I could use some weighted blanket advice

[toothless]

@kay hi kay i have made a video of my weighted blankets for you.

 

[kay]

@kay hi kay i have made a video of my weighted blankets for you.

Thanks for posting the video. I love the red lap one. I still will need one for sleeping but the lap one looks so comfy and if I can't quite manage to make a full size blanket I should be able to at least finish a lap size. Your large blue one would be way too much blanket for me, but it is nice that the bags come out for cleaning. Thanks again.

 

[toothless]

Thanks for posting the video. I love the red lap one. I still will need one for sleeping but the lap one looks so comfy and if I can't quite manage to make a full size blanket I should be able to at least finish a lap size. Your large blue one would be way too much blanket for me, but it is nice that the bags come out for cleaning. Thanks again.

it was no problem at all! perhaps the design could give you a bit an idea of making a longer lasting blanket? washing does lengthen their life a bit,or do you want to start simple?
this visual tutorial shows you how to make a similar blanket: How to Make a Weighted Blanket

 

[Manuheleku]

Wow those are expensive, isn't there a way to get a good deal on one?

I got mine on Ebay, Sensacalm 25 pounder for half price in perfect condition.

 

[Marmot]

I know there's multiple forums here on weighted blankets / weighted blanket advice, but here is my one pet peeve about them and the main reason I haven't figured out which one to get yet:

Blankets are always specified by their total weight which is typically understood to be 1/10 of your body weight plus 1 lb, but this doesn't seem to account for the overall size of the blanket so shouldn't this be specified as a density instead of a total weight ?

Case in point: I'm 6'-00", 180 lbs and sleep on a queen size mattress so if I want one that will match the size & shape of everything else on my bed, a 19 or 20 lb blanket in that size would be less than half the weight, per unit area then were I sleeping in a twin bed or wanted something that was 19 lbs that was just large enough to lay on top of and completely cover me.

If you follow my train of thought on this and apply it to standard mattress & blanket sizes, I'm guessing that I would actually need a 55-60 lb blanket to fit on a queen size mattress and no one, anywhere that I've found makes one that heavy!

Does anyone else have a queen / king sized weighted blanket, or does everyone get one that is just big enough to cover the size of your body, regardless of the mattress size that you sleep on and the size of your other blankets ?

 

[toothless]

I know there's multiple forums here on weighted blankets / weighted blanket advice, but here is my one pet peeve about them and the main reason I haven't figured out which one to get yet:

Blankets are always specified by their total weight which is typically understood to be 1/10 of your body weight plus 1 lb, but this doesn't seem to account for the overall size of the blanket so shouldn't this be specified as a density instead of a total weight ?

Case in point: I'm 6'-00", 180 lbs and sleep on a queen size mattress so if I want one that will match the size & shape of everything else on my bed, a 19 or 20 lb blanket in that size would be less than half the weight, per unit area then were I sleeping in a twin bed or wanted something that was 19 lbs that was just large enough to lay on top of and completely cover me.

If you follow my train of thought on this and apply it to standard mattress & blanket sizes, I'm guessing that I would actually need a 55-60 lb blanket to fit on a queen size mattress and no one, anywhere that I've found makes one that heavy!

Does anyone else have a queen / king sized weighted blanket, or does everyone get one that is just big enough to cover the size of your body, regardless of the mattress size that you sleep on and the size of your other blankets ?

mine might actually be that heavy-it needs two people to lift it off the ground.
the only thing is it wouldnt cover a queen size bed.

if you use one of the people who custom make weighted blankets on ebay or who advertise their skill on facebook autism groups you should be able to get one exactly how you need it.
OR, make one yourself/get a relative whose good with sewing machines to make you one,lots of different tutorials out there plus you get to choose your own fabric.

 

[Marmot]

mine might actually be that heavy-it needs two people to lift it off the ground.
the only thing is it wouldnt cover a queen size bed.

if you use one of the people who custom make weighted blankets on ebay or who advertise their skill on facebook autism groups you should be able to get one exactly how you need it.
OR, make one yourself/get a relative whose good with sewing machines to make you one,lots of different tutorials out there plus you get to choose your own fabric.

Thanks toothless,

If you're saying that the blanket your holding up in this screenshot from your video (which appears to be just a little wider than a twin blanket) is 50-60 lbs in itself, then scaling that even wider to a queen sized would be 80+ lbs....... (wow, that's gonna be a heavy blanket)

Unfortunately, I'm no good with a sewing machine myself nor know anyone who is so I'm forced to seek out someone who can fabricate exactly what I want but, per this conversation I still don't really know exactly what that weight-to-size ratio should be. But this definitely helps.

 

[Lyuba]

I've got a Patterson Medical Weighted Blanket. After using it for qyite a while I can say it's really cool!

The best thing about it is that it has three closure pockets, so you can choose how heavy you want it. The blanket itself is made from soft, plush blue, flame-retardant material.
I got 3 weights 1lb each from Weight Sets for Patterson Medical Weighted Blanket

Hope this helps somebody

 

[kay]

Thought I'd give an update my weighted blanket search. What I did was go ahead and make a prototype with some $1 a yard fabric and play sand that I graded so I could use only the largest pieces. I learned a lot for little money and am now ready to make the final blanket

Making the prototype I encountered a few problems. My dyscalculia asserted itself in the measuring of the sand and I ended up with a 15lb blanket after only filling 2/3s of the blanket. It is now a smaller blanket than I intended and am going to use it when sitting in my rocking chair. I like the smell of the sand.

The other problem was finding out that a 15lb blanket is too heavy for me to sleep under and really difficult to drag around. Apparently for sleeping the recommended weight is best so the final blanket will be around 10lbs. If I measure everything correctly this time.

Thanks everybody for all the help! I'll post a picture of the blanket when it's done.

 

[Aspiegirl75]

Thought I'd give an update my weighted blanket search. What I did was go ahead and make a prototype with some $1 a yard fabric and play sand that I graded so I could use only the largest pieces. I learned a lot for little money and am now ready to make the final blanket

Making the prototype I encountered a few problems. My dyscalculia asserted itself in the measuring of the sand and I ended up with a 15lb blanket after only filling 2/3s of the blanket. It is now a smaller blanket than I intended and am going to use it when sitting in my rocking chair. I like the smell of the sand.

The other problem was finding out that a 15lb blanket is too heavy for me to sleep under and really difficult to drag around. Apparently for sleeping the recommended weight is best so the final blanket will be around 10lbs. If I measure everything correctly this time.

Thanks everybody for all the help! I'll post a picture of the blanket when it's done.

How big are your squares and what are your length and width measurements?
I'll happily apply your measurements to my method for getting the right weight per square, if you'd like some help.

 

[kay]

How big are your squares and what are your length and width measurements?
I'll happily apply your measurements to my method for getting the right weight per square, if you'd like some help.

My squares ended up being about 3"x3". Can't remember how long it was originally other than it was 42" across. I cut it off at 15lbs and threw out the scrap. I think the next blanket needs to be 42"x 60" and 10lbs. If I go with glass beads the squares will be 3"x3" again. If I go with plastic pellets the squares will be 4"x4".

 

[Aspiegirl75]

Arrrgh!! Just wrote the whole post and accidently erased it!!!
@kay
So..... I'll try to explain myself and my method, but if you don't get any part of it just ask and I'll try to explain it differently .
If you just want to skip the explanation just scroll down to the last paragraph, it has all the measurements you need.
So if we go with the 4×4:
1. You divide the length by 4, 60÷4=15, that's 15 rows.
2. Then you divide the width by 4, 42÷4=10,5, that's 10 columns.
3. Multiply width by length, 15×10=150, for a total of 150 squares. (I leave off an empty square on each side all around, so I do 13×8=104 squares.)
4. Divide weight by number of squares, one pound=453.592 grams, so 10 lbs=4535.92 gms. 4535.92÷150=30.24 gms. So 30 gms are your weight in each square.(for me it would be 4535.92÷104=43.61 gms/square)
Of course it would not be ideal to weigh each and every square, so what I did was I weighed one portion and put it in a clear plastic cup and marked where it leveled off with a sharpie all around, you could also use a measuring cup or spoons...etc. This way you could approximate the weight each time without having to actually weigh it.
Also, I used one if those wrapping paper tube to slide in the column and pour the pellets in, just made things a little easier.

Now if we go with 3×3 squares,
1. Divide length by 3, 60÷3=20, that's 20 columns.
2. Divide width by 3, 42÷3=14, that's 14 rows.
3. Multiply length by width 20×14=280, that's 280 total squares. (If we leave an empty squart all around, it would be 18×12=216 squares.)
4. Now divide the weight by number of squares, 10 lbs=4535.92 gms. 4535.92÷280=16.2 gms per square. (Empty square method 4535.92÷216=21 gms/square.)

So to sum it all up, for a blanket size 42"×60":
- If you go with 4×4 squares the weight per square should be 30 gms. (If you want to leave an empty squart all around for an accent or a trim it would be 43.5 gms per square)
- If you go with 3×3 squares, then the weight per square should be 16 gms. (Square off method would be 21 gms per square.)

 

[kay]

Arrrgh!! Just wrote the whole post and accidently erased it!!!
@kay
So..... I'll try to explain myself and my method, but if you don't get any part of it just ask and I'll try to explain it differently .
If you just want to skip the explanation just scroll down to the last paragraph, it has all the measurements you need.
So if we go with the 4×4:
1. You divide the length by 4, 60÷4=15, that's 15 rows.
2. Then you divide the width by 4, 42÷4=10,5, that's 10 columns.
3. Multiply width by length, 15×10=150, for a total of 150 squares. (I leave off an empty square on each side all around, so I do 13×8=104 squares.)
4. Divide weight by number of squares, one pound=453.592 grams, so 10 lbs=4535.92 gms. 4535.92÷150=30.24 gms. So 30 gms are your weight in each square.(for me it would be 4535.92÷104=43.61 gms/square)
Of course it would not be ideal to weigh each and every square, so what I did was I weighed one portion and put it in a clear plastic cup and marked where it leveled off with a sharpie all around, you could also use a measuring cup or spoons...etc. This way you could approximate the weight each time without having to actually weigh it.
Also, I used one if those wrapping paper tube to slide in the column and pour the pellets in, just made things a little easier.

Now if we go with 3×3 squares,
1. Divide length by 3, 60÷3=20, that's 20 columns.
2. Divide width by 3, 42÷3=14, that's 14 rows.
3. Multiply length by width 20×14=280, that's 280 total squares. (If we leave an empty squart all around, it would be 18×12=216 squares.)
4. Now divide the weight by number of squares, 10 lbs=4535.92 gms. 4535.92÷280=16.2 gms per square. (Empty square method 4535.92÷216=21 gms/square.)

So to sum it all up, for a blanket size 42"×60":
- If you go with 4×4 squares the weight per square should be 30 gms. (If you want to leave an empty squart all around for an accent or a trim it would be 43.5 gms per square)
- If you go with 3×3 squares, then the weight per square should be 16 gms. (Square off method would be 21 gms per square.)

Thank you! Don't know what I do wrong with math and measuring so I think I'll show this to a math fluent friend and let them double check my measurements next blanket.

 

[Connie Datu]

Weighted blankets come in various sizes and weights and provide deep-touch therapy or deep-pressure stimulation. Clinical studies suggest this sensation, similar to being held or hugged, releases serotonin which helps to regulate sleep and mood.

Weighted blankets can be particularly effective for children during times of heightened anxiety, while trying to sleep, or when sensory processing issues become overwhelming. Some children also enjoy using their blanket as a source of comfort while watching TV or lounging. They are especially effective when creating a sensory space for your child with autism.
As weighted blankets increase in popularity, more retailers are cropping up. While it is important to be sure your child’s weighted blanket is well constructed and uses appropriate fillers, consumers have an increasing number of retailers to choose from when purchasing.

Popular and well-reviewed brands available on Amazon include Platinum Health and YnM.

 

[kay]

Weighted blankets come in various sizes and weights and provide deep-touch therapy or deep-pressure stimulation. Clinical studies suggest this sensation, similar to being held or hugged, releases serotonin which helps to regulate sleep and mood.

Weighted blankets can be particularly effective for children during times of heightened anxiety, while trying to sleep, or when sensory processing issues become overwhelming. Some children also enjoy using their blanket as a source of comfort while watching TV or lounging. They are especially effective when creating a sensory space for your child with autism.
As weighted blankets increase in popularity, more retailers are cropping up. While it is important to be sure your child’s weighted blanket is well constructed and uses appropriate fillers, consumers have an increasing number of retailers to choose from when purchasing.

Popular and well-reviewed brands available on Amazon include Platinum Health and YnM.

Good information, and I certainly with I had one as a child, but this post was about weighted blankets for adults, which are good for even us old middle age types. My weighted blanket is good for recovering from extra busy social events, too much time at the hospital waiting room, ect.. I will sleep under it when I get so stressed that I get twitchy.

 

[baer]

mine weighs in at 18lbs, which is a split between the 5-10% of body weight +1lb. My therapist and I discussed the weight before the blanket was ordered. I didnt want it to heavy as we keep our heat set low at night in the winter time so there are more blankets on the bed. But I wanted it heavy enough for summer time use with just the weighted blanket and the normal bed sheet. Mike

Hi Mike, does the polyfill found within mosaic blanket - make you overheat?