Fleece Tie Blanket

This is a blanket I made using some scraps of fleece that I had lying around. This particular blanket is for an American Girl (or other 18" inch) doll; although the directions work the same for any size fleece blanket.

Materials:

-Two coordinating pieces of fabric that are the same size. (For this project I used two pieces of fleece that were roughly 12"x15")
-Scissors

(Now this part is completely optional, but I choose to add an initial to this blanket)
-Coordinating thread
-Pins
-Printed out letter or other template you choose to use
-Extra scrap of fleece to use to make letter

 Step One:

Cut out the letter you are going to use and pin it to your scrap of fleece. I decided that I wanted my letter on the solid side of the fleece so I cut out my letter from the patterned fleece.

I had pulled two different shades of pink thread out and decided to go with the darker pink one because I felt that it would show up better than the light pink.

Step 2:

Sew your letter to the piece of fleece. I like to put my letters in the lower right hand corner. Remember to leave a few inches on the side and bottom so that you can do the tie part of the blanket.

Step 3: 

Lay your two pieces of fleece down and make sure that they are right sides out.

Step 4:

Cut a small square out of the corner that you are starting with. I like to start in the lower right hand corner. My square is about 1 1/4" by 1 1/4". If you are doing a bigger blanket then you can cut your square 2 or 3 inches (or however big you want).

Step 5:

Because I cut my square in 1 1/4", I made my cuts the same size. Since this blanket is so small I made them about a half of an inch wide. If you are doing a bigger blanket then cut them 3/4" to 1" wide (but this is also based on your personal preference). 

Make your cuts all the way across (you can also work in sections by cutting a row of ties, then tying, then cutting more, then tying...) and cut off another square at the end. You will do this for all sides until you get to the last side; when you get to the last side, just make all your cuts but do not cut off another square.

Step 6: 

Make your first tie.


Step 7: 

Make your second tie so that it ends up in a double knot. I like to try to make my ties lay straight, so I will pull them in that direction as I am tightening them.

Step 8:

Continue making your ties down the rest of the side. This is what a finished row of ties looks like. I like to work from right to left, so now I will turn my blanket so that the end that was on the left, is now on the right in front of me.

Step 9:

Do exactly what you did for the first row. Make your cuts, cut a square off the end, and then make sure to double knot all your ties. Keep doing this until you get to the last side (remember, don't cut a square off the last side since you are back to where you started from).

This is what it will look like front and back when it is finished.

I made another one like it, but in purple. There will eventually be four total. One for each of my triplet cousins and their little sister.

And this is how they measure up to the American girl dolls. I think they turned out pretty cute.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know in the comments.