Christmas Tree Skirt

Oh the math I've forgotten since high school!  I didn't have a pattern for this tree skirt, but I didn't think it would be that hard.  I mean I do have an engineering degree, right?  Well, my brain wasn't thinking straight and that was a problem!

I only had so much red snowflake fabric and I really wanted to have 3 rows of that.  The width of the hexagon is 54 inches so the sides were all 27 in.  Except that I kept using 27 in for the height of the equilateral triangle!  No, no, no!  To determine the height you have to use the formula for a 30-60-90 triangle.  

So here it is.  If your sides are 27 in then your height is about 23.5 inches.  I did cut my triangles to this height, but it would be more helpful to start with this height.  I started with 27 inches for my height so I lost all of my red fabric on the top!  If you want to make one of these plan your row heights to equal 23.5 (24 unfinished) and you should be fine.  Once you get one piece cut use it to cut your other 5 pieces.

I quilted swirls in the white rows going the same direction all the way around.  Nope they are not perfect!  This was my first time with swirls.  I have lowered my expectations so I can actually try new things without freaking out!

Ran out of red snowflake fabric so my husband suggested putting white between the binding and the red snowflakes.  What?  I can't do that.  It's already quilted!  But then I remembered this flange binding technique and it worked great.

 

I didn't cut a seam and a center hole in it, but now I wish I had.  The cords from the tree lights are very visible under the tree. You could easily do that after quilting and add binding to the seam and the center as you go.  I'm thinking of just cutting a hole big enough for the tree pole to fit through.   It's a nice tree skit either way.  Merry Christmas!

Linking with Freemotion by the River and I Have to Say