Simple Fleece Donatable Animal Blanket

This project is designed to be an easily constructible blanket that is comprised only of materials that can be sourced economically allowing for more blankets to be made with the same amount of money. Making these blankets is relatively easy once you get the process down. The hardest part of the process is sourcing the material for cheap. These blankets can be for your own small animals or use your skills to make something to donate to the animal shelter for animals in need of some companionship.

Disclaimer:

I am fairly new to sewing and do not have the best skills. This instructable is about the process I took to make these. I know my methods could be improved. This is mostly to follow along with me making some fun blankets to go animals in need of a warm blanket at the animal shelter.

The tools I used for this project are fairly basic and can be substituted with a little creativity if needed.

• Fleece Fabric - about 1yd. for 2 blankets
• Fabric Scissors
• Color Matching Tread - not completely necessary
• Sewing Machine

OR

• Plastic Yard Needle
• Serger

Sourcing this material at a discount may be difficult but is essential to making these blankets economically. The material for this project was purchased at Joann Fabrics, you may also find material at; Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or an online retailer. The material I used is fleece because it can create a good blanket while only being a single layer and is commonly available. The key when sourcing material is to get it while on clearance or on sale. The listed prices for these fabrics can often be high making purchasing while not on sale economically enviable. To get notice for sales and member coupons, sign up for store rewards programs. When shopping look for sales that can be added together with coupons or materials that are on clearance. When you are finished selecting fabric and about to get your cut double-check with the clerk to make sure that fabric is on sale and will work with your coupons, avoiding any surprises when you check out.

For these blankets, I cut the material into roughly 1yrd. squares because those sizes work well with how the material is commonly sold. Make sure when you're setting up to cut to fold your material in half because some fabrics are not perfectly 36"x36", i.e. the material I bought for this bee blanket was 58"x67" so I ended up cutting it into four 29"x33.5" blankets. After folding the material putting clips or pins around the outer edges you are not cutting helps with handling the material without it shifting. The easiest way I found to cut the material was to fold the material put one hand on the material and use the other to cut in the middle of the two pieces.

There are multiple ways to finish the edges, I used a serger in this project but a sewing machine can be used instead. With a sewing machine you would fold over one of the edges so it overlaps by about 1", then pin it to keep the fold in place. Use a stitch on your sewing machine that is wide and can allow the stitch to be on the fold and on the inside of the material for the best results. If your machine is unable to create that kind of stitch you can just put a stitch on the fold to keep it in place but the finished product might not be as nice looking. When making the blankets I used a serger to finish the edges nicely and make the blankets more durable. I first set the serger up with a color-matching thread then line the material up so the machine would cut off about 1/8" of material, don't forget to put the foot back down after lining up your fabric!! I sergered the edge then let the machine run a little extra and left a tail of thread which I cut in the middle, repeating for all sides. To finish I used a plastic yarn needle to tuck the tail into and feed it into the stitch until the entire tail was fed back into the stitch.