DIY Christmas Tartan Afghan Throw
A Soft and Snuggly DIY Double Sided Fleece Blanket Throw
During the winter months I have blanket throws all over the house; in the family room, the living room, the craft room, and every bedroom. This double sided fleece blanket with crochet edge is for our girl’s guest room but I am sure it will find its way to the living room when they are here.
This throw to be extra warm, soft and cozy with double layers. The polar plaid fleece coordinates with my other tartan Christmas linens and pillow. A large piece of polar fleece is a tiny bit expensive, so I cut the cost by using a cheaper plain red polar fleece for the lining. You could even use a heavy flannel sheet if you like.
How to Make a Double Sided Fleece Blanket
Plaid Throw Blanket Supplies
1.5 yards (x2) of coordinating polar fleece
Coordinating thread
2 skeins of Size 5 bulky yarn.
Clear dental floss.
Decide what size you would like your plaid throw blanket to be. This one is 50″ by 60″.
Once you know the size you want for your fleece blanket, cut the fleece material 1″ larger on both sides to allow for seam allowances. (51″ by 61″)
Lay the plaid fleece good side UP on your working surface.
Cover it with the coordinating fleece good side DOWN.
Polar fleece is a stretchy material, its best to take extra time making sure the fleece is totally flat, and not stretched. Pin the two layers of fabric throughout to reduce the possibility of stretching. Being careful at this stage you avoid the puckering of seams and lumps you sometimes see in polar fleece throws. The next picture outlined the placement some of the pins with black circles so you can see how thoroughly you need to pin it.
Sew the fleece blanket together, do the long seams first and check them to make sure the blanket throw is perfectly sewn without stretches, then continue with the short seams. Leave a 12″ gap in the last seam.
Turn the plaid throw blanket right side out by pulling it through the 12 inch gap you left in the last seem. Make sure to push out all the corners. Once turned right side out, pin the gap together and sew to close.
You can leave the blanket plain if you like it as is. This particular plaid throw blanket is a handmade gift for my daughter in law so I went ahead and added a decorative crocheted edge and pom poms.
Adding Crochet and Pom Pom to your Plaid Throw
Using wool, blanket stitch along the two short sides of the fleece throw.
Do 1 dc in each blanket stitch all the way across, ch 1 turn.
Do 1 sc in each dc across, tie off.
I am hoping Santa will provide me a lighting system, but until he does this girl makes do with what she has (Herman’s mechanical flood lights) The Pom Pom how to video is a bit dark, but it shows I made my pom poms.
Spread your fingers to make the pom pom as large and fluffy as possible.
Hold the end of the wool between your thumb and palm. Wrap the wool around your hand about 200 times.
Carefully pull the loop of wool off your hand. Clasp it in the middle and hold in place. With your other hand grab a piece of wool about 18 inches long and tie it tightly around the middle of the wool loop securing it in place.
Update: Since first writing this post I learned a fantastic hack. Instead of tying pom poms with wool, use a thick dental floss/tape. You can tie the pom poms much tighter and threads hold in better.
Cut the loops and fluff your pom pom.
Give it a little haircut to tidy up any obviously over long pom pom threads.
I used up the extra fleece and made some matching pillowcases and a toy cradle bed cover to match. The old teddy bear was given to their Dad his first Christmas. The bed is his special place every Christmas.
The rest of tidbits of leftovers I used to make these Tartan Hand Warmers.
This year my theme is tartan plaid, I have a few other projects to share with you. I hope you love them.
Plaid DIY Christmas Cushions Everywhere
aStay Warm and Snuggly
This wonderful post is a HOME feature as part of “You’re the STAR” blog hop! : http://eclecticredbarn.blogspot.com/2017/01/youre-star-week.html
Thank you & please link up your most recent posts to the January Linky Party.
Angie
This is so pretty!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Beautiful Afghan! Very festive, and looks so soft and warm. Believe it or not but I use afghans here in Texas as well. May not get to use them as often, but needed one last couple days. Was in the low 20’s with the chilling winds, then today suppose to be in the 70’s. Crazy.
Love the added touch of the pom pom . Bet the girls will love cuddling up in it.
I love that tartan plaid, it’s beautiful, and those pompoms set it off beautifully. I lived up near Canada and Vermont for one winter so I know how important it is to have afghans and throws handy
Thanks for the tips about pinning it all over, that will save some frustrations for sure.
Very Merry Throw, its purely holiday stuff. Lovely bedroom.
Maria
It surely is a Christmas thing Marie. Last year I did the house up in winterscapes, I will need to remove alot more stuff after the holidays then I did last year.
This year for whatever reason I chose red.
I really like your penguin throw, it was my feature on the I am Pinnable link party with Amber. So nice.
Thank you for commenting. Leanna
I really love the look up your tartan fleece. I bet it is an extremely warm blanket. The pom poms make it extra special. I bet the girls will bring it out into the living room, nothing like snuggling in a throw that grandma made for you. Is there?
We will snuggle under that blanket and read together. It makes my heart sing. They have another one I purchased them last year with a big santa and reindeer on it. This year they each get one.
Thanks for commenting Nikki. Love your blog Leanna
Leanna, who wouldn’t want a beautiful and warm throw like that???!!! Even here in temperate Alabama!
Thank you Florence. I bet when it rains you need warmth as well.
I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Leanna
Your afghan throw sure looks super fluffy and cuddly Leanna. I bet the girls love snuggling up with it. Adding all those pins is a great idea. Every time I’ve made a throw I end up with scrunchy bits and mismatched corners, probably because I’m too lazy to do it properly, but looking at how beautifully yours turned out I need to make a plan.
Hi Michelle: I have that problem with stretchy material. I loathe doing something twice or threes time lol.
The pinning and more pinning helped tremendously. Let me know how your next big sewing project turns out.
Thank you for commenting.
This is amazing! Definitely want to try to make one for next year! I love the little pom poms on the end!
Sarah Bell
Trendy & Tidy
Hi Sarah: I think the afghan looks way more fun than functional with the Pom Poms. The poms make it livelier somehow.
Thank you for the thumbs up. I appreciate the comment. Leanna
What a beautiful throw – love the extra fluffy pompoms. Your granddaughters must love their warm and cozy room at Grandma’s. So pretty!
Oh Marie, I don’t know who is more excited they come to sleep over them or Grama. Last year my son took a video of them dancing with me, hilarious I was just doing my thing lovin it lmao.
Thank you for commenting. Your opinion means alot. Leanna
Hello Leanna, Your tartan throw is lovely. The bed looks very festive especially the bear in the bed. Big smile here. It was worth all the work of making the throw.
Happy Blue Monday.
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne: That little bear is very special to me. It was a Christmas gift to my eldest son on his first Christmas from Santa. We call him Grampa bear, he has earned his living comforting children for 37 years now.
My grand daughters know his story that he is old and tired and they must play nice with him. It’s a special treat to play with Grampa.
so pretty! I love red plaid. Especially during the holiday season 🙂 Have a wonderful week.
Hello Joy: This is my first Christmas as a blogger. There is so much to do all the time, but it is exciting and truly makes for very fast awesome weeks. You have a wonderful week as well. Thank you for commenting.
Leanna
This is just beautiful! I think these would be a hit on Etsy. I cannot crochet, can’t sit still long enough .lol
just love it.
Crochet is a great way to force yourself to just sit for awhile. I don’t have the non stop energy I use to have. I wish , because my mind is always planning something.
This afghan is really soft and warm, I am sure the girls are going to love it.
Thank you for commenting. Leanna
I love this! I may see if I can do this during the winter. Nice to chat with you on Instagram too. Sheila
Hello Sheila: I am a huge fan of your work. I absolutely love your blog. I am so glad you popped by to comment. Over the Christmas season everytime I went on Pinterest a pin would dry my eye. So many times it was your blog.
We shall keep in touch. Merry Christmas Leanna
This is so pretty. And believe it or not even living in Florida I love my afghan’s. Yours is so festive and cozy looking. I love it.
Hi Debra; I envision you guys drinking ice tea year around on the deck actually. We have not yet travelled to Florida but its definitely on the list.
Do the evenings get cool?
Well, that is true but in the winter I do wear sweaters and boots. It really is funny because the minute the temps hit 70 you will see us all bundled up. So many of us that live in Florida are from up north and although I don’t miss the snow I do enjoy the occasional cold day. 🙂
I can believe that actually. Canada has a couple of very warm regions. I lived in Kamloops where the summer days can easily be over 100F, I wore a toque in September the first year I moved here. I was so cold. I am more accustomed to it now. I bet you get accustomed to it being warmer.
Sigh someday I will retire south!!!
WARM and super cute! Must try this after the holidays!
Hi Melissa: Winter finally decided to show up and remind us who the boss is today. I made several throws for the winter time and I got a basket of them from previous years as well. They are each well used. You can never have too many throws.
I am glad you liked my version. Thanks for the comment. Leanna
I would love this and I love cozying up on the sofa with a big fluffy warm throw and watching tv in cold weather but we live in San Diego Ca. And it is very unusual for me to need more than a light blanket even in winter. I miss the definite seasons of N Calif but at 70 yrs old I don’t think I want snow either. Have fun with these throws ladies.