Weighted Blanket - HELP!
 

Once again I turn to my quilting circle of friends on the board!

I have a granddaughter who needs a "weighted blanket" for her therapy. I've found a few sites online with directions on how to make them. I figured I'd piece a top for her out of her favorite characters etc.

My question is - have any of you made these? If so can you give me any hints or pointers?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!!!
Carrie

as always, when doing any type of therapeutic tool, i would make it washable. the blanket sites show polystyrene pellets or glass beads inside them... while they may be advertised as washable, it is much better not to have to wash them any more often than necessary or the pellets will break down in time. why not make the weighted part of the blanket between two sheets and then make something similar to a duvet cover with all the cute things you want to do that will button or zip or velcro off and wash quickly and easily.

Somewhere back in the "awhile ago" someone on this board made heavy quilts for therapy. Try looking in the tutorial section.

That is a great idea. Sort of what I was thinking - but you came up with better details! THANKS! I was afraid of the pellets breaking down - even though they are washable, I wondered how much/often they were. My GD is not even 2 years old yet so I am assuming this blanket will get tons of washings. Thanks again for the ideas!!!

If you're going with the separate cover idea (which is brilliant, btw) I'd use water resistant or water proof material for the weighted piece. I do this with the dogs' beds in case someone has an accident or throws up on the bed; that way the interior is safe from the "mess" and I only have to worry about the cover.

At two years old, your GD's going to puke on her blanket at some point. ;)

I could not locate the tutorial but if you go to whatever search engine (I have goggle) and type in How to make a weighted blanket, there are several patterns to review. Good luck

ditto ... my recollection is that the thread was titled "fidget quilt" or something similar

I just searched my history, but didn't find what I was looking for. There is a blog out in cyberspace that has patterns and talks about this type of blanket and what it does for the kids and possible for the aged dementia/Alzheimer's person. What they did was make a quilt top with pockets with velcro closure and put 2 oz of pellets in a sealed bag. That way you can add or subtract the ounces needed also you can add more row as the child grows when needed. The general rule of thumb is to have the blanket weight 10% of the person's body weight. They say that these work wonders for calming.... good luck and keep us posted!

How about making a ragged edged quilt with denim? I'm in the process of making one for my wheelchair bound GS using old jeans; it will be 2 layers of denim with flannel in between.

There is a pattern for a weighted blanket on www.craftnectar.com. Even tells you how much weight to use for body size. Hope this helps.

Mountainmammo

I thought the thread was about making blankets for children with autism - I looked, but couldn't find it either

I have been involved with making weighted lap pads as part of volunteer work I do. The ones we made had to be 'wipeable'. After some experimenting, we found oil cloth the easiest to use. The sewing machine liked it better. The ones we made weighed about 5 pounds, and were about 18" squares. We sewed the fabric right sides together on three sides, then turned it, and then sewed channels across the width. These channels were filled with glass beads. Don't sew the channel all the way to the top, so that you can turn in that edge. We found it helpful to have a 2nd person help support the weight of the blanket when we sewed that final seam across the top. Good Luck.

Thank you all for answering. I've got each of your ideas and hints printed out.

My daughter is frantic - these blankets cost an arm and a leg - so me being able to make it to her specifications means a lot.

Thank you!!!

Polypro pellets are washable-those are the kind used in stuffed animals. If you could rig some kind of pockets for the pellets, you could take them out (whatever they are) and wash the 'skin' of the blanket, if that makes sense. Maybe you could use something like pantyhose/tights to make tubes of pellets. In case of an accident, they could be removed and hand washed, without putting them in a washing machine. (I always have visions of pellets everywhere in a washing machine.)

My husband has horrible, chronic insomnia. In desperation, I bought him a weighted blanket-a vintage twin-size wool crazy quilt, batted with raw cotton. It weighs like a dead horse, and works like a charm, but isn't washable.

This comment is a bit off-topic - but not completely so.

The "old" quilts that were made from recycled fabrics (old sheets, etc. were used for "batting") weighed a lot ! We would sleep under two or three of them in fairly cool rooms (cold, actually!)

Wonder if that's why we slept so soundly? It took me a while to get used to a light weight blanket - even if it kept me as warm (or warmer) than the heavier coverings.

maybe that's why we slept so soundly under them?


If anything is made to be removable - would it be necessary to be comparatively child-picky proof? It's amazing what little fingers can do!

A friend's grandson who is also in therapy was told the same thing "get him a weighted blanket". She saw a quilt I had made my grandson & said it was just the right weight- of course I agreed to make her one(what was I thinking!) Anyway, the batting is Warm & Natural -I say medium quilting not really heavy but the backing is flannel . Hope that helps