My Ruffled Tree Skirt

Finished the tree skirt! And just in time too. One of Cory's co-workers just commissioned me to make a quilt by Christmas! I've never been paid to be crafty! Well, cutting & coloring hair is definitely an art, but this is different. I'm excited!
On facebook I asked my friends what kind of tree skirt I should make, and the vote was unanimously "ruffles"! I'm glad too, it turned out SO CUTE. (patting myself on the back, which is still a little sore from all the crafting) :)

It's made of burlap & muslin. (And the little bows are lace ribbon)
I wasn't excited to work with the burlap at first, I've never used it before and it frays like a beast. Once I Mod Podged the raw edges (which was a little tedious, but it had to be done) all was well & the beast was tamed.
I used this tutorial I found on Pinterest for inspiration, but I did a few things differently. They left all their muslin edges raw, which seemed like a nice way for this tree skirt to self-destruct over time, so I hemmed the outer edges of my fabric before ruffling it. Also, they applied Mod Podge to seal the brulap at the end of the project, which seemed like the messiest way it could be done. I did it as I went along so I didn't get it all over my finished project.

Apply Mod Podge row by row to all raw burlap edges.

 

Hem raw muslin edges for a stronger end result. 

To give my skirt a finished look, (the edges looked like a mess before this step) I sewed my ribbon on first, and then bound the raw edges with muslin, similar to how a quilt is bound.

Doesn't that look so much more polished? I did like their use of lace in the original tutorial, but for Cory's sake I kept the floofy level down a bit since the ruffles are already pretty feminine :)

I'm in love with it!