There have been several interested in receiving instructions for the
Homemade, Washable, and Adjustable Weighted Blankets.
For more pictures
and descriptions of the blanket click here
Supplies
for twin mattress:
Flannel fabric - 2 ½ yards, 45 inch wide.
Flat Sheet – twin or
full size.
Close woven fabric to
support snaps – 1 ¼ yards
Scrap fabric for bean
bags
Heavy duty snaps, six
boxes of 8 nickel snaps. (denverfabrics.com)
Thread, ruler, marking
pen or pencil.
Dry Pinto beans - 8lbs
Preparation
– Wash and dry all fabrics. Square off
the cut edges to make good rectangles as long as possible. On the long side of
the flannel fabric fold over edges 1 ½ inches and sew to make a hem for snaps.
Pockets
- Measure the width between side hems of flannel to determine finished length
of rows of pockets. Lay out flat sheet, mark and cut strips of fabric to make
10 rows of pockets. If you have a Serger sewing machine cut rows 6 ½ inches
wide and the finished length for rows of pockets. Serge all edges for finished
look on rows of pockets. If you don’t
have a serger cut the rows a little wider and longer to give yourself enough fabric
to make a narrow hem on all the edges of the rows of pockets.
A finished row should be 6 inches wide and the
correct length to fit inside both hemmed edges of the flannel fabric. Measure
the length of the row and mark the fabric for six pockets. The size of the
pocket will determine the size of the bean bags.
Bean
bags
- Make your finished bean bags ½ inch smaller in width and length than the pocket.
For example: if your pocket measures 6 X 6 ½ inches, the finished bean bag
should measure 5 ½ X 6 inches. This will give enough room to comfortably fit
the full bean bag into the finished pocket.
The easiest way to make bean bags is to cut rectangles
from the rest of the sheet. Since you need 60 bean bags to complete the
weighted blanket add-on, you will need to use scrap fabric to complete your
project. If you sew a 3/8 inch seam and want a 5 ½ X 6 inch finished bean bag,
your cut rectangle should be 11&6/8 X 6&6/8 inches. Fold rectangle in
half, sew sides and turn right side out. Fill with ½ cup of beans and sew top
with a serger or fold narrow hem at the top and sew closed.
Velcro
– Use the hook side of tape for pockets and the loop side for bean bags. For
one row of pockets cut six 7 inch strips of the hook side of Velcro. Measure
and cut 1 inch from end of each strip. This is for the center of the pocket.
Cut the rest of the strip into quarters, measuring 1 ½ inches, for each corner
of the pocket.
On the wrong side of the row of pockets draw the
dividing line for each pocket and a large X from corner to corner for each
pocket. Sew Velcro with a zigzag stitch close to each corner but not covering
the dividing line for each pocket. Sew center Velcro on one line of the X at
the center of the pocket. Continue for the remaining rows of pockets.
For bean bags cut a 7
inch strip of the loop side of Velcro.
Measure and cut 1 inch from the end of each strip for the center of the
bean bag. Cut the rest of the strip into quarters, measuring 1 ½ inch for the
corners of the bean bag.
Place bean bag on a
table and flatten to distribute the beans evenly. Slide a long pencil under the
bean bag from corner to corner and lift to make two even triangles. Sew a
straight line corner to corner. Flatten bean bag, slide a pencil underneath
from the opposite corner to corner and lift. This will make 4 triangles in the
bean bag. Sew a straight line corner to corner. Sew Velcro with a zigzag stitch
close to each corner and center of the bean bag. Continue for the remaining
bean bags.
Velcro on the inside of the pocket
Rows
of Pockets – Serge or make a narrow hem along top side of
flannel and fold down to make a 1 ½ inch hem. On wrong side of flannel pin the
first row of pockets (right side up) inside the side hems and just underneath
the top hem of flannel. Sew the sides and bottom of the row. Sew the dividing
line for pockets. Place and pin the next row close to but not overlapping the
previous row of pockets.
Sew 5 rows of pockets and skip 1 ½ inches of flannel
before sewing the next row. This leaves enough room to sew a strip of fabric
for snaps. Continue attaching rows of pockets to the flannel until you have
completed ten rows of pockets. Trim bottom of flannel, leaving enough material
to make a 1 ½ inch hem, serge or make a narrow hem, fold up and sew.
Snaps
– The top half of snap is attached to the flannel and the bottom half of snap
to the close woven, heavy duty fabric.
On side hems of flannel mark the spot for the first
snap ¾ inch from the top edge of the fabric. This should be in the center of
the corner made by the side and top hems. Measure 6 inches and mark the spot
for the next snap. Continue down the side hem until the bottom corner and place
the mark in the center of the corner made by the side and bottom hems. The last
space made by the bottom snap will be different than 6 inches. Make a note of
this measurement. There should be 13 snaps along sides of flannel.
Cut the close woven, heavy duty fabric into 3 inch
strips. Fold over to make a 1 ½ inch hem and serge or stitch and trim with a
pinking shear. Lay strips along the side hems of flannel and make corresponding
marks for snaps.Measure top and bottom hems between corners, evenly space 5
snaps and mark the spot for snaps. Lay a hemmed strip of fabric along bottom
and top of flannel and make corresponding marks for snaps.
For the center of flannel you need 2 hemmed strips
of fabric. Mark spots for 5 snaps using
a different color (red) for top half of snaps.
Follow directions on the boxes of snaps to attach snaps to flannel and
strips of fabric. Sew the center strip with top half of snaps to center of
flannel between rows 5 and 6 being careful not to cover the open top of row 6.
Snap together all strips making sure everything matches.
Finishing
– Lay the flannel (pocket side down) on a blanket or quilt, position flannel to
cover the mattress and pin the strips of fabric to the blanket or quilt.
Carefully unsnap the flannel and remove, leaving the strips of fabric in place.
Sew to blanket or quilt.
To insert bean bags into pockets, cut the side of a
cereal box slightly smaller than pocket. Slide the cardboard into pocket,
printed side down. Flatten bean bag and with the Velcro side up, slide into
pocket. Remove cardboard and press on Velcro to attach. Continue for the rest
of the pockets and bean bags. Snap weighted flannel to blanket or quilt.
Tips
and hints – Use quality fabric for the flannel, cheap flannel
will fall apart after a few years. The sheet however can be purchased for $5 to
$9 at your local ‘mart’ store.
Buying the snaps and Velcro online is much cheaper
than any store. The Velcro comes in 25 yard rolls which is enough for 2 twin-sized
weighted blankets. The snaps are attached with a hammer and some man sized help
is appreciated. (It took me 3 taps of the hammer where my brother only used one
to attach a snap.)
When filling bean bags rice can be used instead of
beans, just make sure the weight is the same.
When cutting or sewing do it in stages. For example
finish the edges of all the rows of pockets before going on to the next
step.
If the weighted blanket is for a small child you
won’t need all the bean bags at once. Complete the rows of pockets and attach
to the blanket so that when the child grows you can add more bean bags. Some
children will want the most weight on their core and others will want it evenly
spread over the whole body. You can adjust the bean bags for their comfort.
Filling the bean bags with ½ cup of beans gives a
gentle medium weight. ¼ cup of beans makes a light weight bag that needs more
lines of stitching to keep it from clumping.
¾ cup of beans makes a heavy weight bag that is harder to sew, but still
possible.
Take out all the bean bags before washing the
blanket and then reinsert when blanket is dry.
Velcro - http://www.textol.com/t_sewon.asp
#580 and #581 choose your color and number of 25 yard rolls.
#580 and #581 choose your color and number of 25 yard rolls.
For more pictures
and descriptions of the blanket click here
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