Look What I Made: Fleece Blanket

Aren't those fleece blankets that are simply tying together strips of the fleece fabrics together so cute? The best part--NO sewing! I've always heard they are easy to make, and they really truly are--I made one a couple of months ago to put in the play pen we leave in the TV room for my nephew to lay on. My first one and it was very, very easy. Just a little time consuming--maybe took a total of 2 hours? I split the work up into 2 days. Here is what I did...

Lauren and I went to the fabric store and found this cute dinosaur patterned fleece, and thought the plain red fleece went nicely with it. Lauren is very proud of this part because she is the one who spotted the dino print that we both fell in love with. I'm pretty sure I bought a yard of each.

The next step is to make sure each fleece fabric is the same rectangular length. They weren't quite even, so I attempted to free hand cut the fabrics into a nice rectangle. Mistake. I finally had to get out a tape measure to help me keep a straight line and I marked the lines off with a marker so I knew exactly where to cut.

There--a perfect rectangle!

The sides of my rectangle were divisible by 7, so in each corner I cut out a 7 x 7 inch square. This step makes it easier for when I go to tie my knots.

Next, I used the tape measure to mark out one inch increments along all sides for knot tying.

After the fringe pieces are cut, tie them into knots. A lot of people when they make these blankets simply take the two pieces of fabrics and tie them together like you are about to tie a shoe before the bow part. I saw a website which showed how to make these pretty knots I ended up making. You bring up the bottom end of the fringe and cross it in front of the upper part of the fringe making a hole, then bring the bottom end up from underneath the hole and pull the knot up to the top of the blanket line--like you are tying a necktie. I realize what I just said is probably clear as mud, but it makes sense in my head. Maybe the pics will help you understand better...

The kids actually enjoyed helping me tie the knots!

Here is the finished product, and here is what I think is a neat part of the experience...Before I even began this project, I knew I wanted to use it in the play pen. But, I never even thought to measure the dimensions of the play pen. Unbelievably, the blanket turned out to be the exact fit for the play pen (with maybe just a little fabric scrunching to make an exact fit). I was amazed!