.  When I got to the middle i took small extra scraps to glue around the hole.  

Lastly, you will need to make slits to put your ribbon in.  You just chose a spot, pinch, snip, and WALLAH! You now have a place for the ribbon.  Do the same to both sides so you can thread your ribbon through.. see the pics below.  After you have done this you have a beautiful tree skirt for Christmas time!

 For my skirt I chose colors that would match my living room decor.. you can obviously experiment with whatever you choose! 

A few side notes.... 

I read one tutorial that said it only took her five hours... ummm sorry but I don't believe you.  This took me two nights... granted I did take breaks to stretch, eat, and refill my wine glass.  

Also, I now believe that if I had a sewing machine this would have been MUCH easier, but I do not have one so it is what it it! 

Overall this wasn't so bad! It was very exciting to see it all coming together before my eyes.  It also thrilled me that my fiance likes it so much and is equally proud of me!  

Enjoy!!