HELP! need sources for inexpensive fleece for no sew blankets
 

Hi ladies - among other things I am a cheer mom and I am responsible for the communications and fundraising efforts of the squad. We are contemplating making no sew double sided fleece blankets to sell at next year's football games. I do not think we will get more than $20 per blanket so I calculated it this way - based on 54-58" long by 45" wide for a lap blanket, I figure we need about 2.5 yds per blanket(1.25 yd per side).

Therefore in order to get any decent money for these, I figure we need to have our cost come in at $10/blanket (not including shipping and labor which would be contributed by the squad) - basically around $4.00/yd.

I can go with solids - purple, black and white are school colors, or a football theme since they will be sold at the games.

Joann's had the football themed fabric on sale at $4.00/yd but it looks like they stopped that. Does anyone know of a good source to get decent fleece at a good price? I can buy 50 yds at a time.... Thanks!!!

contact me privately

I supply residents of an assisted living facility with single layer fleece blankets prepped for the "braided loop edge" finish for Project Linus, and I buy fleece all year long in order to keep up with them and other groups. Joann's does put their fleece on sale at $4/yard on and off through the year. They also run half price on their red tag fabrics now and then, and usually fleece is about $7/yard before the half price. Fleece is considered to be a remnant if it is less than 1.5 yards in length and is always priced at half price of the current sales price, so if on sale, that can be a good deal.

If buying at Joann's, I would advise getting a VIP card (free) from them. It gives you a 15% discount on regular and sale price items, but not remnants, and cannot be used with a % off coupon.

Hancock's here has their remnants (which appear to be up to 2 yards) at $3/yard all of the time. There is quite a variety on that shelf, and it includes the premium and licensed fleece, as well as the cheaper varieties.

Best wishes for a successful project! I have a friend who made many single layer fleece blankets with a serged edge for a sports fundraiser such as yours. She used her embroidery machine to make wonderful motifs on one corner, including the team name. Being a single layer blanket, there actually was a decent margin.

Dayle

Walgreens has fleece blankets on sale for 2 for $7. they aren't quite as big as you're talking, but work well for my scouts. They cut off the blanket stitched edge and then tie 2 together.

I pick up the fleece from the remanants at joannes. When on sale they are half off the sale price. Even if they are smaller, I cut them into 12" or 18" squares or strips, sew them together to size I want and then do the same as you would a solid pc. It is more work, but my grandkids can do the sewing since fleece is very forgiving if the seems aren't perfect. Mixing and matching colors, patterns, etc. Even if you can't stay with the school colors, when someone is cold at a football game, they may not even care about the color. And I get these remnants for the equivalent of $2 - $3 per yard. Last month one of our locals had them 75% off and they were on sale. I pd very little for a big bag of remnants. Good luck with your project. I hope you do well with it.

Holice was nice enough to dig into my problem and after some investigation came up with the $1.99 store. We have one in Glastonbury about 30 minutes from my house that I will try after the snowstorm (!) Many many thanks Holice!!! If anyone does hear of a sale going on please let me know because I have the authorization to buy the material as soon as I find it.

Since you live in CT, you might drive down sometime to New York City's garment district. If it is anything like my garment district in Los Angeles, you will find many sources of inexpensive fleece. Many of my own blankets are made or cut from these selfsame fabric.

WOW I never thought of that! Silly me - I keep forgetting that NYC is a train ride away and a very rich source of materials!!!

I have gotten a lot of fleese at thrift stores. Last time I went I got a huge bag full of it and most of it was 6 yard pieces. I only paid $8.00 for it. I really don't like to sew fleece but I am sewing pet beds for animal shelters for cats. Every year I do this plus give them fifty pounds of cat food.