I am looking to knit a weighted therapy blanket for my son. It needs to be a twin size (roughly). When it is done it needs to weight about 12-14 pounds. What natural fibers have the most weight for its bulk, cotton? An help would be great or any ideas as to what kind of yarn to use.
Yep all cotton would probably be heaviest. You could knit it double stranded on large needles (size 13) for a heavier weight. Peaches/Sugar and cream comes on large cones.
Would doing a double knit make it heavier as well? I have a knitting board I can use. I might do that.
Yes, double knit would use twice the yarn, so it would be heavier too.
Would the cotton wash and dry well? My concern would be shrinkage?
Wouldn’t a blanket that heavy stretch out of shape? :??
I know there is a woman on Etsy who makes weighted therapy blankets. Hers are quilted but maybe she can make the weighted part and use and thin fabric and you could knit a cover for it out of whatever you liked. Here is a link to her store…
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5442187
If that doesn’t work, just search for “weighted therapy blanket” in Etsy and you will find her.
Good luck! I’d love to see it when it’s done!!
We have a blanket much like the ones you linked to. We are trying to think off a way to have the weight with out the filler beads, they add a lot of bulk. We have a quit that my great grandmother made that is really heavy but we don’t want to wear it out and it wouldn’t with stand repeated washing.
Yeah it might, it doesn’t have to be pretty just functional.:pout:
If it didn’t shrink to much I don’t think it would matter, it only needs to cover the top of the bed (mainly just his body btw he is 13 and as tall as I am)
Knitting one seems like quite a project. I purchased one for my son from here: http://www.saltoftheearthweightedgear.com/index.html
It is poly/cotton fabric plain dark blue fabric and quilted with square stitches through out and each square hold river rock gravel. The squares over the feet are not filled so one can wiggle their feet. It was kind of expensive. It’s twin size and weighs 11 pounds. It is really heavy. He likes it though and misses it if we travel and don’t have it. He’s 13 and just started using it. I wish I had known of them sooner.
How thick is it and how does it wash?
I have never heard of a weighted blanket before and would be interested in knowing what they are used for. in the link above it said something about sleep disorders. My son (7 years old) suffers a lot with tingling sensations in his limbs which is worse at night and he is very restless. I was wondering if this blanket helps with restless sleep. thanks
This isn’t knitted, but a few years ago I made a rag quilt for my son to take to college and it is heavy. I was surprised at how many kids liked the weight of the quilt.
It is made from some of his old pants and shirts that I had saved. (When using new cottons, I always preshrink and test for colorfastness before piecing) If you’re interested, I can get him to weigh it.
As for shrinkage, I made a summer top with sugar and cream and it stretches a little while wearing, but goes back with washing. I dry it a little in the dryer, then take out while still fairly damp and lay flat to finish drying. No shrinkage except back to the original size.
Appearance wise while lying on the bed it is no thicker than a regular comforter. Possibly thinner and less fluffy. The first morning my son had it my daughter was in his room and said “hey, why does it feel like your blanket is full of rocks?” Some weighted blankets are filled with poly beads but for 11 pounds of weight that would be very very thick, so the river rock is less obtrusive. Also the rocks are naturally flame retardant and if years later the blanket is actually thrown away or something the rocks can just go in some gravel. Poly beads would melt in a fire and cause horrible burns and of course they never decompose or go away.
Washing is a whole other ball game. It’s too heavy to run through a machine I think it could break or unbalance a machine. And if the weight didn’t do it a ripped seam and spilling rocks into the machine would! It can be spot cleaned. Or I have considered spot cleaning and hosing off on a sunny day. My son has his between his sheet and regular comforter so I guess that protects it a bit too. We have only had it since December and I haven’t tried to wash it. You could e-mail the company and ask about washing. Also getting a dark color shows less dirt.
Karina–weighted blankets are used to provide deep pressure to kids (or adults) during the night if they have sensory integration disorder which occurs either by itself or is part of the symptoms of autism and Aspergers. Theoretically the deep pressure is calming and can help the person be more aware of their body and have a better sense of proprioception during the day. My son is a teen ager and does NOT sleep in or for hours on end like his peers, I was hoping this blanket would help him sleep longer and I haven’t seen that result. I think he does get a more restful and comforting sleep and he enjoys the weight. I don’t know that it’s improved his body awareness either! But hey he likes it and uses it. And when we have slept elsewhere with out it he misses it. So the weight is comforting. I have heard of people using weighted blankets just because they like them though.
NewAmy
Does your son get hot under it?
No, he doesn’t complain of being too hot. I just asked him and he says it doesn’t make him hot but it is warmer than other blankets. He used to have two blankets on his bed with a sheet. Now he has a comforter the weighted blanket and the sheet. In the colder months we put extras on too. But his room isn’t too warm in the winter.
Also I looked at the tag and it says it can be machine washed if you pre-fill the machine and add other heavy items to balance the load. However I have a front loader and I’m not certain how it could be washed in that. It specifically says not to put it in the drier and I think the weight would be the issue there.
I know there are other weighted blanket companies on line but I chose the Salt of the Earth particularly because of the rocks instead of beads. The blankets are made to order, so it took 3-4 weeks for it to arrive. I actually called them because we got the Paypal confirmation but no confirmation from the people themselves about the order. When I called they were really nice and everything was on track.
Good luck with this. How old is your son??
I have a son with SPD and I think you’d be better off going with a quilted, or sewn blanket. You could have weights in pouches which woul dmake the blanket easier to care for, and also more adjustable.
A knitted blanket that weights 12 pounds would be huge and hot.
What about a duvet cover? that would help with keeping it clean.
This is such an interesting topic. My daughter has many issues, sensory being one of them. I thought about making a blanket as well but would girlie it up.