It doesn't get any faster than this fleece blanket. But you still get the credit for making it!
There are times when you need a gift in a big hurry: a forgotten birthday, a baby that came early, a hostess gift for a last-minute dinner invite. So it's worth your while to build up your stash before you need it.
While cottons are always a great buy for quilts, and poly-cottons for crafts, you can plump up your stash by tucking away a few Polar Fleece© panels or lengths.
Fleece, like felt, doesn't ravel or fray when you cut it. It comes in funky designs, all colours of the rainbow, and is incredibly soft and cuddly. Pre-printed panels are available in a variety of choices (just yesterday I saw one of Pope John Paul II) and they are fairly inexpensive.
To make the absolute quickest blanket gift ever, follow these instructions:
1) Purchase fleece pre-printed panel or length (generally 1 to 1.5 yds but if you aren't buying a panel, choose the length you wish).
2) Measure the length in inches and times this by 2; measure the width and times this by 2. Add these totals together and add 12" to get the amount of binding you need to have.
3) Cut and piece binding. Fold over and press.
4) Machine stitch binding to top of fleece blanket; fold over and pin to back. Stitch in-the-ditch on the front of the blanket, 'catching' the binding on the back, to secure it.
***For an even faster finish, purchase satin blanket binding.
That's all there is to it. A quick, fabulous, personalized gift in less time than it takes to fight your way through the mall. And when your recipient looks pleased and admires your handywork, don't be afraid to smile back and say "thank you"... they don't have to know you didn't break a sweat making it!
