Easy Tie BlanketsTo Make!!

Making a fleece blanket is a fun project! I actually made six of these tie blankets for Christmas presents. It took a couple of days - not bad! They can be a modern and up-to-date gift for adults, teens, children and even small tots! These are to use, not merely for decoration. They are useful in the living room or bedroom, wherever there is a need for warmth! Choosing your fleece fabric is a large part of the fun! Find a fabric design that is a complement to your home! The fabric stores stock their shelves with enormous amounts of fleece. Fleece is a popular fabric for warmth and lends itself to being soft! Pick two colors of a quality fleece that complement each other. The fleece I purchased was sixty inches wide. I use wide fabric for the adults, forty five inch widths for smaller folks. I had the clerk cut sixty inches in length to form a perfect square. I used a solid color with a print! My color and pattern choices were based on the individual I was making the blanket for. What would they like?

To begin putting your tie blanket together, you must determine which side of the fabric to use for the outside of your blanket. My fleece had a small white edge on the wrong side, where the fabric was bordered. Lay the print fabric face down on a flat surface. The wrong side of the fabric will be face up. Lay your solid fabric wrong side down, putting the wrong sides of the fabric together so that the right side out will be face upward! I put the solid fleece on the top as it is much easier to see what you are doing.

Match the edges carefully. If they are not perfectly matched, you may need to trim a side or adjust it to fit. Later, as you tie the ends, you can trim any excess fabric on the ends. As you match the ends and sides together, pin the four corners with long straight pins. Add any extra pins that are needed to keep the fabric intact while you work!

Use a good pair of scissors, one that cuts through the fleece easily with a clean cut. The first cut you will make is at your corner. Remove a square at the corners, about two inches by two inches deep. The photograph show you what this looks like. Remove this excess fabric on the corner first. Next, make two inch cuts down the side of the fabric. Make them 3/4" wide for easy to make ties. Begin in one corner and cut your way around the blanket.

I did not measure my ties with a ruler or tape measure. I relied on my visual abilities and experience to keep them consistent. Based on your experiences and expertise, you may decide to measure your fabric before making your tie cuts. A fabric marking pencil could be useful to premark your ties.

To begin the tie process, take the solid color strip of material and wrap it around the print strip of material. Always use the solid strip to wrap around the other to keep your ties looking consistent and neat. Double-tie the strips by again wrapping the solid color around the printed strip of material. Make the final knot neat and taut, being careful not to pull the blanket or cause a ripple in the body of the material.

Trim the white ends of the ties and any extra solid color material on the two sides of the blanket that were originally bordered with white. This side of the fabric tends to be stretchier and easier to tie. The fabric does extend slightly with the nap of the fabric, giving you excess material that may need to be trimmed. Whatever you do, be consistent!

You are on your way! Work your way around the blanket, keeping the ties uniform and neat by using the same tie method with each tie.

You will find that your solid color tie is on the printed side and the print tie is showing on the solid side of your blanket. This demonstrates that you are correctly putting your blanket together. Keep this pattern uniform as you work around your project!

Some fleece fabrics are easier to work with. This blanket seemed to tie easier than the one above. The fleece was slightly thicker and more pliable! 

Be sure to work somewhere comfortable.  Bending over a bed to tie is hard on the back. Get a stool or chair to sit on. Above all, have fun with your project!

Do you know how much toddler's like cuddly blankets? Lots. I am making some tie blankets for some small children I know. My thought is to make them big enough that they can enjoy them for several years, but not so big that they are too heavy for them to carry around. The bolts for fleece material are 58-60 inches wide. I had the clerk cut the material in three feet widths. The result is a blanket that is longer than wide. It seems perfect for the two to four year old child. The toddlers can cuddle up with them and the four year old still has enough length in the material to cover their entire body. I chose colors and designs that were appealing to that age group. The little girls will have a pink fleece with some sparkle in it while the boys blankets will focus on sports. The first one I made took just over three hours from start to finish! 

This past week, my little miniature schnauzer went to the beauty shop. At the time that I decided to take him, he was a wooly bear with long curly hair all over his body! He came home with no fur, groomed but cold. As he lay shivering on the carpet this evening, I made the decision to make the dog a fleece blanket of his own. The fabric store will have some remnant material that I can use. This should be fun!