Crochet Edge Fleece Blankets

[breezy90]

I saw a beautiful fleece blanket with a crocheted edging and found a video on how to do it quick and easy on U Tube. I went right to the store, bought a rotary cutter, skip stitch blade and lots of fleece. Went home and got started. I have tried every kind of surface, pressed hard, done anything I could think of and don't even see a mark on the fleece let alone a hole. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you.

[buggainok]

Breezy, I've worked a little with a rotary cutter, but not with the skip stitch blade. I did look at a video on youtube, and she sure made it look easy. They did mention working on a self-healing cutting mat. Do you have one? I think it might make a difference in how the blade cuts into the fleece. If your surface underneath is too hard, the blade will probably not cut through. Here is the video I watched:

[breezy90]

I don't have a self-healing mat but went from a softer surface (it just pushed the fleece into the holes) up to a piece of wood. On a fixed income so thought I had already spent a lot of money. If I can't get it to work, guess I'll have to invest in the mat and see if it works. Thank you.

[DinahRoberts]

I sure hope you can get it to work! Those mats aren't cheap!

[MsBhaven]

I have a skip stitch blade I do have a self healing rotary mat and have no issues with it cutting. sorry I cant offer an other suggestions

[buggainok]

I don't have a self-healing mat but went from a softer surface (it just pushed the fleece into the holes) up to a piece of wood. On a fixed income so thought I had already spent a lot of money. If I can't get it to work, guess I'll have to invest in the mat and see if it works. Thank you.

Breezy, I understand about not wanting to invest more money - we live on a fixed income, too, and I try to watch my pennies.

Here is a cheaper alternative you might want to try. Get a piece of Fun Foam and put it on a hard surface, like the wood. I would protect underneath the Fun Foam with newspaper, in case the blade cuts through it. You can get Fun Foam very cheaply, I think Joanns has it for about a buck. They sell it at Walmart, too.

It wouldn't be self-healing, and would get holes in it. You might have to rotate it a little, but I think it would be worth a try.

[breezy90]

Thank you. I'll try that before I spend a lot of money.

[Crafty Gardener]

I love that kind of edging on a fleece blanket, it finishes it off beautifully.
I bought my self healing cutting board/mat at Michaels when they had a 50% off coupon.
Hope the alternate method works for you.

[Crafty Gardener]

I found another way to get the holes in your fleece, though I imagine it would take quite a while to do it on a blanket.
This person uses a embroider's awl to make the holes
Miss Abigail's Hope Chest: Tutorial - Easy Zig-Zag Crocheted Edging

[Theresa L]

This sounded so promising until I started adding up all the costs of the tools and materials. I hope you can find a way to make it work since you've already invested so much in the project.