Because I make things for my kids.

I wanted to make a heavy blanket for my almost-3 year old, thinking that a little more weight at night will help keep him feeling safe and secure and in his bed rather than mine. I remembered a blanket my mom made, it was corduroy and had this thick, heavy, yucky (ie not cleaned or bleached) looking cotton filling (there was a hole in the blanket where the insides were coming out - I suppose it was used a lot!).

You can't find this type of batting (for you non-crafters, that's the term used for the stuff that goes between the fabric in a quilt) anymore. I did find some organic cotton/bamboo blend batting at Joann's, of all places (they have little else that is "organic" or "green" in their store), but it is really thin and light weight.

I did some research on how weighted blankets are made, knowing they are popular among kids with sensory issues and adults with restless leg syndrome. I assumed I'd find a lot of information, and I did! These blankets are generally made by sewing two pieces of fabric together with vertical tunnels, filling the tunnels with a little bit of weighted material (rice, sand, beans, poly pellets, etc.), then sewing horizontally to keep the weighted material in place, repeating this process until the blanket is done. Interesting! But not really the way I wanted to weight down the blanket. I just wanted the fabrics and batting themselves to be heavy. So how do I do that?

Well, I found some other website asking a similar question, and they said that back in day, people would take old blankets, like old wool army blankets (thin, but heavy), and use those for the batting. What a good idea! However, this is for my kid who is about to embark on potty training. It needs to be fully washable. Wool, if you don't know, shouldn't be washed because it felts up and shrinks and can become stiff and no longer useable as a blanket. I *do* have a wool puddle pad on his bed, because wool is a natural moisture barrier, but I don't wash it. I want to be able to wash his blanket without worrying about it.

I was thinking about this ever since we returned from the fabric store, where my toddler picked out, by himself, the corduroy and flannel fabrics I'll use for his blanket. Somehow, the colors and patterns he chose complement his room perfectly. I swear I did not guide his choices, aside from denying one pink floral fleece (I prefer to use cotton fabrics - organic, too, but those are hard to find). Anyway, what to do to make the blanket as heavy as I want it to be?

I found the answer laying on his bed this morning. A blanket I crocheted many years ago which I now can't stand to look at because the colors don't go with anything and it is just getting old and ratty, but I can't bare throw it out. Perfect!! It is really heavy, and made out of some kind of acrylic that, while not a natural fiber, won't shrink. The only problem is that it is a bit bulky and bumpy, but I think if I sandwich it between the soft organic cotton batting and the other fabrics, the end result ought to be just right.

Stay tuned for the finished product!
-NinaMama