Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Weighted Blanket Tutorial!!

Hi, all!

Hard to believe another week has passed already, but it's Friday again - and time to get our whoop whoop on!!  Are you ready?

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Today I'm going to share a tutorial I wrote for a friend.  She needed to make a weighted blanket for her daughter, who teaches in a special ed class.  For those of you who don't know, a weighted blanket is sometimes used to help children with sensory issues, such as autism, to help calm them or help them sleep.  It's a pretty simple idea - a blanket that is a bit heavier increases the body's production of serotonin and melatonin, which helps encourage sleep.  This makes sense to me, because I always sleep better in the winter when I've got a big heavy pile of quilts on my bed!  

Well, anyway, she had looked on line and couldn't find a tutorial that made sense to her.  She brought one of the tutorials to me to see if I could help her and I found it didn't make much sense to me either!  So I started looking for a good one, and couldn't find what I was looking for - a simple, economical tutorial for a completely adjustable weighted blanket.  So I wrote one.  And in the spirit of sharing, I'm posting it here for those of you out there who need one too!

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Adjustable Weighted Blanket Tutorial

Finished size:  30” x 48”, using a six inch grid with 40 pockets

Materials Requirements:  

1 queen size flat sheet or 6 yards 44-45” wide fabric for 

weighted blanket

3 yards fabric for the “duvet” cover for the weighted blanket

80 sandwich size zip bags (do not use quart storage bags!)

Thread

Frixion pen or other water soluble fabric marking pen

(Frixion pens are sold in office supply stores; they are

marketed as erasable pens, but when you iron over 

the marks on fabric, they disappear.  Excellent for 

marking fabric, and they come in many colors!)

Poly beads (sold in craft stores for making stuffed animals)

Food or postage scale

Drinking straw

Cut from flat sheet or fabric:

8 strips 32” x 7”

16 strips 32” x 9”

1 piece 32” x 49”

Cut from cover fabric:

1 piece 32” x 50”

1 piece 32” x 56”

Step 1:  Fold the 9” strips in half lengthwise and press.  You will now have 16 strips 31” x 4 1/2”.

Step 2:  Make a “sandwich” of one 32” x 7” strip, two of the folded strips, and one 32” x 7” strip.  Stitch the long raw edge side using a 1/2” seam.  Make 4 sets.  Press the seam open, with one 7” strip and one folded strip to each side.  You should now have 4 sets and 8 folded strips.

Step 3:  Repeat the process using two of the units you just created .  Make 2 sets.  Press seams open in the same manner.

Step 4:  Repeat the process using the two units you just created.  Press the seam open in the same manner.  You should now have one piece measuring approximately 32” x 49”, and two folded strips.  Sew one folded strip to the top by laying it against the top edge with the folded edge facing toward the bottom of the blanket.  Repeat on the bottom of the blanket, folded edge facing up.

Step 5:  Layer the folded pieces in pairs, with the upper one over the lower one on each row.  This will create an envelope closure for the weights.  Pin along the outside edge, securing each flap overlap and the open seams. Stitch 1/4” from the edge on each side to secure the flaps and seams. 

Step 6:  Take the 32” x 49” piece and lay it on the pocket side of the blanket, matching corners and raw edges.  Pin and stitch around the blanket, leaving an 8” opening in the center of the bottom for turning.  Clip corners.  Turn and press.  Stitch as close to the edge as possible all the way around the blanket, securing the opening left for turning and stabilizing the edges.

Step 7:  Lay the blanket strip side up on a flat, hard surface.  Using your Frixion pen or water soluble marker, measure 6” in from the long edges of the blanket.  Draw a line from top to bottom of your blanket.  Repeat the process 6” from each of the lines you just drew.  You should now have four lines running lengthwise of your blanket.  Pin across each of the overlaps on each line.  These are your stitching lines for the weight pockets.  Be sure your flaps are well pinned, then stitch on those lines.

Step 8:  To remove the marking lines on your blanket, either spritz with water (for water soluble markers) or press with a hot iron if you used a Frixion marker.

Step 9:  Determine the weight needed for your blanket.  The formula is body weight x 10% plus 1 pound.  So for a 40 pound child:  40 x 10% = 4 +1 = 5 pounds.  Convert 5 pounds to ounces:  5 x 16 = 80 ounces.  Divide by 40 pockets:  80 / 40 = 2 ounces per pocket.

Step 10:  Measure out your poly beads into sandwich bags.  A postage scale or food weight scale is great for this.  Remove the air from the bags as much as possible with a drinking straw (be sure not to suck up a bead!!), close up the bag and spread the beads out as evenly as possible.  

(Please note - I don't always look this scary!)

Double bag the weight, removing the air from the second bag as well.  Place one weight in each pocket, fitting it into the corners of the pocket.

Making the Cover:

Step 1:  Take one of the two cover pieces, and turn 1/2” on one end.  Press.  Turn down another 1/2”, making an enclosed hem.  Press.  Stitch close to the rolled edge to secure the hem.  Repeat on the other cover piece.  Each piece will now have one hemmed end.

Step 2:  On the longer of the two pieces, take the hemmed end and fold a 6” flap down to the right side.  You will see the wrong side of the fabric on the flap, over the right side below it.  Press. 

Lay the shorter piece of fabric face on the flapped piece, right sides together.  Leaving the flapped end open, stitch the other three sides using a 1/2” seam.  Turn and press.

Step 3:  Slip the weighted blanket inside the cover.  Be sure to work the corners of the blanket down to the bottom corners of the cover.  You may have to work it up like a pillowcase, but it is designed to fit snugly so that the blanket doesn’t slip around.  Once the weighted blanket is in place, flip the flap over the open end, covering the top of the blanket.  

You’re done!!!

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So that's my whoop whoop for the week!  And now it's your turn - - - 

What have you been whooping about this week?

What's made you dance the happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance along with you!!

The linky will remain open until Sunday midnight-

Be there or be square!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - This tutorial will be posted as a Page at the top of my blog to make it easier for folks to find in the future...