No-Sew Fleece Scarf and Blanket

Molly (4) and I were just hanging out on my bed one day, pulling tiny feathers out of my down comforter and blowing them up into the air, then watching them float back down into our waiting palms. It was pretty enchanting but a little boring, so an idea sprang to mind - let's make a scarf! I told Molly we were going to do a project, to which she insisted we were already doing a project. So.. we continued with the feathers for a few more minutes before I dug out some left over fleece I had in a craft bin.

I cut the fleece into strips - about eight inches by two yards. I used rolling scissors and a cutting mat for quilting to make quick work but really, just cut some strips. Molly used her own little scissors to cut fringe into each end and voila! A scarf. She also chose to make one for her grandma as a gift and took quite the time wrapping it (with plenty of tape).

Meanwhile, I wanted to make something for Ben (1) who was taking his nap at the time, but knew he was really too little for a scarf. Luckily I had a larger piece of fleece with cars and trucks on it that I knew he would like! I trimmed the edges and ended up with a piece that was about 2 yards by 1.5 yards. Then I folded it over twice and cut fringe along all the edges. Using my cutting mat, I was able to make each cut 1"x 3", though as an afterthought you might want to make them a bit longer, like 1"x5" or 6".

While Molly was busy wrapping her gift, I sat down and tied knots all around Ben's blanket. Just double-knot two strips that are side-by-side all the way around your blanket. It'll get kind of scrunched so just pull and stretch it as you go along. One piece of fleece is thick enough for a small blanket, but if you want to make it even warmer, you can use two piece the same size and tie them together front to back. I might try that one down the road, but I was just using up what I had leftover from a previous project.

Side note: when Ben woke up from his nap, I excitedly showed him his new blanket. He was very pleased to point out a "car" on it, but backed away shouting "Noooo!" when I tried to wrap him up in it. Then he reached for one of Molly's old blankets - one with pink flowers on it that he inexplicably has loved since he was a baby - and promptly wrapped himself in that one instead!