Weighted blankets for adults?

Hi there,
I'm currently looking for a weighted blanket after reading about them and they ways they help people with sensory processing disorders. The problem is that I can't find one large enough and heavy enough for someone my size under $300! I want it to be the width of a full-size comforter and around 18-20lbs, not to mention extra fluffy Should I just make my own? I looked at fabric store websites like Joann's and found the price of 20lbs of poly-pellets to be around $70....then I looked on Ebay and found them for $30. If I choose the DIY route, does anyone have a good pattern they've seen or used?

Thanks!

I just met a girl in October who got one of those blankets, here at Mayo Clinic, while in the Psych ward. She told me how great it was! It's snug, but not suffocating or super-hot. It's very reassuring.

Maybe you can try looking at Mayo's site? Mayo isn't real cheap though... I would make sure that whatever you choose is the right one for helping you sleep. Sure would hate to buy the wrong one, or spend the time and money producing one that doesn't work for you.

Best wishes to you!

ETA: http://www.weightedblanket.net/faq.htm
Lots of Q's and A's on this site, if you haven't checked already

Very interesting concept...never heard of it before...almost wish i could try one myself. i have sleep problems...winding down is near impossible.

I spent the money to buy one one time and it didnt work for me. Im a survivor of sexual abuse so the added weight on me, no matter what position I was in I felt like I was being abused again and had flashbacks and many nightmares. my wife and I gave away mine to the hospital with in 3 days of buying it.

now when people ask me about this I tell them before buying their own make one. its very easy to do it. go someplace that has sand (a park, playground, your back yard what ever), fill a couple pillow cases, then divide that sand up at home into more pillow cases. then lay down and place the pillow cases on top of you. during times when you think you would be using your actual weight blanket.. if you are able to lay this way for about 15min to hours (what ever you need it for) and it doesnt cause you more stress of having pressure like this on top, around you then by all means go get a weight blanket...

many of those that I know who have been sexually abused come back telling me they couldnt do it, the added weight caused them to feel like their abusers were attacking them again.

Thanks...not sure if I'd had the same experience because I haven't been abused, but I have sensory issues, which is what they're most often used for.

What is a weighted blanket? I've never heard of that before. What is it supposed to do?

I want a weighted blanket so bad-but like you Indie-I haven't found one that I can afford-I wish I could try one out before buying!!

indie did you google "weighted blanket pattern"? that worked. some people said if you like the feel of the dentist's lead x-ray apron, you'll like the weighted blanket. I was thinking of just poking holes in an old comforter, pouring pellets in thru the hole, then patching the hole. as long as the squares in the comforter are closed off from each other. that could all be done by hand, even. thanks for posting this!

There are websites that provide instructions on how to make these blankets. Most are smaller than a comforter. Search "weighted blanket instructions." There are some nice patterns.

I have been doing some research into these blankets, since I want to make one for myself. It should be no more than 10% of your body weight, plus 1 pound. I'd use the polly pellets, because they are able to survive the wash. They also tend to make the blanket bulky or more "puffy." Some use river stone. Corn, rice, beans etc should not be used for obvious reasons.

The blanket works by providing deep pressure stimulation. It calms, and is especially good for sensory processing disorder, ASDs, CP, etc...

If you like to bury yourself in heavy bedding, and find it soothing and relaxing (to have the weight on top of you) this blanket will work for you.

I'm glad to see this thread. I used to sleep under layers of heavy comforters when I stayed with my elderly grandmother who lived in a drafty old farmhouse. I liked the sensation of the weight, and I also feel I would benefit from the weighted blanket. I had heard the story of the autistic doctor who discovered thru her study of cattle, that providing them with weight on both sides helped calm them. She then took the idea for helping autistic people (she is high functioning autistic). I think this may be the origin of the idea of the weighted blanket. I have a 100% cotton futon mattress (about 2" thick) that I have gotten under for the weight, but it is too bulky.

Hey the dentists lead apron thing! Since you mentioned it Hankster it I do remember those things being oddly comfortable...I may fiddle around with trying to make one of these blankets...or a version of.

Can someone explain to me why weighted blankets are recommended for people with sensory issues?

Not sure, if it's supposed to soothe and keep the 'flight' response in check, that can lead to feelings of anxiety. I am just thinking about how they needed to used a weighted rolled rice sock or something to that effect, with my youngest in school for a while, to help him focus on sitting down in his seat. That was in preschool. Early intervention tactics.

I also felt comforted when they would put that weighted vest on me at the dentist to have x-rays done. Weird. I also remeber listening to a documentary on NPR about a women with autism that worked with cows before they went to slaughter. She noticed that the stalled they brought es them into, to get vaccinated, squeezed them to hold in place and that they became calm when squeezed. She built a device for herself. She crawl in it on her hands and knees, pull a rope and the sides came down and squeezed her. It calmed her down.

I was in the hospital a few weeks ago, and I had to fill out a questionairre regarding what helps me calm down if I escalate. Weighted blanket was an option. Had no idea what it was until now.

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This interests me because I have lots of extra pillows on my bed to hug when I sleep and I like to have lots of stuff on top of me when I sleep. I don't know why, but I love the feeling of being smothered. I don't know if anyone else can relate to that.

I just bought one and i <3 it sooooooooooo much!

Aww that's lovely. xxx

I have been hsing a weighted blanket on my bed for years. I love mine. It feels calming. I had mine made. There are patterns out there and websites like Handmade Weighted Blankets you can order from.

I ordered one almost two weeks ago. I should be getting it in 2-3 weeks. I can't want!

OMG yes! The dentist Lead apron for when they did x-Rays. It did give me a sense of security and calmness.

Her name is Temple Grandin, and to summarize who she is from Wikipedia- "Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American professor of animal science at Colorado State University, a best-selling author, an autistic activist, and a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. She also invented the "hug box", a device to calm those on the autism spectrum. The subject of an award-winning, 2010 biographical film, Temple Grandin, she also was listed in the Time 100 list of the one hundred most influential people in the world in the "Heroes" category."

Dr. Grandin was very discomforted in her youth from personal touch, and so she got a lttle older and connected with the ranch animals (cattle in specific) more than humans. She found herself using a cattle calming device to calm herself down, and it was like a hug but not with the social part of it. She grew up and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in psychology 1970, a master's degree in animal science in 1975, and a doctoral degree in animal science in 1989. She has changed slaughterhouses nation-wide in order to promote humane situations for cattle-less stress, panic, and injury, and she described her passion for this in one quote: "Of course they're gonna get slaughtered. You think we'd have cattle if people didn't eat 'em everyday? They'd just be funny-lookin' animals in zoos. But we raise them for us. That means we owe them some respect. Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be. I wouldn't want to have my guts ripped out by a lion, I'd much rather die in a slaughterhouse if it was done right." After her successes in animal rights and science, she started speaking up to correct the stigmas of autism especially early intervention in children. She has continued to stay active in communicating the differences in the minds of those with autism and educating others to assist in further studies, findings, and understanding of autism and what it's like through the eyes of an autistic person.
I encourage anyone who has any interest in Autism to look into her and watch her biopic starring Clare Danes, as she has quite the story to tell.

Ultimately, the weighted blanket is to provide a "hug" to calm a person down, which is the pressure it gives, representing a more "comfortable" version of the cattle contraption that helped Dr. Grandin out, as those with autism read social ques differently than those without. Universal cues are completely different in the eyes of someone with autism.

Hopefully this sparks interest and curiosity for some to further read up on her legacy that she is continuing to build on, as my short synopsis doesn't do any justice to her story, or to show how one person can really make huge changes in the world, one battle at a time.

My counsellor suggested I make a weighted blanket about a month ago. I got a crib size blanket from the thrift store, and also found flannel material sewn together which was the same size. I filled 16 zip local bags, doubled together (so 32 bags) and filled them with rice and beans and corn flour - because that is what I had. I covered these in duct tape, and sewed them into the flannel with 3 vertical, and three horizontal dividing seams. I opened part of the crib blanket, and use it as a cover, so I can wash it.

I love it! I have slept with it on top of me every night since. I sleep so much better now, as I struggled with feeling like I was floating always before. I also use it for calming during the day. It works great! I am 38, by the way, and was just diagnosed with autism.

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*ziploc

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I am still a beginner sewer, it wasn't difficult.

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