I tried. I tried the awl (couldn't get even spacing and I kept pulling the fleece). I tried a hole punch (maybe a 1/8" hole punch was too big but UGH, it wasn't pretty). I wound up zig zagging with a sewing machine around the blanket and using that stitching/spaces to work a blanket stitch (photo 1) followed by two rounds of crochet (photo 2).
The result is a blanket I want to keep for myself!