How to Make a Super Warm Fleece Blanket

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While I’m sitting here with my window open and dreaming of fall weather, I thought I’d share this craft that is perfect for cuddling up with on cool evenings. It’s actually a good time to be thinking of gifts, and these make great ones. I started making these as a newlywed when I was working for a craft store and spent my time around all the pretty bolts of fleece. I made a bunch for gifts and then got a little burned out, I think. Fast forward to last year, when my husband and I were at the store looking for Halloween costume components. Every time I see all of the fleece that’s available now I’m amazed, so of course I had to look. First we found Harry Potter fleece that we knew our older son would love. Then we found fleece that the other two kids would love, and before I knew it we were bringing home everything I needed to make three blankets.

I recently happened across some photos of myself making blankets back in 2004. So just for fun, here are some pictures of young me making blankets in our apartment. Oh the memories…

You really don’t need too many supplies for this project.

Two 2-yard pieces of fleece

4 skeins of embroidery floss

needle big enough to thread the floss through

fabric scissors

plate/template for rounding corners

I make my blankets using a total of 4 yards of fleece—two 2-yard pieces. This makes a bigger blanket than the average throw that you find in stores. Two layers of fleece makes a very warm blanket. I usually buy one printed fleece and a coordinating solid so that it’s reversible. You can do whatever you want though. I’ve also done two colors of a sports team, school colors, etc. In any case I choose a color of embroidery floss that coordinates, and it makes for a nice finished product.

My absolute favorite scissors for cutting fleece are bent scissors with a spring like these or these. For this particular project there’s a lot of cutting involved through two layers, and these make it a lot easier.

Something a little extra that I did on a couple of my earliest blankets was embroider one of the corners with something that I knew the recipient would like. We were in the midst of a rush of babies in the extended family, and I learned some basic embroidery skills as part of contributing to some baby quilts, so this was another way of putting those skills to use. I wish I had a picture of the dragon I embroidered on one of the blankets. It was only an outline of a dragon, but I remember being pretty proud of it.

The first step in making a blanket is to lay out the fleece pieces on top of each other—right sides out. When I made my first blankets, I had the luxury of a large kid and dog-free carpeted (clean) space to lay out the fleece. Having made a batch of blankets now on hardwoods, I think the carpet was actually more of an asset than I realized at the time. Once I laid out the fleece, it didn’t move around on the floor. The trick is that you’re trying to get the bottom piece of fleece flat on the floor, and then get the second piece equally flat on top. You can always smooth any wrinkles or air pockets underneath, and I do a lot of adjusting to get it just right. I’m probably pickier than I should be trying to line up the fleece, but only because I want the final blanket to be as big as possible. I don’t want to cut off anymore than I have to. That’s because…

…the next step is to trim the edges. I line up the fabric so that only one side has the selvage edges, so I trim that off completely. Then I eyeball the other three sides and get them as straight as I can. I’m guessing that none of my blankets are completely even when you fold them, but I do the best I can.

Once you’re happy with the edges, take whatever you’re using as a template for the corners and round them all off. We have small plates that I use for this, and I really like how the edges look. This last time I didn’t trace the plate and instead pressed down on the plate while cutting around it. I ended up having to trim the curve quite a bit after that, so I would recommend tracing with a marker (something that will wash off the plate) before cutting.

Next comes pinning the two layers together. Just pick a spot to start and work your way around. Fleece is stretchy, so it’s important to pin it to prevent the finished blanket from being distorted or your layers from being uneven. Plus it’s just an awful lot of blanket to manage while you’re sewing.

Now you’re ready to sew! The stitch I use is called a blanket stitch. I remember watching a video repeatedly and looking at picture directions before asking my husband to learn how to do it so he could teach me. He got it right away. After years without practicing, I had to do it all over again. The sad thing about that is that it’s really not hard. I love the way this video teaches it. 

Once you have the stitch down, thread as big a piece of embroidery floss as you think you can manage and start working your way around the entire blanket. I can handle half of a skein of floss at once, but then I have to be very careful to not let it get tangled up. My favorite time to do this is while watching tv. Once I get going, I don’t have to think about it too much. Just be careful to hold the fleece in such a way that you won’t poke yourself [repeatedly] with pins.

After you’ve cut and tied off the last piece of embroidery floss, you’re done! Now you have a beautiful blanket to enjoy or give away. I’ve actually never made a blanket for myself, so I’ve inspired myself to make one this fall. I hope I’ve inspired you to give it a try as well.