Flannel Blankets with Crocheted Edges
 

I am interested in making some flannel blankets with crocheted edges. (Not fleece)
I checked the archives and didn't see exactly what I was looking for.
For those of you that have made these, did you use two layers of fabric?
Wasn't sure if one layer of flannel would hold up to the skip cutter used to make the holes.
Nothing against using fleece, I just have a it of flannel I want to use up.

I would think that would be the best way to do it, Tartan. Most flannel frays a lot so making a hole might not be the best idea unless you used fray check all around the hole. My grandmother used to crochet edgings on pillowcases and linen runners. She just poked the crochet hooks thru the fabric.

My sister makes those terry cloth dish towels that you can hang on the door knobs in the kitchen....she crochets the tops....she always complains about how tired her hand gets from pushing the hook through the terry cloth to get it started. She used to have me stitch a small hem across the top to keep the fraying at bay. I agree flannel will fray. Were you planning on hemming the edges before crocheting? Do you have a machine that does some of the fancy stitches? Could you do some fancy stitches around the edge leaving a bit of the flannel to fray like in those rag quilts made of flannel? Or maybe hem and stitch ric-rac? just trying to think of other decorative finishes.

I would be concerned about the crocheting pulling out of a single layer of flannel (or any woven fabric, for that matter).

I see on google Helen May Crochet shows how to do this. She actually bought a receiving blanket with a buttonhole stitched edge, but shows you how to make your own with a needle and thread, and then you can use that as your base for crocheting.

I have made dresser scarfs with crochet going around them years ago. I set little holes in the linen equal distance around the scarf to start with. This made the process move nice and smoothly.

I make a lot of these to give as gifts as I live in Hawaii and the weight of the flannel is perfect for our weather. I sew down a !/4"-!/2" rolled hem. Then I do a row of chain 3 and then a big single crochet that goes over the rolled hem, chain 3, etc. After that I do a row of scallops of 7-9 double crochet in the bar (created by the chain 3). The scallop actually goes over 3 bars. This may not be real clear but they come out really cute and I've spotted some that I made and gave years ago still in great shape.

Flannel Blankets with crocheted edges
 

I have made a lot of flannel blankets. For the single layer blankets, I turn under about 1/8-1/4" then do a zig-zag stitch all the way around using a wing needle. I try to set my stitch length so that the wing needle punches a hole where I want the crochet needle to be inserted; sometimes I skip a couple of stitches to do this. By turning a hem, it reinforces the edge of the blanket. For the double layer blankets, if I want to do a crocheted edge, I just do a wider zig-zag stitch (still adjusting the stitch length) and trim close to the zig-zag stitch. If the hole ends up being too small, I use an awl to increase the size just a bit. I also stitch a large square in the center of the blanket or do a criscross stitch from corner to corner. This stabilizes the layers so they don't shift after washing.

You use a single layer of flannel, roll it on itself twice in a very narrow hem enclosing the raw edge. Use a small head crochet needle and lighter crochet thread. Just punch a small hole with your crochet needle as you stich your first row, a blanket type stitch. Then keep going around and make the pattern. I did this for my children, 37 yrs ago, and they have used the same blankets for their newborns. All my supplies were used from garage sales or from Walmart.