Timing aside, this one was too good not to share. The granny square tree skirt is finally finished, and it made it under the tree with just enough time to spare.
The last yarn end got woven in on Christmas Eve, and the moment it was spread out beneath the tree was genuinely one of the highlights of the whole holiday season.
Project Details
- Pattern: Granny Tree Skirt Crochet Pattern by Ann Regis for Red Heart
- Yarn: A mix of stash yarn in various colors. This project was an outstanding stash buster.
- Difficulty: Intermediate. The individual steps are repetitive and not complicated, but the overall construction is substantial and requires patience and a significant time commitment.
- Skills involved: Granny squares, seaming, color work, weaving in a truly impressive number of ends
- Time: This is by far the largest and most time consuming project attempted to date. Work began over the summer, which in hindsight turned out to be a very good call.
A Few Thoughts on the Process
Starting a Christmas project in the middle of summer sounds excessive until the deadline arrives and suddenly it does not sound excessive at all. This one stretched on far longer than originally anticipated, and there were definitely stretches where the finish line felt very distant. That said, there is something uniquely satisfying about a project on this scale. Working with something large enough to pull over your lap on a cold evening has its own particular coziness that smaller projects simply cannot replicate.
Every granny square, every seam and every woven end added up to something that will now be part of Christmas for years to come. That kind of longevity makes the hours feel worthwhile in a way that is hard to put into words.
Looking Ahead
Next year the plan is to actually enjoy this tree skirt for the full holiday season rather than a handful of days. In the meantime, the tree may be staying up well into January purely to extend the enjoyment a little longer. There is no rule that says it has to come down before the mood strikes.
After such an ambitious undertaking, the next few projects on the hook will be decidedly smaller in scale. Some hats and scarves are already in the works for a bit of quicker, more immediate satisfaction.