Weighted Blankets and More

Still no Etsy shop yet. Sorry. But I am still sewing blankets for anyone interested. I have gotten a lot of emails lately so I thought I would just post my prices and info. Please add $2.75 for each additional pound. I ship via USPS. Lap Pads, toddler blankets and some twin blankets fit in a medium flat rate box. E-mail me at 1squishypickle at gmail.com for more information.

12 x 22 Lap Pad (2 pounds) or 14 x 20 Lap Pad (2 pounds) $20

36 x 52 Toddler Weighted Blanket (4 pounds) $50 Labor + Materials (about $75 total)

40 x 72 Twin Weighted Blanket (6-8 pounds) $75 Labor + Materials (about $110 total)

54 x 72 Full Sized Weighted Blanket $115 Labor + Materials (about $200 total)

Custom Sized Blankets Available. E-mail for a price.

Weighted vests begin at $30.

I just linked up my weighted blanket tutorial to Sew Much Ado's We Did It! Wednesday. This is the first time I've linked up to something like this! I wish I had more time to sew so that I could link up more.

Fun!

My weighted blanket tutorial was featured on ohdeedoh today! How fun. :)

Weighted Blanket Tutorial

Finally! The long awaited weighted blanket tutorial.

Here are the materials needed for making your blanket. How much fabric and how many pounds of poly pellets depend on the size of your finished blanket. For this blanket I used:
2 1/2 yards of cotton fabric (top of blanket)
2 1/2 yards of muslin (inner fabric)
2 1/2 yards of flannel (back of blanket)
8 pounds of poly pellets
thread

Wash your fabric in hot water and dry in the dryer. Iron fabric after drying.

Figure out the size of the pockets that will hold your poly pellets. This blanket was for a twin sized bed, so my final measurements were 40"x72". I like to have 2" around the edge of the blanket for seam allowances and ease of sewing. This left the available area for the pockets at 36"x68". Each pocket will end up being 6"x6" except for the top and bottom rows. These pockets will be 6"x7". I am not great with math so here is the fantabulous way I use to figure out each blanket.
Draw your grid on the muslin.
Lay the top fabric right side down and then lay your muslin on top with your grid facing up. Smooth out the two fabrics and pin, pin, pin!
Sew across the bottom of your blanket and then sew the up the columns. I like to start from the bottom and sew my way to the top to help prevent puckers.
Calculate the weight of poly pellets required in each pocket. This blanket weighed 8 pounds. I have a digital scale that measures in ounces and grams. I usually measure in grams because the math is a lot easier! Eight pounds is 3,636 grams. Divide by 66 pockets and you come up with 55 grams of poly pellets per pocket.
Measure 55 grams of poly pellets and pour them into the first column. Do this 5 more times until all of your columns are full.
Sew across the row closing your poly pellets into the pocket. Be sure to push all the poly pellets away from your sewing foot and needle. It is not fun when your needle hits a poly pellet. Continue weighing, filling and sewing across the rows until you reach the top of the blanket.
Lay your flannel right side up and place the blanket top side down onto your flannel. Be sure to smooth out the flannel as your lay the top down. This will prevent puckers and wrinkles.
Pin around the edges of the blanket leaving about 9" open on the bottom. This will allow you to right side out the blanket after sewing. Sew around the entire blanket and don't forget to leave the opening!
Right side out the blanket paying special attention to the corners. Sometimes I use the back of a spoon to poke them out.
Pin or iron around the outer edge of the blanket.
Sew around the edge of the blanket making sure you close the opening at the bottom of the blanket.
Viola! Your weighted blanket is complete! Snuggle up and sleep well!
Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible!

Disclaimer: I am not an OT nor do I play one in the bloggy world. The standard formula for a weighted blanket is 10% of body weight plus 1 pound. Always check with your OT to determine the proper weight for your blanket.

I can't be the only mom in the world who gets excited about decorating their child's bedroom. It was time for Dill Pickles to move out of the crib and down the hall to his big boy bedroom. Of course I had the perfect bedroom planned out in my head. I searched in catalogs, stores, blogs and on-line to find the best themed bedroom for our little Dill. Finally- perfection found in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. I was able to find this set gently used on Craigslist. Excellent! It even came with a matching area rug. Daddy Pickles and I put together Dill's new furniture and washed his new blanket and sheets. I was so excited to see what Dill Pickles would think of his bedroom. He liked it I guess. Well, as much as a 17 month old can tell you they liked it.


Dill stayed in his crib for a while, but within a few months he was climbing out. Not just once or twice, but CONSTANTLY. We quickly converted the crib to a toddler bed and it worked for a while. Getting Dill Pickles to fall asleep was a big problem. Huge. Finally I resorted to rocking him to sleep. I had an infant and I was exhausted. I did what I needed to to to get him to sleep.


Then one night I thought I heard furniture moving. Seriously? Who is moving furniture? Daddy Pickles was at work and there was no way that Sweet Pickles was moving furniture. I opened the door to Dill's bedroom and found his crib, which was not on wheels, pushed all the way across his bedroom. For a while I had suspected that Dill had some issues, but everyone told me that he was just being a boy. Or as a special education teacher I had too much knowledge and I was making myself think that I was seeing things wrong with my child but really, he was fine.


One day I said forget it all. There is something wrong with my kid and I am taking him for an evaluation. Dill Pickles and I went for a 15 minute screening at a private therapy clinic and within minutes of meeting him they assured me that I was not making things up and yes, there was more to it than just being a boy. Dill Pickles most definitely had major sensory issues.


So what does all of this have to do with the really cute Pottery Barn Kids toddler set I got on Craigslist for a steal? Have you ever seen a weighted blanket for sale in the PBK catalog? Me neither. The ones in therapy catalogs cost an arm and a leg and are usually made for institutional use at a school or therapy clinic. Know of any catalogs that sell a weighted blanket made out of fireman material? Didn't think so. I wanted what was best for my son, but I didn't want a blah blanket for his bedroom. He was going to be using it every night to sleep and I was going to see it every time I walked past his bedroom. What was I to do?


I called my mom. Isn't that what everyone does when they need help? My mom and I sat down and thought and tinkered. We drew and we calculated and here is the results of our labors.

Here it is- the very first weighted blanket I ever sewed. Well, with my mom's help of course. It doesn't match the rest his bedroom exactly, but at least it's not institutional blue or some other boring color. Since sewing this one nearly two years ago I have sewn countless others for friends, friends of their friends and for my son's teacher and classmates. I love sewing and I love sewing things that really help someone out. I've just finished sewing another weighted blanket for my friend's daughter. Want to sew your very own weighted blanket personalized for your child? A tutorial is coming soon. I promise. It's my first tut ever so I want to make sure I get everything right.