Easy Fleece Blanket With a Serger

In this Instructable, I'm going to show you a very easy way to make a professional looking blanket out of just a couple of yards of material. This only took me about 15 minutes to complete but yielded a very high quality blanket.

It's a great way to make a simple gift for anyone in your life. I've even made ones for pets when I had smaller remnants of material left over!

I made this at TechShop.

For this project, you'll need the following:

• Fleece - I chose to make a throw blanket so I used just 4 yards of fabric (2 yards with design and 2 yards solid)
• Fabric scissors
• Pins
• Serging/overlock cone thread - I'm using 100% polyester

TechShop has a serger machine in their textiles area so I used that.

Lay your two pieces of fabric on top of each other. Be sure that the good side is facing out for both of them.

Use some pins and pin the fabric together around the edges. I just put 3 pins along each side of fabric to hold it in place.

Threading a serger machine isn't a whole lot of fun. Thankfully there's a shortcut!

The person who used it before me cut their thread above the machine and left it threaded through all the mechanisms. When this happens, you can tie your thread to the end of it and carefully pull it through. Repeat that for each of the 4 threads and you just saved yourself at least 10 minutes!

That trick also saves a lot of time if you wish to change colors of threads. Just cut the old thread, tie the new color to it, and pull it through the machine carefully.

Now that you have it threaded, use some scrap material and run it through the machine. Check to make sure the stitch length looks good and make any adjustments if necessary.

If everything looks good with the machine and your test pieces, you're now ready to make your blanket.

Start with one corner of the blanket. Line it up and serge one edge. When you get to a pin, stop the machine and remove it before continuing. Do NOT run a pin through the serger. There is a knife that trims the edge of the fabric just before it stitches them. This results in a clean edge. You don't want a pin to go through your knife.

When you get to the end of that side of the blanket, continue to sew right past it. Cut the excess from your blanket as close to the stitch as possible.

Now, repeat this for the 3 remaining sides.

When you're all done and the blanket has been serged along all 4 sides, all that's left to do is trim your excess thread.

In order to make sure it doesn't come unraveled over time, pull it tight and cut it off with your scissors.

You now have a blanket that either you or a loved one can enjoy! The serged edges give it a very professional finish that is also very durable.

There are so many fleece colors and designs available that you can be sure to customize it to any liking. Fabric stores typically have it available starting at around $4.99/yard.