Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Candlewicking Christmas tree skirt


I thought I would take a minute to share photos of my Christmas tree skirt. This is one I made many years ago. It is candlewicking, done from a kit which my parents gave me. It took me quite some time to finish this project -- stitching the lace around the edge was more time-consuming than the actual stitchery! -- but I finally did and have used it every Christmas since. You really can' t see much of the tree skirt in the above photo, other than that pesky lace, so here are more that I finally thought to take this year.

You can see that the main motif is a beribboned heart between two doves.

In between these main motifs are smaller motifs of a candle. Here's a closeup of a candle motif.

I keep thinking I would like to make a new tree skirt, perhaps a crocheted or patchwork one. But I'll hold on to this one for its sentimental value.

2 comments:

  1. Very pretty! I'm unfamiliar with candlewicking, but it looks very nice! Our Christmas tree skirt is just a length of fabric that I bought & wrapped round the tree. It works for now :-)

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  2. Hi Mary Ann!

    Candlewicking is basically embroidery, mostly French knots, done on muslin with something heavier than embroidery floss. Candlewicking yarn is probably about the weight of pearl cotton, at a guess. This Christmas tree skirt was done with colored yarn similar to crewel yarn. I think candlewicking is a very old technique originally done with the string used for candle wicks. It had quite a resurgence of popularity in the early 1980s but you don't see it much anymore.

    In the early years I used a thin vintage Christmas tablecloth fabric wrapped around the base of the tree as a tree skirt. You're right -- fabric works very well and I think it is almost nicer than a regular tree skirt because one can vary the fabric from year to year.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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