Makers Guide: Playtime Children's Tree
Item #
3565881P89
SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
- Green felt (2 yards)
- Felt Squares: orange, red, gold, tan, beige, white, black, gray, brown, maroon
- Scissors
- Animal templates
- Tree template
- Leaf template
- Embroidery floss: brown, white, black, orange, beige
- Embroidery needle
- Tape measure
- Hot glue gun/glue sticks
- Tacky glue
- Velcro® dots
- Chalk
- String 24" long (used to create tree template)
- Sewing machine
- Green thread
- Straight pins
- Fiberfil
DIRECTIONS:
- To print the templates, click on the "Download Project PDF" button (above). Following the tree template, draw out the shape for the tree base and the tree cone onto the green felt with chalk and string. Hold the string in place and use the chalk to create a circle shape. To create the cone portion hold one end of the string in place at least 24" from the edges and hold the chalk at the other end of the 24" piece of string. (It helps to have someone else hold the felt in place but it can be done alone.) Create a large circle by drawing on the felt with chalk and pivoting around the center point. Draw a straight line from the center point to the edge. Measure 84" around the perimeter and draw another line from that point to the center.
- To create the tree base, repeat the technique in step 1 by creating a circle using string and chalk. This time the circle will be 24" wide, so hold the string at one end and hold the chalk 12" away. Hold the end point in the center and create a circle with chalk that is 24".
- Cut out the tree and tree base.
- Sew the ends of the tree together to create a cone shape. Turn inside out and pin the tree cone to the tree base.
- Sew along the edge, leaving a 4" opening to turn the felt right side out. Once turned right side out fill the free with fiber fill. Sew the opening shut.
- Using the leaf template, cut out enough leaf shapes from the green felt to cover the tree cone.
- Secure the leaves to the tree cone with hot glue. Start at the bottom and overlap them as you move up until you reach the top.
- Use the animal templates to cut out the pieces of the various animals from their coordinating colored felt.
- Assemble the pieces and glue them in place, using tacky glue.
- Embellish the animals by adding embroidery details such as whiskers and fur lines. Add stars to the center of the circles ornaments.
- Hot glue a Velcro® piece to the back of each ornament. Use the hook side so that it will secure to the felt tree and stay in place. (The other side of the Velcro® dot will not be needed.)
- Decorate.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Nonnie from
Children’s Christmas Tree
The end result was great, but the directions for making the vine shape were awful. I would suggest starting in the corner of the felt piece (at the 90 degree angle) and making an arc of 26 inches long. This resulted in the nice
cone shape pictured. I used about 70 of the
leaf/branch pattern pieces to cover it. Many free felt patterns for ornaments can be found online.
Date published: 2019-11-14
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Line2L from
A perfect tree for a little ones!
I did not exactly followed the measurements as I’m using cm... I got some help from my mom as well. I tried to use the templates, the skunk is not exactly the same as the one showed in the pictures haha. As I did not have a sewing machine (+working fulltime) I started to prepare it 1 month before haha. Finally I got it done!
Date published: 2018-12-21
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Erin from
Measurements way off
I followed the measurements but my tree ended up looking more like a Hershey's kiss. I unpicked everything and cut 2" diameter off of the base and added 6" to the length of the tree. Also I ended up using less than a semi-circle for the tree (the 86" is a huge overestimate) It looks like a tree now, but I wish the measurements listed were more accurate.
Date published: 2017-11-08
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Twila from
Lots of Fun!
Fun Craft to make and my two year old LOVES it!!! (As mentioned in another review) the dimensions given are a bit off. The 24" diameter base has a circumference of just barely over 75" (you do not need the 86" as described) It was a bit tedious cutting out the "leaves" for the tree, but the result is worth it. I used about 75 "leaves" for my tree this will vary depending on how tightly you overlap them. It would have been nice to see a picture of the other animal ornaments for color suggestions on the owl, rabbit and fox, but going with my own color schemes worked out just fine.
Overall I loved it! the only reason I am giving 4 rather than 5 stars is because of the discrepancy in required measurements.
Date published: 2015-12-24
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Mindy from
Such a Great Project, but Time Consuming
I made this for my niece (4) and nephew (2) for Christmas. I'm very happy with how it turned out. As you can see, I made my own ornaments.
Date published: 2015-12-20
Rated 4 out of
5
by
luvmuffin from
Measurments wrong
The base tree measurements are different in the directions and the picture. One says 84" the other says 86". Go with the 84". The graphic showing the area to cut out of the circle is also misleading. You will be cutting out a larger piece than it shows, a little over half of the circle actually.
Since I've seen people ask, it took 3 of the cheap bed pillows worth of stuffing to fill up the tree for me. So, it takes quite a bit!
Date published: 2015-11-16
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Jshana2 from
Missing star outline
Thank you for providing the templates to make this cute playtime tree. It is missing the template for the star at the top of the tree, can you provide that as well?
Date published: 2015-11-06