The air
is nice and crisp and getting back into my fleece feels so good. Jackets, scarves, blankets, I love them
all. I love working with fleece! Here are 3 versions of a comfy fleece
blanket. A NO SEW and A LITTLE
SEWING! Easy… Easier and
Easiest!
#1 - THE EASIEST, NO SEW
I wanted
small lap blankets for the children to use in the car on those cold winter
mornings. Most fleece comes 58”
wide so with just 1 yard of fleece I could make two lap blankets about 29” x
36”. I love the economy of that!
But you can make yours any size you want.
Cut the
fabric to your desired size. Be
sure to make a nice clean cut. The
Olfa Rotary Cutter is a great tool for cutting fleece.
Fringe
the edges. For my lap blankets I
only fringed two sides but if you want your fringe all around that is a great
look too. Use your creativity to
decide on the look you want and determine how long and wide your fringe should
be. I cut my strips 1⁄2” wide and
3” long.
One more
decision to make! I like the look
of knotted fringe so I simply tie the pairs of fringe pieces together. Just be sure you have cut an even
number of strips. EASY!!!
|
3 Different Looks for Fleece Blankets |
|
Same 3 Blankets - Flipped Over |
#2 - A LITTLE SEWING
With
just a little sewing you can get an entirely different look by attaching some
woven fabric to your fleece. This
way you get the decorative look of your woven fabric with the soft comfort of
the fleece. This little fella loved this military theme fabric but also wants to be cozy in his fleece. We also made him a matching pillow case. Sweet Dreams!
Three Easy Steps:
1. Prepare your fabrics.
2. Sew woven to fleece.
3. Create a fringe.
Here’s
how:
Prepare
your fabrics:
Gently
rip all four sides to the size your want the woven fabric. Do not CUT! Machine wash this prepared piece of fabric.
Cut your
fleece piece 4”-5” wider than the woven on all four sides.
Sew woven to fleece:
Smooth
the fleece out on a large work surface.
Center
the prepared woven on top with wrong sides together.
Pin
generously around the border.
With the
woven fabric on top, use a zigzag stitch to sew the two layers together. Stitch
about 5/8” from the cut edge of the woven fabric. This “raggedy” woven edge will become even more attractive with additional washings.
Create a
fringe:
Clip the
fleece edges to make the fringe. I
like my fringe pieces to be about 1⁄2” wide. Cut the fleece to the raw edge of the woven fabric. Although not essential, a fringe
cutting template is a great help in creating a nice easy fringe. There are several available on the
market but I like the Fring’ez Adjustable No Sew Fringe Cutting Template.
At each
corner, cut and remove a square of the fleece then tie a strip from each side
together to make a finished corner. Tie pairs of fringe together for a great
looking blanket!
I like
to clip and tie a small section at a time. This way, as you near a corner, you can judge how many
strips you have left to cut and if necessary, “fudge” the width to be sure to
have the proper pairs to tie.
Tips and
Tricks
Knotted
fringe gives your blanket a little more stability. If you don’t knot it, and it will be getting some “wear and
tear”, consider running a line of straight or zigzag stitches just above the
fringe cut.
100%
Cotton for your woven fabric works best.
To rip
fabric, use scissors to make a small “start” about 1⁄2” into the side. Now GENTLY rip so that the fabric tears
along one thread of the weave of the fabric.
Working
with a large piece can be challenging if you don’t have a huge work table. The floor works of course, but
certainly not ideal. Might you have
a ping pong table? A large kitchen
island? A firm bed? Be creative and save your back. If you don’t have a suitable work
surface, carefully fold your fabric accordion style to minimize the bulk and
keep the fabric from shifting.
# 3 - A BIT MORE SEWING, BUT STILL PRETTY EASY
When I spotted this yellow fleece in the fabric store a
while back, I knew I had to own it.
So it has been tucked away in my fabric collection just waiting for the
right idea to pop into my head.
Today was
the day! I knew I wanted to pair
it with this blue dotted cotton but I wasn’t quite sure what to do. The star appliqués gave it enough
dimension and interest that I didn’t really want to fringe it. So I decided to wrap the woven cotton
around the fleece to create a border effect.
You can
use this same method for any size you desire. I like to be as economical as possible with my fabrics so I
used the entire width of the woven and cut the fleece so that I would have a
little left over. (There might be a yellow fleece scarf in my future!)
Prepare
the woven fabric:
Pre-washed
100% cotton is preferable.
Cut or rip
so you have a rectangle with clean edges. This should be your desired finished
size plus 1 3⁄4” on each side.
Iron the
entire piece. Turn under and press
each edge 1⁄4”, then turn under another 1 1⁄2” and press that edge.
Spread out
on a large flat work surface with the wrong side (and the folded edges) up.
Add the fleece
Start in a
corner. Unfold the pressed down edge of the woven and place the fleece, right
side up, on top. Smoothing out
both layers, place the cut edge of the fleece at the crease line of the 1 1⁄2”
fold down two sides of the blanket.
Fold the
woven over and on top of the fleece so it creates a nice finished edge. Pin in place.
If you are
experienced and confident in your sewing skills you may want to proceed to fold
and pin all four sides of your blanket.
I do however think it is ‘safer’ and easier to sew these first two sides
then come back to your work surface, smooth your fabrics into place and make
any adjustments to the cut of the fleece before sewing the next two sides.
Managing the corners
I finished my corners with what I call a “fake miter”. On the fleece side it looks like a
miter but on the woven side it simply looks like the fabric continues around
the corner. I don't stitch the corner to create the miter, just fold it.
Fold
the corner of the woven in, forming a triangle. Now fold each long border edge together so that they meet on
a diagonal line from the corner forming a mitered look.
Now sew the woven to the fleece. I used a straight stitch but a zigzag or other decorative stitch would be very attractive as well.
If you like a more finished look, you can 1) hand sew a blind stitch to close the corner 2) zigzag the corner to secure the "gap" or 3) sew a decoration like a bow, a fabric yo yo or a fleece embellishment to the corners.
I was lucky enough to find this yellow fleece with the star and moon applique. I've never seen it again. But it is really quite easy to do and makes a really nice finish on a plain fleece. Simply cut the shapes you desire, stack them, then tack them onto the fleece. Yes! It really is that easy.