I made the heavy blanket for my autistic grandson
 

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for how to make a heavy blanket for my grandson. I forgot to take a picture before I wrapped and sent it to him. I'll ask them to take a picture of him using it and send it to me.

I decided to make it out of jeans. I bought 10 humungous pairs at Savers on a Wed, 30% off day for seniors. I made alternate 8 inch blocks of pinwheels and 4 patches - all pieces cut with Accuquilt. Without my Accuquilt, my hand would have been paralyzed! My DIL said the recommendation was to make it crib size, so I made it 4 X 7 blocks, with a 3inch border. I sewed leg panels together to make the back. The jeans had been washed so many times, that they had that wonderful smooth feeling that old jeans have.

Next problem was what to use for weights inside the quilt/blanket. The 'real' ones use either smooth, sanitized river rock or plastic pellets. I could not find either (though I could order the pellets from Hobby Lobby). Of course, I needed them yesterday, so I went to Jo Ann's and found 1# packages of plastic beads. Perfect! And washable! I had enough 50% coupons to cut the total cost by $20! I sewed individual 1/2# bags (like bean bags) of flannel (from stash).

I 'birthed' top and back on 3 sides, using 1/2" seams. Then starting on the bottom, I sewed the side seams of the blocks in the first row, added the bags, sewed the top seam; ditto for each row until it was finished. Boyohboy, if you think wrestling with quilting a king size quilt is fun, you should have seen me wrestling with this baby! It weighed 14 pounds when it was finished. But it looks great, and I'm proud of myself for making it.

I would love to see a picture of your quilt and I'm also interested in how it works for your gs.

WOW! Hope this will work for him and blessyou for making it and wrestling it around to finish.

delma

I don't understand what a heavy blanket would do for an autistic child. I don't any children with it. Good for you.

Please show a picture when you can! In our room we use the weighted vest for one little guy, but I am sure his mom would be interested in the blanket. :)

I am interested in knowing why the heavy blanket, comforting or made to stay on better?

You should be very proud of yourself for tackling & finishing the quilt. It sounds great. I hope it helps your GS!

The weight of the blanket is calming to them. My son is Autistic and he loves getting under lots of blankets and snuggling in under the weight.

Many people with autism have sensory issues. Lots of times heavy or confining blankets or clothing can be soothing to them.

Deep pressure (which is provided by the heavy blanket) is very good for many children, not just autistic children. It works for some kids with sensory integration issues, attention deficit disorder, etc. my son would react very adversely to light touch (as a preemie in the NICU). Lots of kids like the security and feeling/sensory input of a weighted blanket. We even put weighted vests on some kids in the school and it really helps.
I am sure your DGS will love the quilt. Make sure you post pictures.

Heck, even I like the lead aprons they put on you at the dentist's office. I ask them to leave it on me until they're done. :)

I'm proud of you. Our Quilt Guild made several "weighted" blankets last year as we had a request for them from the special ed teachers at the local school. The weight of the blankets has a calming effect on kids with autism. Sounds crazy but it is proven that these weighted blankets really do help sooth the children that have autism--even if they just have them in their lap during the day.

Can't wait to see your picture. I made just a regular quilt out of denim and it was beast on its own. At 14# I can imagine this is going to be an adventure in washing. =)

Wow. I had no idea. I like sleeping under my cathedral window quilt- It is heavy, though, and once in position, difficult to move! :)

I sleep better with a lot of blankets on me. The weight helps. Weighted blankets help a lot of people. I like the room cool and have a lot of blankets. My DH on the other hand doesn't like the weight so I have several blankets folded in half and just over me. Works for us.
Sue

Thank you for explaining. I too like to sleep under weighted heavy blankets so I can see where this could be soothing.

Thanks for the information. I never knew about the weighted blankets or vest. I'm glad they are comforted by them. I couldn't stand the weight, I would feel pinned down. I usually sleep with PJs and a sheet.

I've learned a lot from reading this thread.

Hope your gs enjoys his blanket. Hope you can share a photo later.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you! What a wonderful Grandmother you are to do this for your GS. I hope to see pictures too!

Here is link to make one.
http://craftnectar.com/2009/09/03/ca...hted-blankets/

For those that are curious...may i suggest "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult"... she's a wonderful writer... has taken many subjects,, some contraversal.. and written some fabulous novels... stories really hold ones interest while giving "perspective" from all angles... at the same time really teaching us about it!!

Just found out my grandson has autism. They suggested a weighted blanket for him. I am going to try and make him one. That's for the tips.

Very, very interesting. Yes, Please post a picture of the blanket. I have always needed some type of cover to sleep. But love a cold room with lots of blankets, heavy blankets. Now I have an idea why I'm getting a little frustrated with the lighter weight batting available. I'll have to think about this!!

I just finished listening to the book "Unlocked" by Karen Kingsbury also covers the subject of autism. It gives a person hope.

I have made a couple for kids in my class. Yes they are kinda a pain to wrestle with to sew. I have made a bunch of lap sized ones for ADD kids at school too. They work great. Merry Christmas everyone.

You are a very NICE grand to do this.

I made a few for friends using polar fleece and plastic pellets. Each blanket was 5 founds. The blanket was sewed into 25 grids.. Each one holding an equal amount of beads. I found that towards the end of finishing the blanket, it was helpful to have a second person to help hold and guide the blanket as the sheer weight of it made it slow going through the needle. After figuring out how to make the first one, the others took no time at all. These are much appreciated gifts that are very expensive if bought on line.

Thank you for the wonderful idea and pattern. I have friends with autistic grandchildren and will be using this idea and sharing with others who will be thrilled to have the pattern. Thank you again.

The basic rule is 10% of body weight + 1 pound. Have fun!

Thank you everyone for your comments. I will post a picture if my DIL has time to take a picture and post it to me. You can imagine how busy she is with TWO autistic sons, ages 11 and 13. The older boy that now has the weighted blanket, is more affected: non-verbal and pretty frustrated a lot of the time. However, he's very sweet when he's not bouncing around. He's in a private school, finally, due to a shocking incident at his public school - paid for by the school system. In very short order, he finally learned to say his phone number - something we've wished for for a long time. The younger boy is almost too verbal! He's mainstreamed, but has repeated a couple of grades. He'll graduate from regular high school eventually, and we've been told he'll probably be eligible for George Mason Univ's program for autistic adults. When we heard that, we were over the moon. His biggest interest is Little Theater.He's a real ham.

Sounds great. I would also like to see it. Hope all goes well.

I hope it works for him. My son is autistic and weighted vests and things like this have been tried, but I don't think they did anything. iv' heard it works for some. The only way to know is to try it.

Can't wait to see a picture of it and I'm sure your grandson will love it. Good Grandma.

What great information and what a great project that would be for quilting guilds and other clubs!!!! I have a nephew who has ausbergers, but he is high functioning and attends Ferris State University and studying very hard in HVAC. I know it is harder for him, but he is determined. Some of his teachers are not as patient as they could be, but they don't understand his learning disability. Love the blanket, loved the "House Rules" novel. Love, love, love.

I quilt at church with a friend whose son is autistic. She says he loves a weighted blanket similar to what I would think a stole would be, to wrap around his shoulders and neck area. He finds it very calming too. Great gift!

I just saw on tv tonight about the progress that has been made with non-verbal autistic children using I-pads. It showed children that they could not get to respond to what they were trying to teach by regular methods, but when they tried to teach the same concepts with an I-pad, they would respond. They told of one little boy that they thought had the IQ of a toddler that when using the I-pad, they were amazed at how much he knew. Here is a link to it: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_16...g-on-the-ipad/
I hope the link works.

My daughter and I made my great grand-son a weighted vest and a small blanket for him too. He just loves it and used it for Church and made it through almost all of the service.

It really is amazing how the heavy blankets do calm an autistic individual. I work in a residential facility for disabled adults, and we do have a couple of autistic residents. One in particular uses the weighted blanket, especially if upset about something. Thanks for sharing!

Here is a link for a pattern that was shown on Nancy Zieman recently.

http://www.projectlinus.org/patterns...erylWtBlkt.pdf