DIY Tie Fleece Blanket
I have a very enthusiastic five year old daughter who loves to help me make things. A tie fleece blanket is the perfect project for kids like her! She was getting frustrated that she couldn’t help with some of our other projects - mostly things that involved needle and thread or hot glue guns. These blankets can be done sew or no sew and kids can help with the most important part - tying the fringe!
Plus, when you’re done - they have a snuggly new blanket perfect for curling up with while reading or watching TV. I involved her in the whole project - from picking out the fleece to helping to cut and tie the fringe. And she was thrilled with the final result!
What You’ll Need
- 2 yards of polar fleece (you can do contrasting colors or the same on each side)
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Sewing machine (optional)
- Masking tape (optional)
Step 1 - Create Your Fringe Line
In the past, we’ve made no sew tie fleece pillows and over time and washings - the ties started to stretch out. So this time around - I wanted to sew a straight line around all four edges of the blanket so that the fringe wouldn’t have anything pulling on it (and I’m hoping will remain the same shape over time.) I used my sewing machine to sew this line, but this step is totally optional. Instead of sewing the line, you could simply mark the line with a marker and a yard stick.
You’ll need to decide how deep you want your fringe to be - we went with about an inch and a half. The beauty of this step is you can make your fringe as tiny or as large as you want. For the littlest of fingers - go bigger, for slightly older kids - go smaller.
Line your two pieces of fleece up (they should be nearly the same size depending on how precise the fabric was cut.) Then, using your ruler, mark the fringe depth line around the entire edge of your blanket with washable marker. So if you want your fringe to be 2 inches deep - take your ruler and create several small ticks 2 inches in all along the edge of the fabric. Then use the ruler (or yardstick) to join the ticks together into a nice straight line you can use to cut up to.
Since I was sewing my line, I just used my sewing machine to create my “depth line”. I put a piece of masking tape on the machine that showed where my edge would be and sewed that all the way around the blanket edges.
Step 2 - Cut Your Fringe Line
Now you’re ready to cut your fringe. My five year old is pretty handy with scissors so she could help with this step (though she did lose interest after two sides!) If you’re really into details - you can measure each and every fringe piece…or you can do what we do and eyeball it! Since all the bits you’ll be trimming will be tied - imperfections are hidden. Plus, the real goal of this project is to create something with your little one so the more they can do the better. The sharper the scissors - the easier this step is to complete.
For the corners - I recommend you trim the whole corner off…otherwise you have a chunky bit of fringe in the corner. This also makes it more self explanatory as to what fringe pieces line up with which pieces on the other side.
Step 3 - Tie Your Fringe
If your little one was unable to help with the cutting - bring them onboard with step. You simply tie each corresponding piece of fringe (one from each side) into a knot (a double knot usually works best.) This is a great exercise in patience and dexterity. No need to finish this tying all in one session. Just do as much as your kiddo can handle in one day. And if they get too bored and just want to see the final product - you can easily finish it up yourself!
And you’re done with your tie fleece blanket! Time to snuggle up!