burlap Christmas tree skirt tutorial

Materials:                                                               a square of muslin fabric (44x44), a square of contrast cotton fabric (44x44), a yard of burlap, 10 yards of trim, 1 yard of ribbon, 1 yard of heavy weight iron-on adhesive if same width as burlap, otherwise compensate, thread and other sewing notions 

1. Wash and dry cotton fabrics. Iron if necessary to ensure accurate measurements. 2. First iron adhesive onto burlap to stabilize and prevent burlap from stretching as you sew it later. I would also recommend requesting that your burlap is cut into an even square at the the cutting counter by having them pull a strand from both ends to create a straight line, as burlap is not rolled evenly onto the bolt. 3. Fold your burlap into quarters. Using a pin, pin the end of your measuring tape to the center of the burlap. Draw a circle evenly using the measuring tape (my radius was approximately 17).

4. Repeat this process with the muslin and coordinating fabric, but make larger (mine was approximately 21).  

5. Cut coordinating fabric to have a one inch overlap with burlap then pin with wrong sides together and sew with a quarter or half inch seam. 6. Trim seams and press open if necessary to reduce bulkiness.  
                                                  

7. Pin muslin and tree skirt top with wrong sides together with trim in between. 8. When full circle has been stitched, cut radius of circle on one side and cut a small circle from the center (mine was 4 inches across and a measured once again with tape measure).              

9. Pin sides and center circle together, leaving a small whole half way up one side spanning at least 4 inches. *Don't forget to pin ribbon to tie tree skirt closed I chose to make ties at 3 different spots (you can vaguely see their shadow in picture) evenly spaced. My ribbon measured approximately 6- 6 inches pieces. I also made sure to not place the whole where one of the ribbons was so that they would be neatly locked in place.  10. Turn tree skirt right side out, then whip stitch opening closed. I cheated and stitched with the machine really close to the edge.

I am so obsessed with brown craft paper and its many uses. Not to mention this ribbon was leftover from my DIY picnic blanket projects.