Trees skirt around

Trees Skirt Around Knitted Christmas Tree Skirt

Project Overview

The Trees Skirt Around is a festive knitted Christmas tree skirt designed by Uma Padu. This decorative piece measures 52 inches (132 cm) in diameter, making it a substantial holiday accessory perfect for framing the base of a Christmas tree. The project combines two complementary yarn colors to create a visually striking seasonal decoration suitable for intermediate knitters.

What Is Being Made

This is a circular knitted tree skirt—a decorative ring of fabric that wraps around the trunk of a Christmas tree. The finished piece features a large diameter of 52 inches, providing ample coverage for standard-sized trees. The design incorporates color work using two distinct yarn shades to create visual interest and holiday appeal.

Yarn and Materials

The Trees Skirt Around is constructed using Lion Brand Bulky, Chunky Holiday Homespun Yarn, a specialty yarn designed specifically for holiday projects. The pattern calls for:

• Main Color (MC): #205-Evergreen, requiring 3 skeins
• Contrast Color (CC): #204-Holly, requiring 3 skeins
• Each skein contains 5.00 oz/140g with 154 yards/140 meters of yardage
• Total yardage: approximately 462 yards of bulky-weight yarn

The use of chunky-weight yarn allows for relatively quick project completion despite the large finished diameter. Velcro is included as a notions requirement, likely for closure or attachment purposes.

Needles and Gauge

The pattern employs two different needle sizes to achieve specific fabric characteristics:

• US 10.5/6.5mm needles: Used for the initial construction of the skirt
• US 9/5.5mm needles: Introduced from Row 78 onwards to create a tighter gauge in the final sections

The gauge is established at 14 stitches by 20 rows over a 4-inch by 4-inch square when worked on US 10.5 (6.5mm) needles. This relatively loose gauge is typical for bulky-weight yarn and contributes to the project's accessibility for intermediate-level knitters.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

The Trees Skirt Around employs several fundamental and intermediate knitting techniques to create its finished structure:

Foundation and Basic Stitches:

• Cast On (CO): The pattern begins with casting on 397 stitches, establishing the circumference of the tree skirt
• Garter Stitch: Used for the initial rows (Rows 1-8), creating a textured, reversible fabric
• Knit (k) and Purl (p) stitches: The foundation stitches that form the basis of the knitted fabric

Shaping and Decreasing Techniques:

• Knit Two Together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used to reduce stitch count and shape the skirt
• Purl Two Together (p2tog): A decrease worked on purl rows
• Slip, Slip, Knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease that provides balanced shaping

Advanced Techniques:

• Yarn Over (yo): Creates decorative eyelet holes, adding visual interest and potentially functional openings
• Slip Stitches (sl): Used for various purposes including edge finishing and color work transitions
• Slipping Stitches Knitwise and Purlwise (kwise/pwise): Directional slip techniques that affect how stitches are worked in subsequent rows
• Pass Slipped Stitch Over (psso): A decrease technique often paired with slipped stitches

Color Work:

The pattern incorporates color work using two yarn colors. The contrast color (CC) sections are worked from written instructions, while the main color (MC) sections offer flexibility—kn