DIY Sweater Christmas Trees

Reuse your old sweaters or find some at the thrift store to make these cute and cozy sweater trees, perfect for an easy and cheap DIY Christmas decoration.

I love the look of sweaters in home decor, especially during the winter and holiday seasons. The soft and cozy look and feel just create a warmth both to the eyes and touch.

From pillow covers to table runner to decorations, sweater fabric can be used in so many different ways during the Christmas season.

I’ve seen upcycled sweaters used to make cone-shaped Christmas trees for years. Simply wrap a piece of sweater around a Styrofoam or cardboard cone and you have an instant sweater Christmas decoration.

This project is a spin on the cone tree but instead uses layered pieces of sweater to create a cozy tree. It does take a little more time to make than a cone tree, but I think it looks much prettier in the end!

In this post you’ll find a video tutorial, as well as the step by step process with photos and tricks on how to make DIY sweater trees.

Supplies to Make Sweater Trees

• old sweaters in coordinating colors (three different colors work best)
• wood base (wooden thread spools, spindles or thick branches all work well)
• dowel rod (1/8″ thick)
• piece of thin cardboard
• tomato paste tube (or other star material)
• scissors
• hot glue

How to Make DIY Sweater Trees

1. Cut squares from old sweaters

The first step is to cut squares in slightly larger and larger sizes, from old sweaters. This step is is definitely the most time consuming one, but once you get the hang of it and follow my tricks, it goes pretty quickly!

Start with the smallest square (about 1″ x 1″) and cut one square from each sweater. Then, use that square to cut a square slightly larger (by about 1/4″) from each sweater.

Continue cutting until you have approximately 40 squares in incremental sizes all the way up to the largest square. (On my tree, which is about 8″ high, the largest square at the bottom is 4″). You could make a taller tree by continuing to cut larger squares.

Helpful Tricks:

• The trick to getting a perfect square it to make one cut and then to fold the other half over making a triangle. Then, cut along the edge and open it up for an equal square.

• To speed up this process, cut a strip of sweater fabric that is at least an inch larger than the last square. Then, use this strip to cut your smaller squares by taking a little off the edge and then folding and cutting to make a perfect square.
• To make a circle tree, cut out all your square first. Then, fold them into fourths and cut an arch at the top, cutting of the top corners. Unfold and you’ll have a circle!

• To cut a hole in the center of each square (or circle), fold it in half and cut a little slit halfway across the square. When you open it up, it will be the perfect size to fit the dowel rod.

2. Set up the base of the tree

For the base of the tree, you’ll need a piece of wood with a flat bottom. You could use a thread spool, a thick spindle cut down into a small piece, or even a thick stick/branch cut down into a small cylinder.

Then, drill a hole into the base slightly larger than your dowel rod. Use wood glue (or hot glue) to attach the dowel rod into the base.

Cut a piece of thin cardboard (cereal box or the back of a sketch pad work well) to the same size at the largest square. This will keep the fabric from flopping down at the based of the tree. (You could also use fabric stiffener on the bottom piece if you didn’t like the look of the cardboard. I just painted mine though and it’s hardly noticeable at all.)

3. Layer the pieces of sweater to form a tree

This next step actually goes very quickly! Place the piece of cardboard on the dowel rod, and then layer the pieces of sweater on top.

Start with the largest square in one color. Place the second color of sweater on top of the first, rotated 90 degrees. Place the third sweater on top in the same position as the first one. In the end, this creates a star patterned tree with 8 points.

4. Add the star to the top of the tree

After layering all the pieces, cut the excess dowel rod off the top. (Scissors can be used on 1/4″ dowel rods with a little bit of pressure!)

You can choose anything to make a star, including just cutting a star shape from one of the sweaters and tying it to the top.

I chose to make a gold metal star using the inside of a tomato paste tube. Simply cut the tube lengthwise, wash it out, and then draw a star pattern on the metal. Use scissors to cut two layers of the star shape. Then, hot glue them together with the gold sides facing outward.

I wrapped metal wire around the dowel rod for the star to stick up a bit, but you could also simply glue it to the top of the dowel rod as well.

Think about all the different color combinations you can create when making these little trees! You can completely design them to match your favorite Christmas decoration colors.

Let me know if you make a version of these sweater trees! I’d love to see different color combinations and ideas for using them in your holiday decor.

Even More DIY Christmas Decorations