Fleece Fabric – Soft, Cozy Fabrics for Every Project
Our anti-pill fleece delivers the softness you love without the fuzzing and pilling that happens with regular fleece. This premium polyester fleece holds up wash after wash, making it our top choice for blankets, scarves, and everyday apparel.
With a 58-60 inch width and medium weight body, you’ll get professional results whether you’re sewing a cozy throw for the couch or crafting matching family pajama pants. The smooth finish cuts cleanly and sews easily on any home machine.
We stock this fleece year-round in over 100 solid colors plus seasonal prints, so you can always find the perfect shade for baby blankets, school spirit wear, or quick gift projects that actually get used.
What makes our fleece special
Fleece fabric construction and materials
All Joann’s fleece fabrics start with polyester yarns that are knit into a stable base, then brushed to raise the soft pile you feel when you touch the fabric. Our anti-pill varieties receive an additional treatment that locks fibers in place, preventing the loose pills that form on untreated fleece after repeated washing.
We manufacture our fleece at 58-60 inches wide, which is significantly wider than quilting cotton or standard apparel fabric. This extra width reduces seaming on large projects like queen-size blankets and eliminates side seams entirely on most throws and baby blankets.
Cutting and sewing fleece successfully
Fleece cuts cleanly with sharp fabric shears or a rotary cutter, and the knit structure prevents raveling so you can skip edge finishing on most projects. We recommend using pattern weights instead of pins when laying out patterns, since pin holes can leave permanent marks in the pile.
For machine sewing, a universal needle in size 80/12 or 90/14 handles fleece thickness without skipped stitches. Set your stitch length to 3.0-3.5mm for seams that stretch slightly with the fabric. A walking foot helps feed thick layers evenly, especially when topstitching multiple layers or sewing through bulky seams.
Care instructions for fleece fabric projects
Machine wash fleece projects in cool or warm water using regular laundry detergent—avoid fabric softener, which coats the fibers and reduces the fabric’s natural softness over time. Our anti-pill finish remains effective through dozens of washes when you skip the softener and keep water temperatures below 120°F.
Tumble dry on low heat or line dry to maintain the fleece pile and prevent shrinkage. High heat can relax the polyester fibers, causing projects to lose their shape or develop a stiff hand. Remove items from the dryer while still slightly damp to minimize wrinkles, though fleece naturally resists creasing.
More cozy fleece styles you’ll love
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Common questions about our fleece fabrics
For a standard 50×60 inch throw blanket, you’ll need 1.75 yards of our 58-60 inch wide fleece. This allows for a 50-inch length plus a few extra inches for squaring the fabric and trimming selvages. For tie blankets that use two layers, double that amount to 3.5 yards total (1.75 yards of each print or color).
Larger projects require more yardage—a twin-size blanket needs approximately 2.5 yards, while queen-size throws require 3-3.5 yards depending on your desired overhang. Always buy an extra quarter yard when working with prints you need to center or match.
Anti-pill fleece receives a special treatment during manufacturing that locks the polyester fibers in place, preventing the fuzzy pills that form on regular fleece after washing and wear. Regular untreated fleece will develop small balls of fiber on the surface, especially in high-friction areas like under arms or along blanket edges.
The anti-pill treatment doesn’t affect the initial softness or appearance—both fleece types feel identical when new. The difference becomes visible after 5-10 washes, when regular fleece starts pilling while anti-pill fleece maintains its smooth surface. We stock anti-pill fleece as our standard offering because the minimal price difference delivers significantly longer-lasting projects.
Our fleece works beautifully for outdoor accessories like stadium blankets, picnic throws, and cold-weather scarves. The polyester construction resists moisture absorption and dries quickly if it gets damp, making fleece practical for outdoor events. Blizzard fleece specifically offers wind resistance, creating a barrier against cold breezes while maintaining breathability.
However, fleece isn’t waterproof and shouldn’t be used for projects that need to shed rain or snow. For picnic blankets, consider backing fleece with a waterproof fabric layer to protect against damp ground. Fleece also attracts lint and debris outdoors, so keep a lint roller handy for quick cleanups between uses.
Pre-washing fleece is optional since our polyester fleece shrinks minimally (less than 2%) and won’t bleed color. Most sewers skip pre-washing to maintain the fabric’s crisp hand and save time, especially on simple projects like tie blankets that don’t require precise measurements.
Pre-wash fleece if you’re combining it with other fabrics that shrink more (like cotton flannel), when making fitted apparel where small size changes matter, or if you’re concerned about manufacturing residue. Machine wash in cool water and tumble dry low, then measure the fabric before cutting to adjust pattern pieces if needed.
We recommend our standard anti-pill fleece or microfleece for baby blankets because these medium and lightweight options provide warmth without overheating. Babies can’t regulate body temperature as effectively as adults, so the lighter fleece weights offer comfort across a wider temperature range. The 58-60 inch width gives you a generous 40×40 inch baby blanket from just one yard.
Avoid blizzard fleece or heavyweight options for infants unless you’re creating a blanket specifically for outdoor stroller use in cold climates. For nursery blankets that stay indoors, the thinner profiles are safer and more appropriate. Choose prints without small embellishments or loose threads that could pose choking hazards.
Reduce the presser foot pressure on your machine if possible—this prevents the feed dogs from pulling too aggressively on the stretchy fleece. Use a walking foot or even-feed foot to move the top and bottom layers at the same rate, which eliminates the stretching and shifting that creates wavy seams.
Pin sparingly or use pattern weights instead, since pin holes can distort the knit structure. When sewing seams, don’t pull or stretch the fabric as it moves through the machine—let the feed dogs do the work while you simply guide the fabric. A slightly longer stitch length (3.0-3.5mm) also helps by reducing the thread’s pull on the fabric.
Yes, we release seasonal fleece print collections approximately 8-12 weeks before major holidays. Halloween prints arrive in late August, winter holiday designs appear in October, Valentine’s and spring prints launch in January, and summer themes debut in April. These seasonal collections include both licensed characters in holiday settings and generic motifs like pumpkins, snowflakes, hearts, and florals.
Popular prints sell quickly as holidays approach, so we recommend shopping early in the season for the best selection. Core holiday colors in solid fleece (red, green, orange, black) remain in stock year-round. Check our website or visit your local store to see current seasonal offerings and reserve yardage for large projects.