I wanted to try an experiment making a rag Christmas tree. I’ve made a rag wreath in the past*, and got the idea for a tree when I was looking at a plastic bottle.
The finished result ended up looking more like Cousin It than a Christmas tree, and the blanket stitch on the star is terrible, but I think the idea has potential.
Materials assemble! Green fabric scraps, a plastic bottle and some yarn. 
Bottle top cut off. This needed a hacksaw! 
Bottle cut into strips. You need an odd number! 
Yarn tied to bottle strip. Knot turned to the inside. 
Tying fabric strip to yarn. 
Fabric strip tied. 
Fabric knot pulled up against bottle. 
Yarn passed behind next strip, then in front of the next one. 
Yikes! Using up a lot of fabric and getting very dense. 
Starting over with chunky yarn. 
Rows are much further apart this time. 
Coming along. 
Nearly at the top, but how to finish? I ended up folding the plastic strips over and wildly improvising. 
The final item. There is a kebab stick down the middle of the tree that goes up into the star.
Things I learned:
- Cutting the top off innocent bottles is pretty tough! My partner used his jewellery hacksaw on it so I didn’t have to go rummaging in the shed.
- You need to cut your plastic base into an odd number of strips. Guess who didn’t figure that out right away. Luckily one of my strips was fat enough to cut in two.
- I started with DK yarn. It meant that my rows were all very close together, it used up a ton of fabric, and made for a very dense shaggy tree. I got halfway through, undid the lot and started over with chunky yarn.
- I need to research a proper, consistent way to weave the top together. Maybe I need to look at some proper weaving videos.
These could be made with strips cut from plastic bags, and maybe even teeny ones with yakult pots and yarn strips. I will probably have another go, but for now I have to get back to Christmas commissions and my own present making.
*fun and easy
Zola Makes Things 