How to Make a Dog Blanket Without Sewing

Nothing feels more amazing then cuddling up on the couch with a soft blanket. We snuggle ourselves in, get comfortable, and embrace that familiar sense of safety and security. We aren’t the only ones who like to get our snuggle on. Our dogs do too! Dogs like to feel at home just like we do, and having a comfy blanket to sleep with and drag around the house is one way to spoil our dogs without breaking the bank or giving up your own favorite blanket. Not only that, but it’ll protect your own blankets from getting that “dog smell” that we all know and dread (or love, depending on what kind of trouble your dog likes to get into).

In this article, I’m going to give you the easy step-by-step instructions on how to make a blanket in minutes and without any kind of sewing! You can also use these same instructions to make blankets for friends and family. You can thank me later when Christmas rolls around!

Contents

DIY No Sew Dog Blanket

Supplies

  • 2 lengths of fleece fabric (1 ½ yard each or 2 yards each if you’ll use the blanket too)
  • Scissors

I purchased my fleece from Hobby Lobby (and got it on sale – yay me!) but you can also purchase fleece fabric at Walmart or your local fabric store. I chose to use a softer fleece, commonly referred to as Luxe fleece, because I love the texture. Warning – it sheds a lot, so you may want to wash the fabric first or have your vacuum ready. There are tons of options for fleece and fabrics! I started to use a paw print fabric, but then felt this one and had to buy it. According to the fabric and craft giant, JOANN, there are two main fleece types that you’ll come across. Blizzard and Anti-Pill fleece fabrics are both great for inexperienced crafters and are generally made from polyester. Both Blizzard and Anti-Pill fleece are soft, but Blizzard fleece normally appears softer and smoother than Anti-Pill fleece. Luxe fleece, which I purchased for my project, has a microfinish to give it an even softer more expensive feel. It is also thicker and is a great choice for blankets.

There are many over types of fleece, but they are better suited for sewing projects, rather then the no-sew projects like our blanket we are going to be making. Other examples of fleece fabrics include: micro, extra wide, ultra fluffy, sweater fleece, and stretch fleece. Again, these fabrics do not do well with no-sew projects and are recommended for sewing projects only. If you decide that you want to take on a sewing project, JOANN recommends using a ball point needle. You may also want to purchase a new pair of scissors and be prepared to sharpen your scissors if you are planning to cut a lot of fleece. Fleece tends to dull the blades of scissors, but for this project you won’t be doing a great deal of cutting, so no worries!

Notes

I normally get one length of patterned fleece and then another that is a solid color. I use the solid color as the underside of the blanket. You can also use two different types of patterned fleece. The pattern and fleece texture is completely up to you! Get creative with it! This project normally takes 1-2 hours.

Instructions

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Kiki decided he wanted to help me. I’m also a cat mom! As you can see from the picture, I have the “pretty” sides facing outwards. The softer side of the black fabric is facing the floor. If you use a regular patterned fleece, you likely won’t need to worry about which side your fabric is facing. Either way, let the nicer sides be out the outside.

First you’ll want to lay your fabrics flat on top of one another. Since I purchased fabric that was soft on one side, I laid my fabric so that the insides of both pieces were together, with the soft sides facing outwards. I recommend doing this on the floor so that you have plenty of room. I had my fabrics cut and measured at 1 ½ yards each. If you want to have a blanket that you can also use, I recommend getting 2 yards of fabric for each piece. Also, your blanket will end up much smaller than what you started with, due to the knots you’re going to be tying. I recommend going ahead and adding an extra ½ yard of fabric, just in case.

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Try to keep the strips of fabric together as you cut. It’ll help make your strips more consistent. Don’t worry if your strips aren’t perfectly cut or symmetrical. Once you tie them, you won’t notice any imperfections.

Next, take your scissors and, starting at one corner, start cutting your fabric. You’re going to cut around 4 inches into the fabric and then move your sciences down an inch and cut again. This will create small strips off the sides of your blanket. You’re essentially cutting and making your blanket have fringe! Do this down all sides of the blanket.

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I think it’s easier to keep up with your knots if you tie them the same way as you go along.

Now that your fabric has fringe on all four sides, start tying your bottom layer strips to your top layer. I definitely recommend tying double knots or your knots will eventually come undone. Thankfully, if that happens, all you have to do is tie it back together.

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After you’ve tied all your knots, you’re done! It’s as easy as that!

Care Tips

Thankfully, fleece blankets do not require any special care. You can wash your fleece blanket with normal detergent and also dry them in your dryer. I recommend using the delicate cycle if your washing machine has that function, and then setting your dryer to a lower heat setting. If you want to avoid static, you should hang dry your blanket. I’m personally a huge fan of throwing my fleece blankets in the dryer for a good warm fluffing before snuggling up on the couch.

Parting Tips and Tricks

I hope everyone in your family likes blankets, because I see a lot of blanket gifts in their future. You can also use this same approach to make pillows for your dogs. Just measure your fabrics to the size of your dog and purchase batting to fill the pillow. You’ll do the exact same steps, but before you finish tying your last few knots, you’ll insert the batting to your desired “fluff” as I’d like to call it. Then you’ll tie your final knots and BOOM – your dog is all set for a power nap. If you want to jump ahead to your next no-sew project, you can view the below Youtube video to learn in detail how to make a dog bed/pillow.

Making fleece blankets is fun, simple, and addicting. You can make these blankets for your friends, family members, and even as baby gifts! There are cute minky fleece fabrics, commonly used for baby blankets, that you can purchase and the steps are all the same.

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The above minky examples can be purchased at AliExpress but you’ll find similar patterns and styles at any local fabric store. I’m pretty sure once I have a child, I’ll have minky everything!

When I was perusing the aisles at Hobby Lobby, I saw several dog related patterns that caught my eye. Other people obviously really like dogs too! The examples of my Hobby Lobby search are below:

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All of these fabrics can be purchased online here. Dog patterns are common, so you are sure to find something you’ll like.

These no-sew projects are a fun craft project for kids. I first learned how to make a no-sew blanket when I was in middle school when my sister took me and her much younger children to our local fabric store. I think the most fun for us as kids was picking out the fabrics, but finishing the project and getting to carry around a blanket that we made ourselves was pretty great too. Just try not to steal your dog’s blanket – make one for yourself instead!

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