Quilt Block Fleece Tie Blanket Tutorial

Just like a tie blanket with a fun little spin on it. 

First you should decide how big you want your tie blanket to be, keep in mind that fleece fabric doesn't come in all widths and tie blanket back are usually just one piece.  The width of the fleece that I used was 67".  Next you need to decide on what colors or patterns you would like to use.  I chose three different colors for the blanket that I made. 

If you look closely you can see my math and sketch I made.

After I bought the fabric and brought it home I made a template out of cardboard.  It is just a 12x12 square to help me keep all the squares the same size.  I also drew my little doodle on it and did my math (where I decided on how many of each colored square I needed)  on it.  It's just my little goofy way of doing things. 

Next I laid one color of my fabric out and laid my template on top of it and started cutting out the amount of squares that i needed in that color.  Once I was done with that color I started on the other color.

After all the squares are cut it is time to start making the rows. Take two squares both different (in my case a maroon one and a deer print one) and put them together wrong sides in (this is where the side that you want to see is on the outside).  Take your scissors and start making 3/4" to 1/2" cuts about 1 1/2" long.   I used a pinking shears for something different a normal scissors will work just fine.  You cut like this along one side only.  Once you have the one side cut then you double knot the cuts together.  Continue this process to make each row.  You may have to pull the fleece after all the knots are made because they will be bunched up.

Note:  Leave the very top cuts of the first row and the very bottom cuts of the bottom row untied. Just these two rows.

This is done to help when tying the front to the back.

 Once all your rows are done and tied together it is time to tie the rows together.  Take two rows and lay them together with the backsides together and the edges that you are going to be cutting together.  Again make cuts like you did before and tie together. 

When I tied the rows together I made the cuts and tied each square one at a time.  Keep in mind that you will probably have to pull the fleece like mentioned before to stretch it out so the knots aren't all bunched up.

Also keep the very last cuts untied at each row, this helps when tying the front to the back.


When you have all your squares tied together the resulting product should look like this...

The next thing to do is to lay out the fleece that is going to be used for the backing.  I laid mine out completely flat on the floor and then laid the quilted part on top.  You are going to want to lay this out exactly how it is going to be when it is done (basically the backsides of the fleece will be on the inside).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice how I have extra fleece around my quilted part.  I ended up by a lot of extra fleece for the back.  I just trimmed around the quilted part so it was all even end I was done cutting.

Once you have everything trimmed up it is time to make cuts to tie the front to the back.  Doing one side at a time, make cuts measuring about the same as what was used to tie the squares together all the way down one side.  Then start tying them together.  Note: I like to usually cut a square out of each corner, the square is usually the size of the cuts for the ties.  This helps in tying the corners for me at least.  Once you get one side together go to the next and so on.

My blanket when it was all done.  This is about how it should look when you are done.  It takes a good part of a day to make, but it is a fun twist on a wonderful project.  This could also make a great gift for a friend that lives in colder climates or one that that you would like to wish warm thoughts on for the year.

I hope you enjoy my tutorial and I hope it is easy to follow.  Please leave me suggestions if I could make it any easier to follow.