No Sew Fleece Blanket with a Bow Edge

In today’s post: No Sew Fleece Blankets make gorgeous handmade gifts for the holidays. Today we’re showing you the fourth of four different easy ways to finish a fleece blanket: How to make a no sew fleece blanket with bows down the edges.

This week I’m sharing four different ways to make no sew fleece blankets – just in time for you to get started making some for the holidays! Today we are to Method #4: the Bow Edge Blanket.

If you’re tired of the classic tied fleece blankets, this is a fun, original alternative. Instead of tying knots to attach the two layers of fleece together, you’ll use yarn to create cute little bows on all sides of the blanket. It’s a pretty, delicate finish that doesn’t take any longer than tying.

Fleece Blanket Video

This video shows you each of the four methods for making fleece blankets. Specific instructions for the Bow version follow the video.

No Sew Fleece Blankets

If you’ve never made a fleece blanket before, I recommend you read the original post in this series: How To Make a No Sew Fleece Blanket

That post focuses on how to make a tied fleece blanket, but also covers lots of information that’s useful for any type of no sew fleece blanket, such as:

• what type of fleece to buy and where to find it on sale
• how to trim up your pieces of fleece
• how to make a template to make the cutting easier
• how to find the right side of your fleece

If you have questions about any of these things, please visit the original No Sew Fleece Blanket post

Supplies

For a Bow fleece blanket, you will need:

• Two pieces of fleece fabric in coordinating colors (1 yard each for a baby blanket, 1.5 yards for a kid size blanket, 2 yards for a teen/adult size blanket)
• Scissors
• Exacto Knife
• Ruler
• Yarn
• Needle the yarn will fit into or a toothpick

How to Make a Bow Edge Fleece Blanket

Remember, if you get stuck on any of the steps, you can see how to make this blanket in the video, which you’ll find above under the heading “Fleece Blanket Video” and below in the printable instruction card.

Get started by laying the bottom layer of fleece down on the ground, with the right side down. Smooth it out and place the top layer of fleece over it, right side up. Smooth the top layer out and try to match the edges as well as possible. Trim along the edges to make them straight, cutting through both layers of fabric at once so they end up the same size.

Cut the Strips

At each corner, cut away a 2×2 inch square. Make cuts that are 2 inches deep and 3 inches apart along all four edges of the blanket. As you get close to the next corner, pay attention to how many inches are left – you may need to adjust and make some cuts a little narrower or wider to make them fit.

Make Holes in the Strips

Using an exacto knife, make a small hole at the top center of each strip.

Thread the Yarn Through Holes

Cut a yard of yarn and thread it onto a yarn needle. Push the needle through the first hole (or, if you don’t have a yarn needle, use a toothpick to push the yarn through the hole). Pull all the yarn through the hole, leaving a 2 inch tail. Loop the yarn back up and push it through the hole in the second strip. Pull almost all the yarn through, but don’t pull it tight. It should loop around the edge of the blanket as shown in the photo below.

Cut the Yarn

Continue looping the yarn and pushing it through each hole. You will need to cut more pieces of yarn to get all the way around the blanket. Once there is yarn through every strip, cut the yarn at the edges of the blanket.

Tie the Bows

Using your fingers, scrunch up the fleece accordian style at the end of each strip and tie the yarn in a tight double knot to create a bow. Repeat all the way around the blanket.