The Many Uses of Fleece

Fleece is great and it has so many uses. It can be used to make blankets, hats and scarves, sweatpants, and there are so many fun projects you can make and donate to charity! Fleece is light, soft, easy to wash, and can be made from recycled plastic bottles. We’ve put together a list of a few fun, fast, and easy fleece projects for you.

No Sew Fleece Blankets

One of the best parts about fleece is that you can quickly make blankets without having to sew anything. Fleece is very affordable and is great for making blankets for family members or to donate to charity. Here’s some instructions on how to make a DIY no sew fleece blanket.

The first thing you’ll want to do is cut two lengths of fabric. When cutting your fleece, keep in mind how big you’d like the blanket to be, and what it will be used for. A good beginning size is 1.5 yards square. It’s really important that your pieces are the exact same size. Keep in mind that while bigger blankets are nice, that also means more braiding.

Layer the two blankets on top of each other, and cut a 2 inch square piece out of the corners. Then, cut two inch strips around the whole length of the blanket. This creates a fringe, which you’ll braid in a minute. After that, cut a small slit in the middle of the strip. This slit should be about half the size of the fringe.

Next, take the bottom piece and thread it through the top slit, and then thread the top through the bottom. When you’re finished, tie the ends together and trim off the excess. Now you’ve made your first no sew fleece blanket!

To read more about no sew fleece blankets and to see a step-by-step tutorial, visit our blog.

Other Ways of Staying Warm With DIY Fleece

There are so many things you can make with fleece to stay warm. With winter coming soon, it’s time to get sewing!

Fleecefun.com has a lot of great instructions and patterns for sewing hats, scarves, and more.
Make sure to check them out and find patterns to make hats for the whole family!

Another fun site to check out for more warm fleece projects is tipjunkie.com. They have a lot of fun projects to help keep you warm this winter. Things like Mermaid Tail blankets, no sew scarves, fleece ponchos and more.

Many Ways to Donate Fleece 

There are a lot of great fleece projects that you can make and donate to charity. One of our favorite charities is Project Linus. Their mission is to “provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer ‘blanketeers’ and “provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.”

Another great charity to work with is binkypatrol.org. Their mission statement is to get, “All volunteer, national, non-profit organization making and distributing homemade blankets to children born HIV+, drug-addicted, infected with AIDS or other chronic & terminal illnesses, those who are abused, in foster care or experiencing trauma of any kind.” They encourage their chapters to “build local community by seeking the "invisible kids" near them.Those who have been forgotten, not been seen, not heard are the ones we seek to comfort. Children and teens may experience trauma when a parent or sibling is ill or has passed away. These children need binkies too - not just the ones in the hospital. They need a gift - a reminder - that they, too are loved and thought of by someone who cares.”

Donating fleece projects is something easy that anyone can do, kids included. As you consider ways to serve others this holiday season, think about donating some fleece projects. It’s easy and rewarding.

Conclusion

There are so many great projects and things you can do with fleece. It’s easy to make no sew blankets, or other things to keep you and your family warm. It’s also easy to make things to donate to charity to help others. We encourage you to think fleece for your next DIY or service project and use it to bless someone’s life.