Weighted Blanket Tutorial

 A couple of years ago I read online that weighted blankets can help people relax and sleep better, especially those with anxiety or sensory issues.  I thought about making one for my young grandson but did nothing.  Recently an occupational therapist friend strongly recommended trying one.  She mentioned Mosaic Weighted Blankets as a source of high quality blankets, but I had seen DIY tutorials and decided to make one myself.

While I read or watched several tutorials, 

the most helpful for me was by CJ of the I Love My Kids blog.  Find it here.

The instructions I found used non-toxic, washable plastic pellets and polyester fiber stuffing.  I bought the pellets using a coupon at JoAnn's, although better prices can be found online if you buy a larger quantity.

I decided I wanted to use cotton quilt batting instead of stuffing.  I prefer cotton in general, and I liked the idea that with batting one side of the blanket would be smooth and the other pebbly.  I suspect that with stuffing the pellets would always fall to the down side, taking away the choice of textures.

Using batting meant I had to tweak CJ's tutorial.  Here are my notes in case you'd like to try your own DIY.

The guidelines I've seen recommend that for a child a blanket should weigh 10% of his body weight plus one or two pounds so I decided on 5.5 # for this one.  The smallest size (and weight) on the Mosaic site is 38 x 42", so that was my goal.  I cut my fabric 40 x 44" to allow for seams and shrinking from quilting.  (I prewash my fabric and so don't worry about major shrinkage.)

 I turned the top edges down 1/2" and pressed.

Then I layered my fabric and batting:  backing (green) fabric right side up on the bottom, then top fabric right side down, then the batting right side down.  Yes, most batting has a top and bottom!  With my warm and white cotton batting, the slightly pilly side is the top and the dimpled side is the bottom.  It's easier to quilt from the top since that's the same way the needle-punched batting was produced.  (Updated 4/2020: I had this info reversed until recently--The Warm Company's FAQ page set me straight.)

I don't know if you can see it, but my batting is pushed all the way into the ironed crease of the top fabric.  When the final seams are stitched the batting will be secured inside.

I clipped the top folded edges together to make sure that side stayed as even as possible.  Then I sewed around the other three sides in one continuous line, pivoting at the corners.  Sew from the very top--don't leave a loose edge at the corner.  I used a small stitch length (1.8?) to make the blanket sturdy and prevent migration of the plastic pellets.

Trim the batting close to the line of stitching and clip the bottom corners of the fabric to make turning easier and neater.  Turn the blanket right side out  and press the edges.  Top stitch around three sides.  I made two rows of stitching for extra security.  I used a walking foot for this project since I was sewing three layers.

Now it's time to calculate how many pockets the blanket will have.  I decided I preferred multiple small squares and settled on a grid of 8 columns and 8 rows--64 pockets.

The next step is to mark and sew the columns.  These are the lines going from the bottom to the open top of the blanket.  I used a pencil to make tiny marks evenly spaced across the bottom.  Then I used a hera marker and a quilting ruler to make creases for sewing guides.  I'd rather not use ink, chalk, etc.--the creases show up well on light fabric, are easy to follow, can't damage the fabric, and won't last long.

Anyway, after marking your columns however you like, sew along the lines.  As before, I made two rows of stitching and used a small stitch length for extra security.  I sewed from bottom to top because I didn't want any bunchiness at the bottom.  Next time I'll start stitching at the top so those folded edges stay perfectly even.  Once the pellets are sewn in all the pockets are a little puffy, so I believe any unevenness at the bottom won't be noticed.

The photos above and below show the blanket with the vertical seams sewn and the rows across marked with creases.

Now it's time for filling!  My goal was a 5.5 # blanket and I made the mistake of adding 5.5 # of pellets.  With fabric and batting the final product weighed a bit more than 6.5#!  The blanket is big enough that the whole thing isn't on my grandson at once, but you may want to factor that into your calculations.

I'm fortunate enough to have a digital kitchen scale, so I was able to portion my pellets in grams instead of ounces for greater accuracy.  It was easy to find a conversion tool online--5.5 # equals about 2495 grams.  2495 divided by 64 pockets equals 39 grams of pellets per pocket.

Weigh and pour the first batch of plastic pellets into each column.  Caution!  When I simply poured from the top, tons of pellets stuck to the batting on the way instead of falling to the bottom.  I don't know if it was friction or static, but trying to move them down (I ended up scraping with a yardstick) was a pain!  For the remaining rows I inserted a wrapping paper tube into the blanket and poured the pellets through it all the way to the bottom.  So much better!

Once each column has one batch of pellets (39 grams for mine) it's time to sew along the first crease to form the first set of pockets.  I found that it's helpful to use a row of pins to try to keep the pellets on the far side of the pocket, away from the needle.  Without pins the pellets roam all over, including into the path of the needle--not fun, believe me!

 Once again I sewed two seams.

 As you fill more pockets and the blanket gets heavier, folding it onto your extension table (if you have one) makes it easier to move everything along.

 Last row!

 It was easy to drop in the final pellets.

 Pin the pellets back as usual and clip or pin the top closed.  Sew as close to the top edge as possible (twice, of course) to catch the folded edge in your line of stitching.

Since I had sewn my columns from the bottom up, the folded edges were no longer even along the whole length.  I had to fiddle pocket by pocket to secure the top edge neatly.  Learn from my error!

 Done!

 My grandson likes his blanket, often giggling when he's under it. ☺❤