Alzheimer touch quilt
 

Good day every one
I was wondering if and one knows what you put in a touch quilt to make the crinkley sound.
Be nice to have a little sound in the quilt.
Thanks
Tom

I've never done it, but I heard that you should use the cellophane wrap from products like gum, etc. Not the plastic wrap that some packages come in.
Sue

I've heard about using plastic bags that some cereals come in, the bag that is inside the box. It's sturdy stuff.

Here's another question about these quilts. I've seen some where the people put a clear plastic pouch for a photo. I have some clear heavy duty plastic I could use for this but how exactly do you sew clear heavy duty plastic??? Has anyone ever done that?

Picture is a neat idea.
The thing i watch is what happens when it is washed . And they do get washed a lot.
Wonder about using the invisable thread it is plastic also and put a touch of glue on the back of it .
I did find stuff for it to make the crinkle sound but its like $45.00 a box.
I find they really like silk on it it,s cool to the touch .
Thanks
Tom

I cut up baby wipe refills to put inside flannel taggies to get the sound.

Cari

How does the silk handle washing? Possibly hot water washing in a facility....

I never made my mom a quilt that crinkled! I made her small quilts that had a lot of stuff added like a zipper, strips of colored tapes that sort of dangled, pockets that snapped, etc. I made them about 12 to 18" and she loved them. She thought she made them or was working on them but then she was a quilter. I took every quilt I made to her and she got to use them. I also did her laundry so I didn't have to worry about those heavy duty and scalding hot machines and dryers. They gave her so much comfort and they kept her busy at work on them. I miss her.

That mylar sheet product you put in hot pads makes a sound.

Is this to be a wall quilt or a lap robe?

Another good addition is cord with a few different sized wooden or plastic beads that slide back and forth on the cord, and heavy fringe trim that you find in Home Dec (trim fringe short enough that they dont get it knotted around their fingers if you can't find shorter fringe. My Mom was a thumb "twiddler" & hair twister. If she didn't have something in her hands she would clasp her hands and circle her thumbs around each other constantly or twist her hair. These two items helped control that some.

Part of the problem is the touch quilts are just going to be given away.
And Im a little nervous about beads on them I don,t want some one to choke .
But some really good idea that you have given me now I have more to add to them thanks so much for the help.
My wife is a PSW and goes to different homes so she can just hand them to her clients .Just like to see them happy.
Just picked up a whole big box of fabric so i,m going to be busy now .
Thanks every one
Tom

piker6ca. Would you post some when you finish...I would like to see some. What size do you make them? Some members of our guild sew items for the local ALZ unit and would use this info. Thanks in advance.

I just found the Touch Quilt project and downloaded the pattern PDF. Thanks for alerting me to try this.

http://www.quirkyquilt.com/index.shtml

http://www.alzheimer.mb.ca/touchquiltproject/

In case any one else is interested, here are a couple of links.

To prevent choking concern I slit the top and threaded the cord [I used thick, maybe 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick] through then zigzagged the ends on the underside many times making a circle. I then zigzagged over where I had made the slits, closing it like one side of a buttonhole. I also used the big bright colored wooden beads you can find at Michaels. Diameter was about silver dollar size or a little smaller. Used batting, backing and quilted she couldn't have gotten the beads off if she tried, but she never tried, just slid them back and forth endlessly and ran her fingers through the fringe. It calmed her. I miss her every day.

Mylar balloons (used and deflated obviously) make for a nice gentle crinkly sound, and they hold up to hot water repeated washing.

potato chip bags also work great.

Clear vinyl picture pocket idea - use a teflon foot or put painters tape around edges before sewing for ease of sewing. This is washable but does not like the heat of dryer. I usually velcro the picture pocket onto the piece that it can be removed for laundry and that also gives them another hands on if they so desire.

To sew on top of vinyl you need to just put a piece of tissue paper, the kind you wrap presents in, on top of the vinyl and your presser foot will sew with no problem. The tissue paper is easy to tear off. Good luck with your project!

You can use the clickers like you find in dog toys for sound. I think you can buy them online.

Tom, you can get the sound you're looking for from potato chip bags (crisp bags that have been opened at both ends then split up one side and wiped off very well). When these are placed in a quilt the quilt can still be washed and dried (only not on high heat). When I make mine I use two bags (medium sized), for more sound. I also try to put in the large toothed zippers (plastic), because they are heavy duty and have a good sized tab for opening and closing. I did a special order one that had a pocket in it, then I put two hankies sewn together and then sewn into the pocket on one side (this way the pocket can be opened and something comes out and then gets put back). My clients mother loves her pocket, she will pull the hankies in and out all day. Anything you put into your quilt, needs to be washer and dryer friendly. Because these quilts are in and out of the machines a lot. Good luck

If you use a picture get it sealed in plastic first then put in heavy plastic pouch. That way you won't have to worry about getting it washed.

When sewing plastic pouch on be sure to lengthen you stitch. You might want to wrap the edge with bias tape or such so the edge isn't sharp. Nursing homes may have their own requirements for quilts, but there are a lot of ideas on the board. The first post I saw was for a Nesteldecken (German). Here is a pic of the one I made for my brother. I tried to use things that meant something to him. He was a paratrooper and a helicopter pilot, so I used buckles, paracord, boot laces, leather, etc. He especially loved the stuffed dog that resembled his real one. Brother has now passed and one of his daughters has the quilt.

Nice ideas
What I,m doing is sort of thinking if it is going to a male or female this way its stuff that a guy or girl will enjoy.

All types of fabric would work for these quilts. With silk & satin you could put a fuse able webbing on the backs to make them more stable. Anything fuzzy would be great also plus pockets & zippers.

thanks for the posting, I'm putting this at the top of my to do list

My suggestion for the pictures is to get the transfer fabrics that you can transfer photos onto from your computer!

Thread mess is correct -- your computer printer at home can be used to transfer color or B&W photos onto fabrics which you can include in your quilt. No need to worry about how to sew or wash the plastic coverings...

I made some fiddle mats for residents in my Dementia Unit......I sewed grids into a couple of my fiddle mats and then inserted into each grid pocket before sewing it shut with the next seam, something to feel...for the men...eg, flat nickel (no rusting) washers, screws, bolts etc so the men could fiddle and feel each item. An added advantage of sewing/hiding objects in the grids is that it gives the mats a bit of weight which makes it a more pleasurable feel when placed on the lap. I used a triple stitch throughout to make sure stitching couldn't be fiddled loose, and also, all items inside the pockets were of a size that would be difficult to swallow....just in case....scary thought! Another trick is to sew a gardening glove onto the side seam so they can put their hand into and out of the glove and scrunch their fingers in it. I tended to use palin fabric like cenim for the men..something nice and masculine and for the women, whilst using bright colours made sure they were just the one colour....no patterns as this confuses the eye and impedes them focussing on the items attached to the mat. Of course the fiddle mats had to be approved by my supervisor before I was allowed to introduce them to the residents and of course, were always used under supervision from staff.

A lot of neat ideas.

Wow!!! I hope all of you ladies know how wonderful you are to make all of these suggestions for pinker6a? I know that each of us has at one time or another needed to ask a question, and every time, not once in a while, but EVERY time, you receive an abundance of replies that are ever so helpful. I don't have any suggestions for this one, but sure did realize how blessed we are to have this board. God Bless us all.

Yes thanks you for all the tips.
And so nice to see so many people helping people with Alzheimers.
It,s a simple thing but helps so many people.
And keeps me quilting new things also.
Tom

In place of silk, couldn't you add some blanket binding?