Americana Quilted Christmas Tree

About this kit

A fabric tree built up in overlapping zigzag layers from the bottom. Each layer is a strip stitched so it sits slightly proud of the one beneath, which is what gives the finished tree its ridged surface. It stands on a sideboard or a table rather than the floor, roughly the height of a coffee pot, and it comes out of a box every December the way a real tree does not.

What is in the kit

Fabric strips for the layered tree, the printed pattern, the step notes, and the fabric candy canes, stars and ornaments that finish it off. The pattern notes assume you can run a straight seam on a machine. Nothing here needs free motion work and there is no quilting through the layers, so the sewing is a series of straight runs rather than anything that has to be kept even by eye.

The five versions

Americana is red, white and blue with stars. Autumn Harvest works in rust and cream. Halloween Patchwork goes black, orange and purple. Thanksgiving Harvest stays in warm reds and browns. Back to School Patchwork picks up red, yellow and chalkboard black. All five use one shape, so the difference is entirely in the fabric and the trims rather than in the cutting.

Building it in layers

You work from the bottom strip upwards. Each layer is stitched, folded and pressed before the next one goes on, so the tree grows in rows rather than being assembled flat and turned out at the end. Two or three rows is a sensible evening. Press as you go and the rows stay even; skip the pressing and the layers drift, which is about the only way this project goes wrong.

What you end up with

A freestanding fabric tree for a table, mantel or shelf. Because it is fabric, light falls across the ridges and the tree reads as textured from across a room. The fabric decorations sit loose rather than stitched down, so the arrangement is yours to change before it is finally pinned. Store it flat and dry through January and it comes out the same the following December.

Specifications

Type	Layered fabric tree kit
Build	Stacked strips stitched in overlapping rows
Fabric	Printed fabric strips in the chosen colourway
Finished look	Freestanding tabletop tree

Where it goes

1. On a sideboard

   It stands up on its own, so it needs no hook and no branch.

2. Next to a full size tree

   The small version holds its own beside a big one.

3. A couple of rows an evening

   Press each layer before the next goes on and the rows stay even.

4. Stored flat

   Between Decembers it lies flat in a box, which is more than a real tree manages.

In the box

• Fabric strips for the layered tree
• Printed pattern and step notes
• Fabric candy canes, stars and ornaments
• Craft materials for the decoration

Care

Fabric likes a dry, dark shelf. Fold it along the same lines each year and it will crease there, so alternate the folds occasionally. Spot clean with a damp cloth and let it dry flat before it goes back in the box. Keep it away from a damp garage wall over the summer.

Common questions