Christmas in July Blog Hop: Day 3

Christmas in July continues with a week of holiday-themed tutorials! Stop by each day this week to see the featured tutorial and find out how you can enter to win the fabric line being used!

Alison from Little Bunny Quilts chose the Sparkle collection by Amanda Murphy and stitched a festive tree skirt ringed with star blocks.

Here's Alison:
Hello! I'm Alison from Little Bunny Quilts and I'm sharing a fun tutorial for a tree skirt using Amanda Murphy's Sparkle line! Let's get started!

You will need:

2 yards of a background fabric
Various print fabrics (I used parts of fat quarters, but you could use scraps!)
2.5 yards backing fabric
0.5 yards for binding

It is also helpful to have a larger 30 degree ruler. I own and used this ruler, which I highly recommend (NOT an affiliate link!).

From your background cut:

Twelve (12) 30 degree wedges 13 inches long

Three (3) 12 inch squares -- cut each in half diagonally twice for twelve (12) triangles
Twenty four (24) 3 inch by 6.5 inch rectangles
Forty Eight (48) 2.5 inch squares
Twelve (12) 3.5 inch squares

From your print fabrics cut:

Twelve (12) 2.5 inch squares total (can be all different fabrics!)
Thirty six (36) 3.5 inch squares total -- you will need twelve pairs of matching squares (see below)

Making your Ohio Star blocks (Make 12 Ohio star blocks)

For each star you will need:
Four (4) 2.5 inch background squares
One (1) 3.5 inch background square
Two (2) matching 3.5 inch print squares
One (1) contrasting 3.5 inch print square
One (1) 2.5 inch print square

Draw a diagonal line on each of your matching 3.5 inch squares.

Pair one with a background fabric square, pair the other with your contrasting 3.5 inch square. Sew on each side of the line, cut apart on the line, and press towards your matching square fabric.

Cut each HST unit in half diagonally perpendicular to the seam you just sewed.

Pair half units together so that each QST unit has two matching side triangle, one background triangle, and one contrasting triangle. Trim each unit to 2.5 inch squares.

Lay out your star as shown below, sew into an Ohio star block -- make sure that your points are all pointing in the correct directions.

Making your wedges

Now that your stars are completed, sew the following to each star:
-- sew a 3 x 6.5 inch rectangle to the right and left of the star block
-- sew a 30 degree wedge piece to the top of the star block
-- sew a 12 inch triangle piece to the bottom of the star block

Using the lines of your 30 degree wedge piece, trim the sides of your wedge unit so that the entire unit is a large 30 degree wedge with a point at the outer edge as shown below.

Putting it all together

Lay out your twelve wedges in the order that you desire them. Sew wedges together in sets of 3 to begin. You now have four "quadrants" to easily sew into pairs, and then finally sew two halves together.

NOTE: You do not need to worry about all of your points lining up in the center since we will be cutting a hole in this area! Whew!

Once your top is all together, quilt as desired. I quilted mine with loops in each wedge. At this point, you can choose to trim your tree skirt into a circle as I have or you can choose to leave your wedges with points. Trace around a circular object (I used a can of vegetables) to define your inner circle opening for your tree trunk. Choose one of your wedge seams and cut up the length of the seam to your drawn circle and cut the circle out. If trimming into a circle, make marks 20 inches from your center around the edge of your quilt and cut along those marks.

Now you are ready to bind and add your choice of ribbons, buttons, or hooks-and-eyes to keep the opening of your tree skirt shut during the Christmas season!

Thanks for letting me share this tutorial with you today and don't forget to stop by Little Bunny Quilts for your chance to win!

Thanks, Alison! Head over to Alison's blog to enter for a chance to win a FQ bundle of Sparkle fabric! 

Don't miss our Christmas in July tutorials all this week!

Monday: Chris from made by ChrissieD, featuring Jolly Penguin and Friends

Tuesday: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts, featuring My Little Chickadee

Wednesday: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts, featuring Sparkle

Thursday: Cynthia from Quilting is more fun than Housework, featuring Holiday Cheer

Friday: Benartex blog design team featuring Joyful