Tree Skirt Number Two

This is my second holiday tree skirt made from a wedding dress. Giving a nuptial dress new life and function after the wedding, is a current interest of mine. The tree skirt starts as a quilt, three layers: the first cotton, the second a thin cotton batting, and the third a textured dress crepe. I machined quilted through the layers in a meandering free motion design. By dropping the feed dogs on the sewing machine and using a darning foot, you can guide the layers at will. Next, I dismantled the dress bodice and cut apart the best features: center front, sleeves, and large bustle bow. These pieces were hand mounted to the tree skirt at the quarter hour positions. The center front bead work was three dimensional due to the bust. To accommodate the extra fabric I stuffed the breast cavity in a trapunto style. I created flower rosettes in a yo-yo fashion and covered the closure with dress lace and beading. These flowers were hand mounted on the tree skirt in between each dress piece and at the center front neck line. Lastly I edged the entire tree skirt with 1 inch faux fur. The tree skirt's radius measures 34 inches and it is true white in color. The entire project has about 10 hours of labor.

A Wedding Dress' Second Chance to Shine

One way to repurpose a wedding dress is to transform it into a keepsake Christmas tree skirt. The tree skirt should high light the dress’ best features. This dress, picked up at a local thrift shop, had a lovely beaded Venetian appliquéd lace panel on the center front of the bodice. It had complimentary lace windowed panels in the sleeve head as well as a large bow at the back waist line. The satin was off white with a shadow print pattern of roses and scrolling ribbons. It was an average looking dress and I like it better as a keepsake tree skirt. The dress yielded only enough to make the top of the tree skirt and I added lining and an inner layer. I also purchased extra trim to add texture and complexity to the original dress elements. I was hoping to make Christmas stockings to match the tree skirt but there just was not enough dress.

The newly made tree skirt highlights the center front bodice at 6 o’clock. The neckline is ornamented with the dress’ scalloped lace, shaped to form a dangling necklace. At 3 and 9 o’clock the sleeve panels are mounted. At 2, 4, 7 & 10 o’clock a decorative free motion stippling was applied to the plain satin. Narrow lace trim also radiates out at the same locations. The circumference is trimmed in a faux fur strip which also covers the opening edges at 12 o’clock. A closure is created with the large bow snapped at the center opening. My favorite element in this tree skirt is texture. When color is absent, texture takes over to add interest. Between the fur, stippling, lace, and beads, the eye has plenty of entertainment. This tree skirt has given new life to a garment that needed a second chance to shine