Want to know what is quite possibly the best craft for a +6-year old to do on a winter day? Make a fleece tie blanket. It is the easiest and most rewarding craft they can do.
Materials needed:
- two pieces of fleece
- scissors
THAT’S IT!
You love me now don’t ya?
So here’s how you make a fleece tie blanket in 5 easy steps.
- Overlay the 2 pieces of fleece cut to the same size. Shape doesn’t matter, square or rectangle, big or small – whatever floats your boat. You are making a lap blanket so it doesn’t have to be huge.
- Take the scissors and cut 4″x4″ squares from the 4 corners (cutting through both layers). Discard the squares.
- Starting at one corner, make a cut into both layers about the length of scissor shears (or longer – it’s totally up to you, I’m guessing it’s about 4″ long).
- Move over about 1.5 inch (just eyeball it- DO NOT measure or stress about this) and make another cut. Repeat until you have cut strips all the way around the blanket.
- Starting at one corner take a strip from the top layer and the corresponding strip from the bottom layer and double knot them together. Repeat until all ties are double knotted.
THAT’S IT!
HOW EASY IS THAT?
My 6-year old daughter made one of these over the weekend as a birthday present for her cousin. She was incredibly proud of her accomplishment and the fact that she made this beautiful soft blanket almost entirely by herself. I did a lot of the cutting but she did ALL of the tying.
Tips:
- Use coordinating fleece for the two layers. There are lots of very cute patterns out there that can be mixed and matched for super cute combos. Think team sports or ladybugs or favorite TV show characters.
- Use a a coupon from Jo-Anns or your local fabric store. There are always LOTS of coupons sometimes for 50% off an item and this can make this an extremely affordable project.
- You can prep this project and then take it on the road with you (say to Grandma’s house) just tie a few of the strips at each corner to help keep the blankets lined up.
- I don’t recommend making the strips shorter than the length of the scissor shears (about 4″ inches) – otherwise it can be tough for little fingers to double knot the fleece, especially if you are using thick fleece.
- This craft is best for kids that starting to tie their own shoes – it might get frustrating for those that don’t know how to tie just yet but it will be great practice!
Tomorrow our Daisy troop is going to be making some blankets like this with the help of our older Brownie troop for the local Children’s Hospital. Apparently these blankets are in high demand at hospitals, retirement homes and even for animal shelters. A great community service project for your kids to do this winter!
Special thanks to Lucy for teaching me and our Daisy troop how to do this fantastic and simple project. Lucy, you’re awesome!