Tshirt Tree Tutorial

I love this tree - it has so many possibilities. It can be decorated with buttons and jewels, it can stand alone or in a grove of others, it can be made from tshirt scraps, cotton scraps, fleece scraps - I could go on and on. Also, this same concept can be adapted to make ornaments - it can be flat or it can be stuffed to stand - my head swirls with ideas!

But first, for the basic tree.

Materials:

Tshirt scraps - any color, I used shades of green
Muslin or another tshirt scrap
Polyfil (or fabric scraps for stuffing the inside)
Scissors
Sewing Machine

1 - Cut a pattern from the Muslin (or another tshirt scrap like I did). This will be used as the base to which you will stitch the scraps to. The first tree I made I not use a base which made for a bumpier tree (see first picture - tree on the cedar block). It is easier, however, to stitch to a base. The shape of the tree is a quarter of a circle - size will depend on what size you want your tree to be (final size will end up being approximately the height and a third of the width if that makes sense). Round the bottom.

2. Place scraps across the base pattern you just cut - making sure to cover the entire shape (it doesn't matter if the pieces are hanging over). Pin the scraps in place against the base shape. Do not trim.

I did this in strips. I'm sure it would also work with small pieces - I went for simplicity (I also have a lot of scraps that are in strips). I also started from the bottom and worked my way to the top so that the tshirt fabric was hanging down as the branches of the tree would.



3. Stitch across pieces from one side of the shape to the other. I begin by stitching to the areas I have pinned so that I can remove all the pins, then I start filling in areas the seem to need more stitching. You can stitch as much or as little as you want. I used white thread on this one and green thread on the first one. I like having the contrasting thread color.

It might also be nice to do decorative stitches - again, I went for simplicity.

4. Trim off excess edges from the back following the pattern shape. Fold in half along the side edges with the scrap side on the inside. Pin in place.

5. Stitch along the side of the tree to form a cone shape. Trim the top point so it will be less bulky when you turn it inside out.

6. Cut a circle to fit the bottom of the cone from another scrap. I do this by eyeballing it and guessing. You can also open your cone, place it on a piece of paper and trace around it to make a pattern.

(If you want to make this into an ornament, you can always sew up the bottom at this point, leaving a space to turn it. Turn the tree and sew up the bottom by hand. This would give you a flattened tree shape that you can attach a hanger to the top (or sew the hanger in on step 5.)

7. Pin the circle to the bottom of the cone. Stitch around the bottom leaving an opening large enough to turn it (pull the tip of the tree through so you can turn it inside out). I left the opening in the back so that the stitching wouldn't show as much.

For the first tree I made, I hand stitched the bottom of the tree leaving the edges exposed. This does help it stand a little bit flatter and gives it a different appearance. If you choose to do this, I recommend stuffing it 80% of the way before sewing the bottom on - then stuffing it the rest of the way once you have stitched most of the bottom.

8. Turn the tree inside out exposing the green side of the tree. Stuff it and hand sew it closed.

This tree would be great with a bean bag stitching inside to weight the bottom, maybe even filled with a little pine potpourri.


These would be great on a mantle, hung on the Christmas tree, used as a pin cushion or set out for a center piece. Possibilities are endless... and they are so much fun to make! Make one for your kids so they can decorate it for their teacher! Have fun! And, please, let me know if I've missed any steps. For more pictures on the process, you can check out my Flickr pictures here.