Our Blankets

For warmth and durability, Warmth From the Heart hand-crafts knotted fleece blankets. A wide variety of fleece patterns exist for adults and children of all ages. As shown in our photo gallery, we love to match a bright pattern with a solid color! Warmth From the Heart members try to select patterns and colors that are suitable for the variety of ages and genders that receive our blankets.

How to Construct a Blanket

We pride ourselves on satisfying those women we serve with custom-made blankets. Our blankets are created specifically for their owner, as we allow each club member to choose their own fleece colors. We take pride in our workmanship and create the blanket with an eye towards quality and meticulous attention to detail.

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Supplies

You will need 2 large pieces of fleece fabric: 60-inch width is standard for most fleece. For length options, *see below. Choose one patterned and one solid color sheet of fleece.
Sharp scissors or rotary cutter
Ruler or tape measure (We use Fiskars 3×18 Clear Acrylic Quilting Ruler.)
Optional: Cutting Mat if you are using the rotary cutter (we use a 24×36 Self Healing mat, but you just need one large enough to do a 5-inch strip, so a regular-sized 12×12 mat works as well. They usually have small mats and rotary cutters available at Dollar Tree in the crafting aisle and online available in bulk.)

*Fleece Needed per Blanket Size

Toddler/Crib Size: 1 1/2 yards of each piece of fleece.
Child size: 1 3/4 yards of each piece
Teen/Adult size: 2 yards of each piece

Instructions

Step One Step Two Step Three Step Four Step Five Step Six

Step 1

Choose a print and a contrasting or matching solid. I like to use strong, bold contrasts. You will need a solid and a print that are the same size. My sample uses a nice dark hunter green for the back.

step one

Step 2

Line up the two fabrics, right sides OUT. Anti-pill solids are FUZZY on the right side. Anti-pill prints will be more distinct on the front side. Regular prints are hard to tell — use the side that appeals to you. Carefully trim away any of the selvage edges. This is also to make sure the edges of both fabrics match up.

Important!

Please cut and trim the edge of the selvage from the blanket before cutting into strips to give the blanket a neat and clean appearance.

Step 3

Cut a 5-inch square from each of the four corners.

step 3

Step 4

Cut fringe on all four sides of the blanket. Cut through both layers of fabric at the same time. Fringe pieces should be a little wider than the width of your finger or about 1 inch wide. Cut in from the edge 5 inches. I like to lay a yard-stick across the fabric, 5 inches from the edge so that I know how far in to make my cut. You can also lay a long piece of masking or blue painter’s tape across so you don’t cut too deep.

step 4

Tips:

It is easiest to cut BOTH pieces of fabric at the same time.

The strips of fringe do not have to be exactly 1 inch but just try to make them basically the same width. You can even take a piece of masking or blue painting tape at this point and tape it down across the blanket as your guide, so you don’t cut up too far.

Step 5

Leave your blanket laying flat on the surface, with all fringes lined up. I find it easier to start tying from the left and work right, going around the blanket. If you are left-handed, you may find it easier to start on the right and work left. These knots are called balloon knots… tie them just like you would if tying off a balloon! You can also tie a knot like you would make with a shoelace. That kind of knot will be easier if your hands are arthritic.

Step 6

Tie all the fringes together on all four sides of the blanket. You are Finished! Wasn’t that easy? All the knots should be snug up to the blanket, but not too tight. The finished blanket should lay flat.

step 6

Finishing

When we deliver our hand mand blankets, we love to roll and tie them up with a pretty ribbon. We add a “Warmth from the Heart” Logo Tag so the blanket’s new owner will know they are not alone and have a whole, nation-wide team with them!

Logo Tags

Warmth From the Heart attaches a logo to each of its blankets showing its owner that it was handcrafted specifically for them with love. Logos are available to any Warmth From the Heart Chapter at cost. Our logo personalizes each blanket and demonstrates the creator’s pride in their work.