How to Make Fleece Tie Blankets | No Sew Fleece Blankets | Kits

Fleece Tie Blankets

I love fleece tie blankets. Actually, my entire household LOVES them. Have you tried making one yet? They are so super easy to do. What I love is that I can customize the fabric colors and prints as well as the size.

I have made four of these easy DIY no-sew fleece blankets for my household. But I’ve also made several tie blankets as baby gifts. Just ask the future mom what theme she’s doing in the bedroom and you have a personalized baby gift.

Here is what you need:

• sharp scissors
• marking pen
• safety pins
• 2 sizes of same-sized fleece, in the size you want plus 8″

I would love to be able to figure out how to add weight to these fleece tie blankets to make weighted blankets.

Tie Blanket Kits

If you don’t have a decent fabric store near you, or don’t want to be bothered measuring fabric, you can get a Tie Blanket Kit. Even Melissa and Doug offers one!

[amazon bestseller=”tie blanket kits” items=”4″ template=”table”]

Fleece Tied Blankets

If I could figure out a no-sew DIY weighted blanket, it would be a fantastic affordable choice for parents. I just can’t find anything that would be an appropriate weight for weighted blankets. Most weighted blankets have pouches of beads sewn into them, and that just won’t work here.

Of course, the fleece fabric with licensed characters is a bit more expensive than other prints. But it is still a really affordable way to get a customized blanket that will last for years.

My boys have been using the first two I made (in 2007 I think?) every day and they have been washed numerous times and still look great.

[amazon box=”B07GSWBMK8″ template=”horizontal”]

I find that the weight of 2 pieces of decent, sturdy fleece does sort of substitute as a lighter weighted blanket.

They are always a huge hit for baby gifts because let’s face it, the little baby blankets they sell are just too little. They only last a few weeks or months. And then they are too small for the child.

A fleece tie blanket can not only be customized to size, but you can choose fabrics to make the new baby’s room, the parents’ favorite sports teams or whatever.

With these, you can make them toddler-sized when they are not quite ready for a regular twin or full-sized blanket yet. There is no sewing involved. It’s just cutting and tying.

And now my 5-year-old just helped tie the new ones I made for him which is great for his fine motor skills.

How to Make Fleece Tie Blankets

How to make a Tie Blanket out of Fleece

Supplies:

• sharp scissors (I use my “good” scissors that I hide from my family!)
• marking pen
• safety pins
• 2 sizes of same-sized fleece, in the size you want, plus 8″ (there will be 4″ of ties on either side, as shown below)

Total Time: 2 hours

1. I lay the two pieces of fleece on my living room floor.
2. I try to match them up as precise as I can get. Presumably I have vacuumed so there’s not a ton of dog hair.
3. Using safety pins, pin the two pieces of fleece together.
4. I pin the fleece together about every 12″ to 18″.
5. Cut a piece of cardboard that is 1″ x 4″
6. This is going to be your pattern for your fringes to tie.
7. You are going to go around the entire perimeter of the fleece cutting the fringe in the 1″ x 4″ size. Some people are more precise than I am.
8. When you are done cutting, you begin tying.

I tie each pair of fringe twice. Some do fancy knots. I don’t know any fancy knot-tying.

Periodically as I am tying, I stop every so often and pull on it to keep it flat and matched up. When finished tying, go around one more time and make sure each knot is tight.

Wash and dry.

How to Wash Tie Fleece Blankets

One time mine came mostly untied in the washer, I was never able to figure out why. The fleece itself is usually a very durable fabric. One of ours is 15 years old and still looks great. It came untied one time in the wash. Thankfully it never happened again.

Since then, when making them, I have paid attention to making my knots extra tight.

I have never tried having one person starting to tie while the other person is still cutting. I am always afraid that the pulling while tying would affect the cutting and it wouldn’t line up.

Trust me, if this is a craft that I can do, anyone can!

{this post was originally written in 2012 but was recently updated}