the LQS shop owner that is near an Army hospital working with returning injured soldiers told me to use good quality cotton, sew channels to divide up the width and then add about 1 cup of poly beads in each channel, then sew a line across and repeat. She said to double stitch each seam so no beads migrate. I find that it helps to leave some space in the bead channel to make it easier to pin and stitch. She also says that the weight should be 10% of the person getting the blanket weight (i.e. made one for my g-son who is 43lbs, so made it about 5lbs of beads) Because I made one for a small child, my LQS friend suggested to start with a FQ size lap quilt, then make and add additional FQ lap quilt sizes as the child grows. My g-son loves it and it really helps him sleep.