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| Fleece "Tie" Blanket with pink pattern rectangle, measuring stick, fabric scissors, and pink fabric weights. |
I wanted to make a useful Christmas present for one of my friends, and decided that a blanket with her name embroidered on it (that's a completely different technique. I could do an entire project on that...ok now I'm getting some really good ideas. ANYWAY). A "Tie" blanket is simply two pieces of fleece, in this case a blue and a purple one, which is cut along the edges and tied together. It's rather simple honestly! The tricky thing is to make sure you have the right fabric.
Some fabric will fray or tear when you cut it and leave it with unfinished edges. In my book, "Dressmaking: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Clothes", Alison Smith defines fleece as a synthetic fabric, which is "a fabric that is not 100% natural...some are made from natural elements mixed with chemicals, while others are made entirely from non-natural substances" (Smith 48). That may sound like just a lot of big words, so basically Smith is just trying to explain that fleece cannot simply be made by using natural elements, like cotton which makes up a majority of our clothing.
So I carefully chose out my fabrics and got to work. In order to make sure I was accurately measuring and cutting the fabric, I used a long "L-Shaped" measuring stick to ensure that the lines were parallel. I also used a water/air-soluble pen to trace where I should cut, along with the pink pattern (Smith 19). After I cut the fabric, I sat down for a few hours and tied all of the 200+ plus ties. This blanket is fairly simple, and I believe anyone could really make it with the right materials.
So I carefully chose out my fabrics and got to work. In order to make sure I was accurately measuring and cutting the fabric, I used a long "L-Shaped" measuring stick to ensure that the lines were parallel. I also used a water/air-soluble pen to trace where I should cut, along with the pink pattern (Smith 19). After I cut the fabric, I sat down for a few hours and tied all of the 200+ plus ties. This blanket is fairly simple, and I believe anyone could really make it with the right materials.
Why are a majority of fabrics commonly used today made out of cotton?
It is absolutely beautiful and such a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteHaha thank you recipient of the blanket! ;) I wanted to make something that you could use for a long time (hopefully). Thank you Dana!
DeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteWhat other things do you sew?? I think it is sooo cool that you could sew! And isn't cotton an easy fabric to sew and retains color?? i remember hearing about it.
Thank you so much Alexandria! I sew LOTS of things. I kinda just sew everything. And yeah! A majority of what I sew with is a cotton blend, and it retains color. But you have to wash the fabric before you sew it because the fabric shrinks sometimes. Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteVery cool, sewing has always been a great hobby as it allows you to be creative and express it physically. I have never had too much of an interest in sewing but I still enjoy seeing the creativeness that can come out of this hobby. I hope you continue to enjoy sewing.
ReplyDeleteI really do enjoy sewing, thank you Boris Ng! It's a useful skill I could teach you if you want..haha. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRachel! Wow I never knew what fleece was made out of, quite intriguing! I love, love, love your idea here because this past Christmas I decided to make a fleece blanket too! Mine was definitely just basic though. Meaning no embroidering :( I really want to learn how to do that part, so cool! It adds flare to your project (aka masterpiece). I must agree these blankets are piece of cake to make and honestly SO useful! I hope multiple people read your blog because I'm always looking to try something artsy-fartsy and your ideas rock! To answer your question, I have no idea. My best guess is that it's cheap to manufacture!
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily Sugimoto! These blankets are SO easy! Thanks for agreeing with me. And embroidering isn't that hard, I have a machine that does that for me. Thank you!
DeleteRachel! this tie blanket idea is golden! it looks super cute and i love the idea! its interesting to hear about how some of the fabrics will fray and tear! ill be sure to watch out for that if i make one:) its super cool that you sew. also i think that fabrics are made out of cotton because there's a lot of it and its probably cheap and easy to use.
ReplyDeleteThank you Maura Powers! I believe sewing to be an important skill to learn. Who knows? Maybe you'll be going in for an interview someday, and you notice a tear on your suit. Or maybe a rip in your wedding dress! Who knows? So it's best to be prepared. Thank you! I worked hard to research the variety of fabrics and how they can tear. I'm glad this was beneficial to you.
DeleteThis is so cool! I absolutely love your blog and all the things that you have made so far. I made a blanket a few years ago using fabric and scissors and I just knotted the ends together. I've always wanted to try something more complicated so I'll definitely give this a shot one day! It's really cool to see you enjoying this hobby so much. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Angel Cheung!! It means a lot coming from someone as talented as you. It's interesting that you made one! How did yours turn out? And I'd love to help you learn to sew/make another blanket if you want. Thank you! Make sure to keep on writing too ;)
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