Warm Up

Since I've been down from recent surgeries, I've had time to do a little "crafting." My recent projects have been those wonderfully warm fleece blankets.

The fleece is readily available at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby or any fabric store. It comes in a wide array of patterns from kittens and rainbows to Spiderman and Care Bears, there's likely a pattern or style to match your taste.

The blankets are a snap to finish, and you don't necesarrily have to sew to complete one. Whatever method you choose, you need to finish the perimeter of the blanket. You have a variety of ways to accomplish this task.

Machine Finishing

I've made these blankets for the children previously, using the blanket or zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to finish the edge. This takes less than 30 min. and you have a warm fuzzy for the kids. You could also serge the edge if you have the technology.

You can also sew 2 panels together for a doubly thick blanket. Usually, I just do a single weight as it doesn't get that cold here, but in northern climates, double up for extra warmth.

Hand Finishing

My latest blankets have been hand finished. Since I'm not feeling well enough to sit for long periods at the sewing machine, I've been blanket stitching the edges with yarn. I use standard weight yarn, a yarn darning needle and a skewer (for punching holes). You can finish a standard sized panel in 3-4 hours. (A rental movie helps pass the time)

Here's how to do a blanket stitch:

Blanket stitch is worked from left to right. The needle is brought up vertically and brought out of the fabric with the thread tucked under the needle. (See posted diagram below)

If you don't like sore fingers, then you'll want to prepunch hole for your need to pass through. I found a metal shish-ka-bob skewer works great for this purpose.

At the corners work several stitches in a fan shape from a single hole opposite the corner. That will reinforce and provide a nice corner finish.


No-sew option

Had needles and machines? You still can finish a fleece blanket with hand-tied fringe. Create a template of cardboard that is 18-24 inches long, four inches deep and has 1-inch marks on it. Use the template to mark your blanket edge (use one of those disappearing fabric markers to mark the blanket). Draw a line 4 inches deep on your blanket. Then mark the 1-inch widths. Cut the 1-inch strips to the 4" depth you marked. Once you cut the fringe, tie a slip knot at the base of each strip (You can make it longer or thinner--this is just a suggestion based on my attention span. Thinner strips look nice, but it means more tying.) Continuing knotting all the strips until finished.

When finished, find a loved one, drape and snuggle!