Gifts to Make:  No Sew Fleece Blankets

 

Now that Halloween is a thing of the past, the winter holidays are just mere weeks away.  And here is a wonderful gift ideal you can easily whip together in about an hour.  The soft cuddly blankets are so warm to snuggle under when the temperature outside goes below the freezing mark.  And everyone, young and old alike, seems to love them.  I say this because I made these soft blankets for our kids as Christmas gifts last year and my husband loved them and wanted one, too.  

And you can give this handcrafted item year-round.  The fleece throws were a big hit with the high school grads this year.  Some blankets were made with the school colors of the college the grad would be attending in the fall and others were made with sports-themed fabric.  

 

Best of all, you can make these blankets are no sew. 

 

To purchase:

          Buy 1 ½ to 2 yards of fabric in two different colors.  Or buy one piece of a solid color and one with a design on it.  (The first one I made was for my son.  One piece of fabric had a basketball design on it and the other was a solid blue to coordinate with the patterned piece.

 

To make:

1.     With right sides of the fabric out (wrong sides together), trim uneven edges so all the edges match.   

2.     Cut a four-inch square out of each corner.

3.     Cut strips through both pieces of fabric around all four sides.  The strips should be 1 to 2-inches wide (depending upon on thick you want the strips) and four-inches deep.  Use the square cut out to measure how deep to make the cut. 

4.     Once the strips are cut, take each cut strip and tie the two pieces together.  For example, take the patterned strip and solid blue strip and tie these two pieces together in a knot.  Repeat all the way around the fabric until all four sides are finished.

5.     Enjoy the snuggly feeling of your fleece throw.

 

TIPS: 

·     The blanket is easier to make once the edges are trimmed.  If there is a rough, rolled or hard edge due to it being a bolt end, trim it off.  It will be easier to cut through the two layers of fabric to make the strips.

·     The wider you make the strips the less knots you’ll need to make, but don’t go any wider than two inches as it doesn’t look as nice.

·     You can cut one and tie one side of the fabric pieces at a time.

·     A plaid pattern makes cutting the strips easier since you have the line to go by.

·     Be sure to knot the strips, but do not pull them too tightly as the fabric will pull and look bunched up.  

       

Copyright 2005 Mary Jo Rulnick