I feel like the more effort I put into a holiday, the more fun and personal it becomes. And this year, I seem to be much more determined to make a creative effort for the holidays.
For starters, I’m very excited about my tree skirt this year. For less than $10, and absolutely zero sewing required, my new Christmas tree looks cozy and soft. This little project is truly a lazy girl’s dream come true at the intersection of cheap and easy.
I found the fabric at a discount store in Stone Mountain, GA called Fabric World. It’s basically a giant warehouse full of remnants, ribbon, and designer bolts piled on top of each other and sold at a fraction of their original cost. I’d never been before, but after striking out at the local craft store near my house, I was hoping I’d find a way to save a few pennies and buy some faux fur instead of buying the real deal sheepskins at Ikea for $29 a pop (I have one that I use in my office, and I love how soft it is, but I needed at least two more for wrapping around the base of my tree).
I wasn’t in the store but two minutes before I found not one, but two tables full of samples. Jackpot!
Some of the samples were several yards long, but most were just partial pieces (and the sign indicated that it was a buy-the-whole-piece situation, so there were no cuts allowed). It took a while to dig through, but the whole table was labeled $8.99 per yard, so it was well worth it to spend some time and select the softest, cream-colored, and most realistic-looking faux sheepskin fabric I could find. My jeans were pretty much covered in bits of faux fur by the end!
I spent an obsessive amount of time comparing and petting each piece. None of the remnants I found matched, and there was really only one that I thought was spot-on as far as a good fake, but it wasn’t going to be enough by itself. Since I knew I could layer the less realistic ones to wrap around the back of my tree, I took home my favorite and another two remnants that were less than half a yard each.
Here’s how the back of the tree looked with the two less-realistic pieces layered:
And here’s how the front looked with the large faux piece and the real one on top:
By now, you’ve probably noticed that I’m calling this a “no-sew sheepskin skirt” when I didn’t really make anything here; it’s just piles of fabric. There was no cutting or templating involved, but that’s kind of the awesome part about using fur (or even a faux fur blanket) instead of a sewn piece. Since I folded any of the visible corners underneath that would point to an obvious fake, and sheepskins would naturally be an asymmetrical shape, no one’s the wiser (except all of you internet folks who now know this is complete BS). And since I didn’t cut the original pieces, I can reuse them later to make pillows, a new faux rug, etc.
Out of curiosity, I checked out the price tag for a similar tree skirt at my closest Homegoods while I was out shopping for ornaments and gifts. Their version: $49.99.
My version: less than $10!
What do you think of my new “tree skirt”? I’m still in the midst of getting the tree fully decorated and the mantel finished, so check back in soon (or subscribe, I suppose) for those updates!
The post My No-Sew Faux Sheepskin Tree Skirt appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.
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