In this blog post, I am sharing how to make a linen throw with a fringe edge.

Materials needed:

1 2/3 yards 59” wide linen fabric for approximately 58” square throw (or whatever length you need to achieve desired throw size.)
Sewing machine
Scissors
Thread

The younger of my two daughters likes to be swaddled, yes swaddled like an infant, at bedtime—and she’s three. Not many blankets work well to swaddle a three-year old. When she started asking to be “wrapped up” at bedtime a year ago, I used a thin quilt that my mom had saved from my childhood. It worked okay, but a few months ago, she started complaining of being “sweaty” a few minutes after tuck-in time…that, plus the fact that she is outgrowing the quilt, led me to the need to make another wrap-up blanket for her— a thin one that wouldn’t make her sweaty and large enough that she could be completely swaddled in it.

Fortunately, I had the perfect fabric on hand, this IL019 Signature Finish bleached linen from Fabrics-Store.com. Although I usually pre-shrink fabric before cutting, it’s not essential with this project as long as you will wash it after it’s made and you don’t care if the length and width shrink unevenly. I decided to cut the fabric square. Without exactly measuring, I folded the cut side of the fabric up to meet the selvage edge of the fabric, forming a 45-degree angle fold to figure out where to cut the fabric to make a square. Note: You could just measure the fabric, but I am often working on a small cutting table, which makes it hard to spread the fabric out for cutting. It was easier to fold the raw edge up to the selvage edge to get a rough estimate of the size I wanted.

I then started cutting the fabric, pulling a string to guide me along the grain.

Once I had the fabric cut to the size I wanted, I started making the fringe. On the selvage edges, I trimmed about an 1/8” off the edge before I was able to start pulling the threads out to create the fringe.

Once you have the edge threads pulled out as shown above to create about 1/2” fringe, stitch around the edges of the throw. I used a decorative stitch on the blanket shown here; however, I have also used a small straight stitch or even a tiny zig zag stitch to secure the edges of linen fabric when making a fringed edge. It’s important not to sew right along the edge because feed dogs pull the fringe in toward the needle and make it difficult to sew. You can also sew about 1/2” or 5/8” from the edge before pulling the threads out to create the fringe—I have done it both ways.

Once you have stitched around the edges, you are finished! Wrap up your child or your grandchild, or even make one for yourself to snuggle under when you want the feel of something to snuggle without too much weight and warmth! I made a throw for my older daughter, who has discovered that she also likes being wrapped in an extra layer at bedtime, with heavy softened linen. But I made it 2 yards long with hemmed ends, leaving the sides as selvage.

Early yesterday morning, Emma wanted me to snuggle her in her “wrap-up blanket” as she calls it, and she fell back to sleep in my arms while I sat on the couch drinking coffee. I wanted to stay there, enjoying the moment as long as possible, but I had put some granola in the oven and needed to go check it. I put Emma loosely wrapped in her blanket on the couch with the dog to continue sleeping. She woke up before long and moved to my rocking chair, still enjoying the comfort of her snuggly blanket that is just right for making her feel swaddled but not too warm, which would make her “sweaty.” She has never liked the feel of fuzzy polyester throws, but prefers the feel of natural fibers of cotton and now linen so this was the perfect solution to her need for a larger blanket.

Let me know if you have any questions about my instructions, and I would also love to hear from you if you make one of these!

If you want to read about other linen items that I have made, you will find that post here: https://www.hearthsidecomforts.com/blog-1/my-newly-discovered-love-of-linen-fabric.

Updated in March 2021 to show what the edge of the throw looks like after daily use and many, many, many times of being washed and dried and not ironed…

DIY Cozy Summer Linen Throw