How to Hand-Crochet Edging With Fleece
Adding a hand-crocheted, pastel-colored edging to a small piece of soft fleece creates an original baby blanket for a special infant. Choosing a larger piece of fleece and a bright color for the crocheted edging offers a more grown-up version of the stylized fleece blanket that tweens, teens and adults will appreciate. Fleece is often on sale near the end of the winter, so shop around that time if you'd like to purchase some at a good price and start making gifts for the next cold season.
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Things You'll Need
- Fleece
- Measuring tape or yardstick
- Fabric marker
- Scissors or rotary cutter, and self-healing mat
- Cardboard cutting mat or piece of cardboard at least 12 inches square
- Thin, sharp punching tool, such as a paper-piercing tool or an ice pick
- Yarn, washable
- Crochet hook
Instructions
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Measure and Cut Fleece
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Wash and dry the fleece before cutting it to size. It's better for the fleece to shrink slightly before you cut it so the final blanket will be the size you want.
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Determine the size blanket you wish to make. Measure an existing baby, teen or adult blanket whose size you like and make a note of the dimensions. Round up to the next largest 1/2 inch. For example, if your blanket measurement is 24 1/4 inches by 30 3/4 inches, cut the fleece to measure 25 inches by 31 inches.
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Lay your fleece out flat. Measure the sides with the measuring tape or yardstick, and mark the places where you'll cut by using a fabric marker, which will wash away or fade in a short time.
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Cut the fleece using scissors or a rotary cutter. If you use the rotary cutter, make sure you've placed the fleece on a self-healing mat to protect the surface under the fabric. Cut a square or a rectangle. Round the edges off by hand or by placing a round object at the corner and cutting around it. For something different, consider making a round blanket for a baby or one to put across the back of a chair. Make sure that the circumference of the circle works out to an even 1/2 inch -- 45 inches or 60 1/2 inches, for example.
Punch Holes and Begin Edging
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Place the fleece on the cutting mat or the piece of cardboard. Punch a hole every 1/2 inch -- completely through the fabric -- all the way around the sides (or circumference) of the blanket. The holes should be 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch in from the edge of the fleece.
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Push the punching tool completely through the fleece and wiggle it around a little bit to make each hole slightly larger. With shaggier fleece, the holes will nearly disappear once punched, and this extra step makes them stay more visible. It's O.K. if you hear the punch breaking the threads of the fleece; this type of fabric does not unravel easily.
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Tie a slip knot and place the yarn on your crochet hook. For a baby blanket, consider baby-weight yarn and a hook size of C or D. For thicker yarn, such as worsted weight, try a hook size of F or G. Experiment with yarn and hook sizes until you find a combination you like. Join the yarn in any hole -- except near a corner -- with a slip stitch. Chain one.
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Work a single crochet in the same stitch where you joined. Chain two to four stitches -- or the number that will take you to the next hole while allowing the fabric to lay flat. Note the number of chains you made. Place a single crochet in the next hole and make the same number of chains as before.
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Continue around the blanket, working the pattern of "chain X number of stitches and place a single crochet in the next hole." In the corner holes, or the holes closest to the corners, work extra single-crochet stitches in each hole, but keep the number of chain stitches the same until you have rounded the corner. Work as few or as many stitches needed to turn the corner but make sure the fleece remains flat. The number of stitches varies by fabric, yarn and hook size.
Continue Edging
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Join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet you made. You have completed one row of edging.
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Cut the yarn and finish off by weaving it back through a couple stitches, or add more rows of edging in whatever pattern you wish.
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Try changing colors for each round, and try varying your edging pattern from round to round. For example, for round two, place single-crochet stitches in the chain spaces and chain one, skipping the single crochet from the previous round. For round three, you might want to work a pattern of half-double-crochet or double-crochet stitches around. Remember to place extra stitches evenly around each corner so the fabric stays flat.
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Tips & Warnings
Once you learn the basics, choose a fancier edging pattern, and crochet it --- without the blanket at first -- for several inches to determine the gauge. You'll need to know how many inches make up a complete repetition of the edging pattern and how many stitches comprise each repetition. For example, some edgings require an even number of stitches, divisible by 6, and each repetition of the pattern is approximately 2 inches long. Use these calculations and the size of the blanket to determine how many holes to punch so your design will come out with the correct number of stitches.
Always protect the surface below your fleece when you start punching the holes. Do not punch the fabric with your hand held behind it. Always push the punch into a piece of cardboard or foam matting to protect your hands.
References
Resources
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