Things You'll Need
About 4 yards of 60-inch-wide fabric
Laundry detergent
Iron
Ironing board
Painter’s tape
Scissors
Size N crochet hook or large paper clip
It doesn't take much to make no-sew flannel blankets: scissors, fabrics and a quick weaving step. These types of blankets work with flannel or fleece. They keep you warm while reading a book or watching a favorite TV program -- but not for use on king, queen, full or twin beds because of manufactured fabric widths. Before you cut the fabric, wash and dry to preshrink it and set the colors in the fabric -- especially when working with flannel made from 100 percent cotton.
Step 1
Select the size of the blanket before beginning so you know how much fabric you need to get. While you can certainly make no-sew blankets any size you want, larger blankets for a bed require multiple yards of fabric and extra work because the fabric widths are not wide enough for king, queen, full or even twin beds. The no-sew blankets work best as couch or reading blankets, or for children and babies.
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Step 2
Follow the instructions for washing the flannel in the washing machine included by the fabric store when you purchased the yardage. If you didn't receive those instructions, wash the flannel on the warm setting with a cold rinse. Dry on medium heat.
Step 3
Cut the fabric in half lengthwise so you have two pieces of fabric 72 inches long. If you prefer a shorter blanket for a child, make it 54 inches long, using 3 yards of fabric -- 1 1/2 yards for each layer.
Step 4
Lay out the fabric on a large table, on top of a cardboard cutting board marked with a grid, with the wrong sides of the flannel facing together. Line up all the edges and smooth the fabric wrinkles. If necessary, iron the flannel on a cotton medium heat setting to remove wrinkles, which makes the fabric much easier to work with.
Step 5
Trim off the selvage edges, if the fabric has them, along either side of the fabric unless you don't mind the way it looks.
Step 6
Align the length edges of fabric on the cutting board with the grid. Cut a piece of painter's tape to that length and place it on the top layer of fabric, 1 1/2 inches in from the edge. This serves as the stopping point for the cuts you need to make all around the border of the blanket.
Step 7
Cut 1-inch-wide strips or fringe all along the border of the blanket to the edge of the tape. When complete, each fringe is roughly 1 inch wide by 1 1/2 inches long. At each corner, cut out a 2-by-2-inch square.
Step 8
Fold both layers of fringe 1/2 inch up and cut a slit about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long on the fold. This slit allows you to weave each fringe strip to the next if you don't like tying the fringe into knots. Remove the tape after cutting.
Step 9
Open up the paperclip so that it's flat with a hook on each end. Insert the curled tip of the crochet hook or the curved end of a paper clip through the fringe underneath and pull it through the top fringe. If you do not plan to use this method, but instead prefer to tie the knots instead of weaving, simply tie the corresponding upper and lower fringe pieces into a knot against the border of the fabric, wrapping the under fringe around the top, and knotting.
Step 10
Weave the top fringe through the slit on the bottom of the next fringe, repeating the over-under weave all the way around the border of the blanket and alternating between using the top and bottom fringes.
Step 11
Pull the last fringe through the remaining slit and cut the fringe in half lengthwise so that you have two pieces. Tie these in a double knot around the first fringe adjacent to where you started the weave.
Tip
As most fabric is a minimum of 36 inches wide and a maximum of 60 inches wide, for a king-sized bed, you’ll need two pieces tied together in the middle matched to two similar pieces tied together in the middle beneath, and then tied around the borders to create the blanket.
The no-sew method of blanket making works best for couch throws or children’s blankets, to avoid doubling up on the widths of the blankets. Blanket sizes for beds are as follows: standard king, 108 inches wide by 90 inches long; queen, 90 by 90 inches; full, 80 by 90 inches; twin, 66 by 90 inches; baby blankets, roughly 36 by 54 inches.
Right-handed people probably prefer to work from right to left, while the opposite direction works better for those who are left-handed. But it doesn’t matter in which direction you work around the blanket.
You can also buy no-sew blanket kits precut to specific sizes at your local fabric store, if you don't want to cut the fabric out.
Warning
Apply caution when using a rotary cutter, as it will also cut what is below it. It's best to use a cardboard cutting board.
Keep scissors and sharp cutting instruments out of the reach of small children.
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