Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Easy No Sew Fleece Blanket Edging

What a week I have had – some good and some not so good. How about I start with the good.
I think I mentioned the Joann’s fabric store in Oklahoma City OK. is having a liquidation sale as they are opening a new store in another location in town and I guess they are not moving any of the merchandise from the old store to the new one so they have had very good sales going on. I purchased the anti-pill fleece in 2 yard segments to make single layer throws for my grand-daughters and grand-sons – 9 in all. I didn’t want the throws to get too heavy so that is why I only used one layer for each.


Here are the step by step photos and directions I used to make them. I purchased Anit-Pill Fleece in 2 yard cuts…wanted the throws to be able to be washed and dried without getting pills which make fleece ugly and not so cozy.

Step 1 I trimmed the selvages off and straightened the ends. This part is not difficult as they don’t have to be perfect rectangles. The fabric always is wiggly so who is going to know if it is a llittle off square one way or another.

Step 2 - Cut 1” slits around the entire edge and a 2” square out of each corner. The 1” cuts are 2” deep. I stuck a piece of painters tape 2” in from the edges of the fleece, laid the straight edge of the fleece on one of the lines of my cutting mat then used the rotary cutter to eyeball cutting every inch. If it did not come out even in 1” increments I eyeballed to the end of where I was cutting and either added a little to each 1” fringe or subtracted a little so I wouldn’t have a really skinny or really fat strip at the corners. I did cut through 2 layers at a time and it was no problem to keep my cuts even. The tape really helped and cutting into it a little at times didn’t dull the rotary cutter like hitting the edge of a ruler would. I cut the corners out with a scissors to avoid overcutting into the side strips.

After this step is done the rest could be finished sitting in my favorite chair and watching TV, listening to music or an audio book. These fleece throws are so easy even kids can do the edge treatment but would do the fringe cutting for them to keep them safe from those sharp rotary blades. How about making a Christmas gift for grandparents or in my case I have gifts for my family for Christmas….OK, now on to the finishing of the edge treatment.


Step 3 Cut a small slit about 1/2” to 3/4” from the end of each strip with a scissors. These small clips into the fleece are only about 3/8” long. As you can see in the photo I just folded over the end and snipped to get the slit I needed.

I had a large crochet hook to use for the next step. It is a size N but the size isn’t important, just need something that it will go through the slits I cut and be able to grab the next strip and pull it through. The original web page had them using a looped paper clip or wire for this step. Check out the photos on that page.

Step 4 Starting in the center of one long side the crochet hook is slipped through the slit of one strip and into the one next in line. ( I am a left handed person so I am working from left to right – if you are a right handed person you will be going from right to left. If you can’t figure it out check out the photos from the blog I learned this from here. I was going to photograph it for right handed people but decided no, I am always having to transpose everything for myself from right handed directions so this time right handers would have to transpose and I would just show how I did it. If it were a complicated procedure I would have made it easy but since it is really pretty simple and self explanatory through the photos it stays left handed.)

The second strip is pulled through the slit of the first one and now the second one is on the crochet hook. Next put the crochet hook through the slit in the next strip and pull it through….keep doing this all around the throw until you only have one strip left.

Finishing the Edge





Step 5 The corners are treated no differently than the sides. As the strips are pulled through and around the corners you will get a rounding of the corner and can keep going along the next side. No fancy stuff just the same thing you have been doing on the sides.

Step 6 The last strip is cut in half to make two smaller strips. Cut a slit in the first strip close to the body of the throw and pull one of the half strips through that slit from the back then hook the other small strip and pull it through the last one you hooked as you worked around the throw.



Tie the two smaller strips together in a double knot and try to hide it under the back if you can. I had trouble with this part and decided if the knot showed a little that was OK. The ending is the only place where you have a small knot. If you have ever used those other kind of throws made with two layers and knotted fringe you know how uncomfortable it is to lay on those huge knots. With this edge the only knot is small and hopefully pretty invisible and not lumpy to lay on.
Notice how nice the edges look plus it looks so fancy but now you know how easy it is to achieve.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

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lit said...

can you do this with a double layer of fleece blankets, as if it was going to be a knot one?

Unknown said...

I made this. Thanks for a great idea. I was making a fleece blanket for a newborn. I used this method, but I cut the strips at 3/4 inch x 1 1/2 long. It looked beautiful, and unique. Thanks again.

Nate's mom said...

I love this! And I was thrilled to find a pattern for lefties like me!! Thank you~~

Unknown said...

I have a last-minute project to do - can you tell me how long it takes to do this? I have a day to finish it. BTW, I LOVE it! Also, the blanket is for a toddler - does the crochet hold up well?

NancyN said...

Thank you so much. I am a leftie too! I live in Texas, and prefer something lighter. Definitely a project I am going to do.

Crafty Woman said...

Great idea that I will try. I'm a righty, but my left-handed daughter will appreciate the lefty directions. It was hard for me to figure out how to teach her stuff left-handed. Looking at it all "backwards" gave me a better idea how frustrating it must be for the lefties of the world.

Unknown said...

LOVE this! Can't wait to try it. I have some fleece I have purchased as remnants and was hoping to make some small lap blankets with them. I don't really like the knotted edges on fleece blankets and was hoping to find something else to do with them. I have also done a yarn crocheted edge. JoAnne's has a great Rotary Blade that cuts holes every half inch so you can get the crochet hook into the fleece.

Susieq said...

I am a lefty also which I'm sure there are many of us. Glad u left pictures for the leftys. Love the finished edge.


Unknown said...

Yes you can. We made one following the same instructions.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I made an adult size blanket in just a few hours. Love the braid.

Yankee Lady Quilter said...

Great idea. Thank you for sharing