Late last year I made my very first one of these blankets for our MOMS Club fundraiser. It wasn't too hard so I decided I would make a couple for Christmas presents. Well a couple turned into 5, then I made 2 additional blankets for gifts. So thats 8 blankets in less than 2 months. Everyone loved their blankets but these would not be something I would make and sell so I wanted to share a few tips and tricks I learned over the course of making some many No Sew Fleece Tie Blankets...this will be somewhat of a tutorial on how I make them. I've never done a tutorial before so bear with me.
First pick 2 pieces of fleece fabric. I generally do a print and solid. To help you decide how much fleece fabric to use: I used a half yard or so of each type of fabric for a baby blanket. A yard of each for a toddler size. A yard and a half for a small child and 2 yards of each fabric for and adult/teenager/almost teenager.
I lay whichever piece is bigger on the bottom and the other on top with right sides facing out. Once is it all lined up I cut off the excess fabric so both pieces are the same size.
I measure out a 4"x4" square from a piece of paper and cut it out. Then use this patter to cut out the corners of the blanket. Repeat for all four corners of your fabric. You are then left with eight little squares. (note: I used a little bit smaller square for the baby blanket. It makes it a bit harder to tie but still doable)
Now I used all those little squares as my guideline for cutting the strips I will be tying. Like this. Just line your paper square with the edge of the fabric and place a fleece square above it. I found this saved a lot of time having to measure how far to cut the strips!
Then start cutting. I used my thumb as a guide for how wide each strip would be. I'd say mine are just about an inch or so. (A special Thank you to my 4 year old for taking this action shot of me cutting!!)
Once I have about half a side cut, I will tie a few knots to hold the blanket in place in case one of my kids come racing by and gets their foot caught on it...(oh no...this has NEVER happened!!)
Here is the tie method I use:
Hold both pieces of fabric like this:
Loop it around and over your index finger
Bring the two pieces up through the center of the circle and pull both ends through
Then pull your knot tight. This way you don't have to double knot your blanket.
Now repeat this for all four sides. Your blanket will look something like this:
Now you are ready gather your unfinished blanket and plant yourself on the couch or favorite chair, turn on some music or the TV and start tying the rest of the knots. I don't use pins or anything because I've tied a few knots on each side to keep it in place. Just make sure as you're tying your knots you align the top of the cuts for each strip.
And VOILA...a No Sew Fleece Tie Blanket that will sure to keep you warm during those cold winter months.
Let me know if you have any questions or feel free to share your own tips and tricks!!
After the postman failed to deliver my first order (someone out there is enjoying my supplies...grrrr) the seller agreed to reship my order for the cost of shipping only. Which was awesome! I got my package and away I went...How cool are these?
Thoughts??
Now I used all those little squares as my guideline for cutting the strips I will be tying. Like this. Just line your paper square with the edge of the fabric and place a fleece square above it. I found this saved a lot of time having to measure how far to cut the strips!
Then start cutting. I used my thumb as a guide for how wide each strip would be. I'd say mine are just about an inch or so. (A special Thank you to my 4 year old for taking this action shot of me cutting!!)
Once I have about half a side cut, I will tie a few knots to hold the blanket in place in case one of my kids come racing by and gets their foot caught on it...(oh no...this has NEVER happened!!) 
Loop it around and over your index finger
Bring the two pieces up through the center of the circle and pull both ends through
Now repeat this for all four sides. Your blanket will look something like this:
I know...crazy huh? But in my defense, I didn't have a dedicated sewing room or storage space. Plus we were preparing for a move. So we've moved and I've basically taken over half of the office. I grabbed this sweater organizer and thought it was the perfect solution for my fabric chaos. I'm very excited to be taking baby steps to getting organized!
Blues, blacks and oranges
Pinks and browns
Polka dots and stripes
I still have a couple bags and or bins of fabric to go through but this is a start!
These are the 3 designs I made for our use...they are the size of a regular square paper napkin when folded like this.
When unfolded, they are 12"x12" The fork and spoon will give you an idea of the size...
This was the fabric my oldest daughter chose for her napkin. She picked the pink and purple for her sister!
Stay tuned for more...
