Fleece Blankets with Crochet Border

Fleece Blankets with Crochet Border

I finally got to try out a project I've wanted to try for quite some time.  This is a fleece blanket where I've simply added a crochet border. This project is quick and easy thanks to a gadget called a "Skip-Cut Rotary Blade Cutter".  I found this special blade at a JoAnn's Store in Spokane, Washington, back in July. Since then, I've made up four blankets.

In the photo above, you can see that the special blade perforates the fleece at regular intervals so that you can easily crochet around the perimeter of your fleece blanket. I used my Fiskars 45 mm rotary cutter for this project and I also used self-healing mats and large rulers.

First I used the ruler, cutter, and mat to make sure all sides of the fleece were square and even.  Then I used the rotary cutter with the skip-cut blade to perforate the holes in the fleece.  I used a tutorial from Project Linus to get a little more information.  It turns out that it is recommended that you make the holes about 1/2 inch in from the edge so you can fold the raw edge over as you crochet.  In some photos below you can see the folded raw edge and how it is captured under the crochet stitches.  

You can add more elaborate crochet borders to fleece blankets but, for my blankets I like the clean look of a single crochet. It looks a lot like blanket stitch to me.  For my blankets I actually did a single crochet in each hole and then a change between each hole.  I also added extra stitches in the corners.  

Here is the tutorial on the Project Linus website if you'd like more information (Click HERE).

My first two blankets are for our living room.  The fleece is from JoAnn's and is a medium gray color.  The fabric is decorated with the names of different wines in different fonts and colors.  I put the blankets in the living room when it was cold and snowy last week.  The dogs LOVE these blankets!  The two legged creatures in the house are enjoying the blankets as well.  

Yarn used:  Smarty DK by King Cole

Above:  Brutus is enjoying the folded up blanket.  He can see out the window and warns us if any squirrels are trespassing in the back yard.



Above:  Sandy is snoozing.  See, I am telling you.... these dogs love these blankets!  So soft and cuddly.

Zach came home from college for a visit this weekend.  He liked the looks of our new blankets. I showed him this great geometric print fleece remnant I got at JoAnn's a few months back.  It was actually quite big for a remnant.  Zach said he liked it so I found some great charcoal gray yarn and added a border to his blanket so he can take it back to school with him tomorrow.  I promised to make him a larger blanket over the holidays; I'd like for him to pick out the fleece himself.



Above:  Some close ups of the stitches; notice the extra stitches in the corners.  On Zach's blanket, I put six single crochets in each corner.

Yarn used:  Cascade Pacific



Above: In this photo, you can see both the right side and the wrong side of the blanket.  The right side edge is seen in the lower portion of the photo.  The wrong side edge is seen in the upper portion of the photo.  You can see that the raw cut edge of the fleece is folded over and is captured under the crochet stitches.