Treasures: Tied Fleece Blankets for the Dogs

Tiny handmade tied fleece blanket for my tiny dog Daisy

During a recent trip to a local fabric store, I saw some fleece remnants at deep discount prices. I have always wanted to try to make a tied fleece blanket but previously never followed through. I was afraid to spend the money on materials without feeling like I knew what I was doing. But when I saw these remnants, I felt brave and I purchased the two small pieces of fleece and brought them home to try.

I thought if I begin with the plan of making very small blankets for the dog crates, I won't feel badly if this project turns out ugly and the dogs would still have new blankets. This decreased the intimidation factor of trying something new. Besides, the thought of making dog blankets using a paw print on one side and a cat print on the other side just tickled me. I HAD to try.

How to Make Tied Fleece Blankets

There are many video and written tutorials on the internet about making tied fleece blankets. By looking at a variety of these tutorials, I had decided I wanted to tie my knots in a certain way and I wanted to cut the corners off of the blanket in order to make tying at the corners easier.

With those two decisions made, I began.

Good thing this first blanket is teeny tiny, for my little dog Daisy, because I did make some mistakes. I did not account for the "print" at the very edge of the fleece material. And it clearly shows in the finished project. I think it is distracting and ugly. Fortunately, Daisy can't read. And is probably colorblind. So that turns out to be a good learning opportunity for me - instead of disaster. Also, when I measured to cut out my corner squares, I didn't account for the width of the tape measure. As a result, I ended up with some 4" fringe and some 4 1/2" fringe. I had intended on fringe that was 1" x 4" - before the knot.  The 1" x 4" fringe was incredibly difficult for me to tie (with the knot I had chosen) with my bare hands.

I began using a heavy chopstick to help tied the knots. The chopstick helped me to adjust the knots and grip the material - making more uniform knots. In the future, I will make either longer or thinner strips of fringe for easier tying. Maybe both thinner and longer.

Materials Needed to Make Tied Fleece Blankets

• Two pieces of fleece (I chose contrasting prints)
• A sharp pair of scissors - I love Fiskars
• A tape measure or yardstick
• Optional - chopstick (a crochet hook may have worked)
• Optional - masking tape (for marking the edges to help ensure measurements)

Caution: I have a very small apartment, so I laid the project out on the floor for cutting. With carpet, that was a risky move. Take great care if you make the same choice or you will likely give your carpet a haircut. I highly recommend doing the cutting on a flat, hard surface.

Steps:

1. Lay out the two layers flat and smooth - one on top of the other - "right" sides facing out
2. Measure for the corners - cutting out the corners (measure twice, cut once! Something I neglected to do)
3. Carefully measure and moved down each side, cutting for the thickness of each fringe
4. Begin tying the knots - Beginning with the fringe directly next to each now missing corner. That results in two tied fringe pieces on each side; anchoring the pieces together as they were initially placed together
5. Continue tying the knots until the blanket is complete

That is all there is to it! As I tied the knots, I used the chopstick to adjust them to make them more uniform. And I frequently checked that the material was still lying flat together and hadn't shifted or puckered much.  Please scroll down for the photographs of the steps.

Daisy's finished blanket is approximately 20" x 20" (fringe included) - a similar size of her dog bed. 

Willy - trying to claim the blanket as his own
while I am trying to tie knots

This was a fun project. I am feeling more confident with making tied blankets. After I make a blanket for Willy (as clearly he wants one of his own!) I plan to move on to those adorable "kits" that are printed with cute patterns and make some blankets for the grandbabies.

If you have been considering trying tied fleece blankets, I encourage you to give it a try. Remember to scroll down for the step-by-step photos.

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Tied Fleece Blanket Making: Step-by-step in photos