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Hi there and welcome to Hollie's Homemade Life! It's a unique blog filled with craft projects, tasty recipes, home decor, and a little about life itself here in the Midwest. I love having the opportunity to share my passions and thoughts with my loyal readers. I hope to inspire you to try your hand at making something along with me. Read on, and enjoy!

  • Hollie's Homemade Life

DIY: WEIGHTED BLANKET

Updated: Jan 27, 2019



Weighted Blanket


 


As a person that gets anxiety attacks quite often and has a brain that won't shut down most nights, I am always in search of ways to help ease those issues without turning to medication. I happened to see an ad one day for a weighted blanket. Curious, I clicked on the ad to see just what a weighted blanket is.


Weighted blankets provide deep pressure therapy (DPT) that can help calm a person with anxiety, insomnia, and stress. Studies show that it can also improve focus for ADHD and manage autism symptoms. The pressure of the blanket is said to increase the amount of serotonin produced in your brain and give your body an overall calming effect. Each weighted blanket has a number of pockets that are usually filled with plastic pellets. These blankets can weigh anywhere between 4lbs to 25lbs and should be about 10% of a person's body weight.


Here's a guide to help you figure out what weight your blanket should be:


Weight to Pounds Blanket Guide

This chart is just a guide. You can go a couple pounds heavier or lighter depending on personal preference. A few pounds difference is not going effect the purpose of the blanket.


Seeing positive reviews on weighted blankets and how they have helped other people, I decided I wanted to try and make one of my own.


 

Materials you are going to need are:


Fabric

Plastic Pellets

Thread

Zipper (optional if you are making a cover for your blanket)




The first thing you want to do is decide what kind of fabric you want to use. I love soft blankets so I went with a fleece material. Some people prefer cotton. Its all up to you.


I knew I wanted my blanket to be bigger than a throw blanket so I went with 72" (L) x 60" (W) of fabric. Since I am making a cover (so I can just throw the cover in the wash), I went a little bit bigger in size, making it 74" (L) x 60" (W). Remember you want to get double the fabric for the blanket and cover. You will be sewing together a front and back for both.




With some help, I decided that each pocket should be a 5" x 5" square. Measuring each square out on the blanket came out to be 10 squares across and 14 squares down, making it 140 squares total on the blanket. Ultimately, this square size gave me an easy number to work with to establish a pellet per square ratio of 0.1lbs pellets/square.






After you get all your squares mapped out on your blanket, you will need to pin together both sides and bottom of your blanket. Leave the top open because you will be filling your blanket with pellets at that end. Next, add pins along each square. I put a pin in every other intersecting line (see picture below.)




Once you are done pinning, you will sew both sides of your blanket together and the bottom. After that is done, start sewing each row lengthwise from top to bottom. When you are done with each row your blanket should look like the picture below. Trim any extra fabric from each side.







Using the weight to pounds chart above I figured my blanket should be close to 13 lbs. I wanted my blanket a little heavier than that so, I decided to make my blanket 15 lbs. After establishing the ratio of 15 pounds to 140 5" x 5" squares, it came out to be 1/3 cup per square. Now you can start filling your blanket with plastic pellets. Take the top of your blanket and pour in the pellets starting with the very left row. Make your way across the rows until each of the rows have pellets. Pick the blanket up and shake the pellets down to the bottom.

Sew across the blanket, closing in the pellets and making your first row of squares. Move on to the next row from the bottom. Continue to fill your rows with pellets and sew them shut until all your squares are complete. When I got to the very top row of squares, I would fill each square individually and sew it shut right away so I wouldn't lose any pellets.






I sewed ribbon to all four corners of the blanket and in the middle on each side lengthwise. I did this to all the same corresponding spots on the inside of my cover. These ribbons tie into each other to prevent the blanket from moving. You could also use Velcro to hold the cover and blanket together. If you aren't making a cover, you won't have to worry about this step.




The blanket is okay to throw in the wash but, I would do a double spin and let it air dry or use the lowest setting on your dryer. I chose to make a cover for my blanket because I wanted a way to clean it without worrying about the pellet melting or falling out. I laid my blanket on top of both cover pieces (remember you are going to have a front and back piece.) I cut around all sides about an 11/2 inches from the edge of the blanket. I wanted to make sure I had enough fabric to fit the blanket in and sew ribbons to the inside of the cover.



Once you have cut your cover to the size of your liking, it's time to sew three sides of your cover together. I wanted my blanket to have a zipper opening where I can insert my blanket inside the cover. You could also Velcro or a snap closure (if you are feeling very crafty.) The zipper was crafty enough for me. Thanks Mom!



Sew your ribbon to all four corners and in the middle of the lengthwise sides.






Someone thought my choice of fabric was wonderful

Lay your blanket on top of your cover and tie all the ribbons together. Turn the cover right side out over the blanket so the blanket is completely covered. Zip up the zipper and you are all done!



 


I mainly use mine at night when I go to bed. I have noticed that I get a deeper sleep during the night. The pressure of the blanket over me is very comforting and it's not too heavy at all.





I can also see this blanket being used after a long stressful day curled up on the couch watching a movie or reading a good book. It's kind of like being wrapped up in a hug.




Be aware of young children and animals that like to hide or cover themselves up with a blanket. Depending on the weight of your blanket it could cause them to suffocate while under there. I only get mine out when I'm going to use it and put it away when not in use.


I highly recommend having one of these blankets. I love the comforting feeling it gives me when I want to relax. Hope this DIY helps you to make one of your own. Enjoy!

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