How to Make a DIY Throw Blanket
"“I love the idea of taking a familiar item and personalizing it by picking out custom colors, textures, and fun additions like today’s: pom-poms.”"
Materials
Looking for a way to cheer up your home while you're waiting for spring? Learn how to maximize your small space, how to make a blanket rack, and how to make a picnic blanket out of a drop cloth.
What turns a fuzzy blanket into an accent piece in your home more than a pom-pom trim? Nothing! Though, I could be biased—I’m obsessed with pom-poms.
Cozy blankets seem to be everywhere lately. While you could buy one, it’s so much more fun to make a DIY throw blanket. I love the idea of taking a familiar item and personalizing it by picking out custom colors, textures, and fun additions like pom-poms.
Plus, what’s not to love about a project that you can bundle up in when you’re done? It’s perfect for these cold, rainy Seattle days that seem to be hanging around even though spring is just around the corner. And once summer finally arrives, this blanket looks just as good on a blanket ladder as it does on your lap, doubling as the perfect little piece of decor for small-space dwellers like me. Let’s learn how to make a throw blanket!
Step 1: Cut Fabric for Throw Blanket
To start, find a fuzzy fabric in two colors you like. We went with 60”-wide fabric, which is common and easy to find. I’m a big fan of simple decor, so my homemade blanket is a classic gray and white, but you can choose whatever fits your home and style.
Cut both fabrics to size. We cut ours to 50” to create a 60” x 50” blanket. As always, you can customize yours. I love to use a straightedge and a rotary cutter to easily create really clean lines, but you can get the same effect by drawing a line with a straightedge on the back side of the fabric and carefully cutting it out with scissors.
A note: This part is really messy because the fuzz seems to end up everywhere. Keep a vacuum on hand to suck up the fuzz along the way and to avoid creating a big mess (like the fuzz traveling around the rest of your home).
Step 2: Add Pom-Poms to Throw Blanket
We’re going to be adding pom-pom trim to both short ends of the blanket.
Again, I went with white for a neutral look, but you can choose whichever color(s) you like.
Cut your pom-pom trim to length, then pin it to the edge of the fabric (it doesn’t matter which piece of fabric you sew it to) with the tape side of the trim lining up with the fabric edge and the pom-poms facing in. This may sound counterintuitive, but think about how that raw edge ends up on the inside of the blanket when it’s turned inside out—that’s where your pom poms will end up if they’re facing out instead of in. Next, sew down the pom-pom trim. Take it slowly; this part can be tricky.
Step 3: Sew Sides Together
Pin the top and bottom pieces of the blanket together on all four sides with the soft sides (what you ultimately want to be snuggled up against) facing each other. Make sure that all of the pom-poms are tucked away inside the seams so they don’t get accidentally sewn into this step. I actually found this part easier than sewing the pom-pom trim to just one of the sides. Sew with about 3/8” seam allowance, starting with one of the pom-pom sides. You’ll want to make sure that you’re encasing all of the tape attached to the pom poms so that you don’t see it on the finished blanket.
Sew around the sides, and stop about 18" away from the end of the last side. Turn the blanket right-side out and double check that all the pom-poms are in place and that the tape isn’t showing. Once everything is looking good, turn the blanket wrong-side out again and clip the corners diagonally so that corners are neat. Turn the blanket right-side out once more and use a pencil to push out the corners and to get those corners nice and sharp!
Step 4: Sew Up the Throw Blanket Opening
Fold the raw edges of the opening into the corners of the blanket. Pin the raw edges in place and sew closed with a narrow hem.
Step 5: Quilt Throw Blanket
Now we’re going to “quilt” the blanket, meaning we’re going to stitch patterns into the blanket that hold the top and bottom together. We sewed a border 2 1/2” in from the edge, using a piece of masking tape on the sewing machine as a guide.
For adding more designs in the middle, you can use a straightedge with chalk or a fabric pen to mark the lines before you sew them.
And that’s it! Easy, right? One of my favorite parts of this project is how much time and energy is saved by using pom-pom trim vs. making pom-poms by hand (or even purchasing a bag of them) and attaching them individually. Sure, that’s fun sometimes, but it’s also a ton of work. Plus, the pom-pom trim also ensures they’ll be evenly spaced, and I love nothing more than a neat, tidy, and cozy project.
Got the spring cleaning bug? We've got tutorials to help you organize (or add small touches) and have fun doing it! Check out How to Maximize Your Living Space: Office and Bathroom and our DIY tutorials for a shoe storage bench and a bulletin board that's half chalkboard and half corkboard.
