I make this type of blanket all the time and donate them to people in hospice who have Alzheimer. If you will provide me your email address I can send you a few pictures of some of the blankets I have made. Besides donating them, it would be nice if I could sell a few at a reasonable cost to cover my cost of material, thread, etc...any ideas or suggestions?

Thank You!!

I just found this thread. I have not been online in a very long time. But I made a fidget quilt because a really good blogger shared her quilts and I knew I wanted to make one for a friend. I still do not have it finished but the site where all of the patterns or ideas are is this:
http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com/...lzheimers.html
Michele has one of my favorite blogs so I share her free ideas because of her generoisty to me. she make Fidget quilts for Alzheimers, Dementia and for people with autism. I think this is a lovely idea so I am happy to see more people making them. My niece is helping me post this. I am lucky I can still sew without help LOL

My niece is helping me share the wonderful site of my internet friend, Michele. She shares so much and I am trying to make a fidget quilt for my close friend with Alzheimers Disease right now. http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com/...lzheimers.html

think of a quilt with accessories. Try adding zippers, a square of Minky fabric, large large buttons with a buttonhole, texturized items. You almost have to think of what a baby would like. Snaps, Velcro with a tab, things like that. We have severe Autistic kids who use the same type of things.....

Here are some pics of “twiddle“ or “fidget“ blankets!
https://de.pinterest.com/aggi2011/tw...-nesteldecken/

I made this for an Alzheimer sufferer. It is cathedral window following Jenny Doak quick heavy . It has pictures of his favourite things he could recognise and was heavy so it stayed on him.
I've lost the finish quilt pictures this is quilt before rolling back window as I quilted them.

fidgit blankets
 

A fidget blanket only be large enough to cover the lap. I made one for my late aunt that was in a dementia ward. I made it about 18" square, I put a zipper on it, a pocket, a flap with a button hole and sewed a button on so she could button and unbutton it. Got some ponytail scrunchies and sewed them on. It does not have to be fancy, it is only something for them to fidget with. She adored it. Wished I had of done it sooner. Try going to pinterest, maybe they have some pictures of them there.

I remember my grandmother who was a sewer, asking for a pair of scissors. Her sitter at the time gave her a small pair just to see what she would do. She very neatly snipped 2 or 3 buttons off her housecoat. Then she asked for needle and thread and sewed them back on. A sewer to the very end.

Nancy Zeiman had a show on these, but I can only find her activity mats now. However, at the seams there were round tabs, prairie tabs, little pockets, etc. Honestly, I am cringing at the idea of a zipper after seeing someone zip a finger into one. It wasn't pretty. And depending on the depth of dementia, I'd be cautious about the ones with beads on string. Like children, these can pose a choking hazard if some poor soul decides to eat them.