Summer Boost
Activity:
Fleece Tie Blanket
Give your kid a lesson in making blankets, and he'll be able to give the gift of warmth to friends and family. Fleece blankets are especially fun to make—and cozy to cuddle with! Not to mention, he'll get the chance to feel the wonderful joy of giving. Requiring minimal supervision, this activity guides him in cuttting and making a decorative fringe around the border. And, he can customize the blanket to be the recipient's perfect size!
Note: Fleece generally comes as large as 60 inches wide, so it's easy to make the blanket as large or small as he wishes. Keep in mind that when he finishes, the blanket will be about 10 inches smaller than the beginning fabric size.
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What You Need:
- Two pieces of fleece fabric (a solid and a print work well)
- Scissors
What You Do:
- Head to the fabric store to choose a print. Fleece fabrics tend come in a wide variety of patterns, colors, and themes. Encourage your child to choose any type of print she wants, and remember: only one side of the fabric will be seen.
- Have him cut two pieces of fleece fabric that are the same size, and about 10 inches wider and longer than he wants the finished product to be.
- Ask him to line up the two pieces of fabric. The sides touching each other will not be seen, so choose whichever side he would like shown to face out.
- Perform any additional trimming to make sure that the two layers are the exact same size.
- Cut 5-inch squares from each of the four corners.
- Cut fringe into all four sides of the blanket. Cut through both layers of fabric at the same time, to ensure that they are the same size. Fringe pieces can be whatever size he would like!
- Now, leave the blanket flat on a table or other surface, and line up all the fringe pieces.
- Finally, show him how to tie the fringe off with balloon-knots all the way around the blanket, and his creation is complete!
