A crocheted skirt to sit under the Christmas tree, approximately 50 inches (127 cm) in diameter. Worsted weight yarn throughout.
Why 50 inches
That is a generous size, and it is the right one. A tree skirt has to reach past the widest branches or it looks undersized and leaves the stand visible. Fifty inches suits most full-sized trees; if yours is small or narrow, work fewer rounds and stop earlier.
The opening
A tree skirt needs a slit from the outer edge to the centre so it can go around the trunk of a tree already in its stand. Work it as an opening rather than assuming you can lift the tree – you cannot, once it is decorated.
Add ties or buttons along the slit so it closes neatly. Without them the opening gapes and the skirt shifts every time someone walks past.
Keeping it flat
This is a large circle, and circles are unforgiving. Consistent increases in each round keep it lying flat; miss some and it cups up around the base, add too many and the outer edge ruffles.
Lay it out on the floor every few rounds as it grows. Problems are visible immediately at that scale and are far easier to correct early.
Yarn
Worsted weight in a colour that suits the room rather than only the season – deep red, forest green, cream and white are traditional, but a skirt is on display for a month and a colour you like will wear better than one you tolerate.
Acrylic is practical here. It resists the water that inevitably gets spilled from a tree stand, it does not felt, and it survives being stored compressed for eleven months.
Storage
Roll it rather than folding it. A crease across a large flat circle is very visible and takes a blocking to remove.
