Jingle

I want to make a comforter for a young man that is in a wheelchair. I need to know about how large to make it. I'm thinking maybe 38" x 52". We are assuming he is about 6 foot to maybe 6' - 2".
He dove into a swimming pool and that ended is mobility. Happened about 2 summers ago.
I think a comforter would be warmer than a quilt. I will start on it tonight and try to have it done by this coming Tuesday.
I would appreciate any help anyone can give me. I googled it and we decided this may be the right size. Thanks for the help.

JustAbitCrazy

I don't have a wheelchair to measure, but I just measured me in my desk chair on wheels, and I'm guessing that may be a bit too large. I'm thinking maybe 30" x 50" would be plenty large enough. You don't want excess on the sides to catch in the wheels there, nor do you want it so long that it drags and gets rolled over, right? A length of 50" should be long enough to pull up over his chest if he wants, I think. If you want it to just cover his lap and legs you'd want it shorter. The best indicator is if someone could measure over themselves or someone else sitting in a wheelchair and le you know. HTH

grammyp

I made my grandmother's 36 inches square, but she was only 5'4". I would sit and measure from waist to ankle and see how long to make it. If it is too long it gets caught under the wheels.

Jingle

Thanks Ladies.
My Daughter with long legs measured at her midriff to her toes and that is how I came up with the size. I want them to be able to wrap around his legs as he may not have much circulation in them. 30x50" sounds better than what we thought.

cynicalbeauty

I am a wheelchair user. I would definitely make it closer to 30x50. If it is too wide or long it can really get in the way of things. If you want if for his lap alone I think you will want to go shorter than 50 even. Getting things caught in the wheels is frustrating but also dangerous.

fabric lover

I have an older book about quilts for wheelchairs. I looked it up and the sizes are
36x46,
40x43
32x42
36x48,
36x50,
42x42
It's the book Wheelchair Lap quilts and totes by Ruth Swacy

Hope this gives you some idea about the size.

Jingle

Thanks. Fabric Lover, thanks so much for looking this up.

Cynical Beauty thanks for your help. I thought they may want to wrap it around his legs for warmth. Since I don't know him and haven't seen him I am sorta in the dark. His Dad works for one of our customers and has told my Husband about him and his accident. My Husband thought it would be nice for me to make this for him. I plan to use a real thick polyester batting and tie it, thinking it would be warmer without alot of weight.
Thanks everyone for your responses.

fabric lover

Jingle, may be something to think about:
if it's a young man/boy, it might be he doesn't want a quilt or blanket on his lap.
My grandson, 14 yr., uses a electric wheelchair and loves his quilt, but would 'never ever have a quilt on his lap outdoors because he is not an old man' (his words) He'ld rather freeze!! :-)) , but does wear ski pants when it's very cold (under protest and only because he's in a lot of pain if he doesn't)

Kooklabell

I made a wheelchair lap blanket for my FIL. The best material I found to keep him warm was wool. I made a simple one using 6 inch squares. I made it so that he sat on the quilt and we wrapped it up over his legs. The back of his legs would get cold otherwise.

NikkiLu

I was told to put flannel on the back of wheelchair "quilts" as they have a tendency to slide off if the fabric is too slick. HTH