Cory has had a fleece tie blanket he received as a graduation present from his great aunt since before I met him. It’s heavy and warm and his favorite to keep around for a nap or to get cozy for a movie with. It’s the first one I’ve seen, and since only know of a couple my friend made some time ago. I wanted my own and to make some as gifts, so thought I’d share how we made them.
JoAnn has the BEST selection of fleece I’ve seen. They also do fantastic discounts and holiday sales, so watch for those as fleece can be rather expensive.
The width of most of the fleece seems to be 58 inches. We bought two yards of each fabric to make our oversized throw blankets and I would recommend the same unless you are making one for a toddler.
I highly recommend the anti pill fleece from JoAnn. It is a more plush, luxurious fleece that is softer and heavier than the blizzard fleece options.
Pick two yards of two different fabrics that you like together for one to be one side and one for the other.
They do sell pre-matched, pre-cut kits for these blankets. I would skip those. They are a thinner fleece and most of them aren’t a full 2 yards length.
(This is both sides of the fleece blanket Cory and I made together for me. )
Cory modeling the blanket for scale on our queen size bed.
To make anything large in our house we have to scoot the sofa over and make room. You want a big flat space to work. Put your fleece pretty sides outward and lay lined up as best you can flat on the floor. Square up the edges making sure to cut off the selvedge.
When your edges are squared up, cut a 5 inch square out of each corner. We use painters tape going across as you see to line up for where to cut our fringe to.
I use a ruler to cut my fringe at about an inch. It’s more important to keep the width fairly consistent and straight than it is for them to be exact. When you knot them they will hide many imperfections!
Painters tape pulls off easy and keeps the line across straight.
Cory works on knotting edges while I start cutting fringe on the next side. We end up both knotting them after a bit as it takes a while, but with both of us working a blanket takes about an hour or hour and a half. I like to have him knot as I go as it helps keep the material from shifting.
When you are done wash on cold and dry on low or extra low. A dryer sheet will eliminate any static. Enjoy!