Weighted Baby Blanket

I've wanted to make a few weighted blankets since I discovered they were a thing. Not only are they instrumental for keeping a child grounded and calm, but Jeff and I both enjoy extra weight over our bodies as we sleep, but it can get too warm to have a blanket always on top of us.

I decided to start with a little stroller-sized blanket for my baby, so I could work out the kinks before taking on the monstrous king sized blanket I promised my husband. She really loves it. It helps keep her calm when we have to be in the car for long periods, and it was vital on our recent trip to Australia.


Materials:

• Two hemmed pieces of fabric
• I used two receiving blankets from this set, though they don't appear to have the same colors in stock that I used.
• Sewing machine
• I don't actually have any idea where my sewing machine is from, since it was a birthday gift from my parents 14 years ago, but this one is affordable with amazing reviews if you're looking to get started.
• Heavy sewing thread
• I used this upholstery thread, and I didn't have any issues with it breaking.
• Extra needles
• Sewing scissors
• There's not much worse than trying to use scissors your child used last week to make "shiny snowflakes" from the tin foil.
• When I was younger, my mother went so far as to write "Mom's Sewing Scissors" on the handle of her sewing scissors, and you were punished if you used them for anything other than cutting thread or fabric.
• Weighted pellets
• Since these are heavy, they're typically more expensive to buy online (and ship) than to buy in a brick and mortar store. If you are going to buy online and intend to make multiple blankets or one large blanket, this 20 lb box of pellets is a pretty good value. (That's not even a referral link!)
• Funnel
• I learned the hard way with this blanket that you definitely want a funnel! See the "lessons learned" at the bottom of the post for elaboration.
• Quilting pins
• I prefer the kind with round pin heads because they're easier to handle.
• Pin cushion (Optional)
• I find that these make your pins easier to handle and keep safe from tiny hands. You can find my tutorial to make your own here.
• Tailor's chalk (Optional)
• Kitchen scale (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Choose your fabrics.
1. I chose two receiving blankets, as shown below. For a future project, I've bought a king sized sheet and a king sized minky blanket.
2. It's best if you choose something that's already hemmed. This saves you measuring, cutting, and hemming.
   
2. Determine what your blanket needs to weigh.
1. The final blanket should be no more than 10% of the person's weight.
2. For this blanket, I determined that the final weight should be no more than 2.5 lbs.
3. Optional:
1. Iron your fabrics.
1. I put this as optional because it would probably really help, but I was too lazy to do it.
4. Place your fabrics with the pretty sides together.
   
5. Pin the fabrics together on three sides.
1. Give yourself a bit of room for the hem.
2. The open fourth side is for adding the pellets.
6. Sew along the pinned edges.
1. Remove the pins as you go or after you finish sewing.
7. Flip your blanket right-side-out.
   
8. Optional: Iron your seams.
1. This is another step that can make your process significantly easier, but I was too lazy.
9. Optional: Measure and mark your intended seams.
1. If you didn't choose a patterned fabric or you don't feel confident about sewing without a strict guide, you can mark your intended seams with tailor's chalk.
10. Sew vertical seams from the bottom (closed) side to about two inches from the top (open) side.
1. You can make these seams as far apart as you'd like, but a good width is probably 4-6 inches, depending on the size of blanket you're making.
2. You'll see that my seams were about 1-1.5" apart, which made the pockets of the blanket quite narrow. This made the process much more difficult and time-consuming than was necessary.
   
11. Weigh out the appropriate amount of weighted pellets.
1. To do this, I took the total weight I wanted for my blanket (Step 2), and multiplied this number by 16 to equal the number of ounces.
1. In this case, the number of ounces was 40.
2. Divide the number of ounces by the number of columns you have created.
1. I had 17 columns, so my answer here was about 2.3.
1. Always round down, since you don't want the blanket weighing too much.
3. Divide this number by the number of rows you intend to make for your blanket.
1. I had five rows, so I ended up with .46 ounces.
4. This is the weight of pellets you want in each "pocket" of the blanket.
5. Through a bit of trial and error, find a container that will contain the correct volume and weight of pellets.
1. For my blanket, it turns out that one of those little plastic medicine measuring cups holds almost exactly .46 ounces of weighted pellets.
12. Using the funnel, pour the appropriate amount of pellets into each column, then give it a solid shake from the top to settle the pellets.
1. I don't have a picture for this step because I didn't have a funnel. It was a very difficult experience. Just get the funnel, trust me. Use a piece up paper rolled into a cone and fastened in place with tape if you have to.
13. Sew a horizontal line across with width of the blanket to close this row of pockets.
1. Make sure that the pellets of each pocket are well-settled before your begin sewing! You can even pause while you sew at the beginning of each column to feel around and shift any potentially problematic pellets. Your machine and needles will not thank you for sewing through one of those plastic demons.
14. Repeat Steps 12-13 until you reach the top of the columns and have completed your pocketed section.
15. Fold the unsewn top section in half, and sew in place.
1. This should create about a 1-1.5" top section.
16. Fold this section over the top of the top row of pockets. This will overlap by about 1-1.5".
17. Beginning at the very edge, sew vertical lines to attach the top section to each pocket, making sure to sew only over the established vertical seams and not venture into a pocket and the enclosed needle-killing pellets.
    
    
18. Snip all loose thread ends.
19. Admire your beautiful blanket.

Lessons learned:

• Make the "pockets" for the beads bigger. It's really hard to get all the little pellets into a 1/2" diameter opening.
• Definitely use some sort of patterned fabric for one of the sides. That chevron pattern kept me from having to measure and mark and pin a whole lot more.
• Use a funnel. Trust me on this one.
• Okay, so you'd like a little elaboration. Without a funnel, I had a *very* hard time getting the beads into each pocket. Many went all over the floor, and it was then very difficult to keep my baby and dog from eating them while I halted all progress to clean them up. It took me probably 5 times longer to make this blanket without a funnel. That's how vital it is.
• Make sure the pellets are all well away from your machine needle when sewing. Several good needles were lost to stray pellets in the making of this blanket.
• It is exponentially easier to start with hemmed fabric like the receiving blankets I used.