Weighted Blankets

[shoegirl1020]

I've finally decided it's time to buy my ds8 a weighted blanket. In searching the web I've come across a few different companies but I'm leary to purchase one on-line (I normally only shop in actual "stores") and the price seems to vary quite a bit.

My question is:
1. Does anyone have any recomendations;
2. If I had a sewing machine would it be feasible to creat one myself (my friends who are reading this are :rotfl: with laughs at the thought of me sewing) so, could someone I know sew one or should we leave it to the experts?

[terri01p]

I must be out of the loop because I didn't know what you were talking about and had to look it up on the internet...I'm not a seamtress but I bet you could make this fairly easy yourself..I made something just like this for my dd wheelchair without the weights and I can't sew a lick, came out pretty good. Walmart has quilted like fabric for sell that would be perfect. :idea:

[shoegirl1020]

Inspired by the response I received-where can I buy navy beans?

[1stluvispooh]

I made my DD a weighted blanket. It took me longer to do the math and gather the materials than the actual sewing. You can get navy beans at the grocery store but since her age. I'm guessing she over 50lbs. It would take a lot of beans to get to the weight recommended. I actually went to a local gravel company and got river gravel. Smaller and heavier than navy beans. Good luck!

[MarieS]

I bought my son a weighted blanket from a online company. It was expensive but well made. It has a quilt top and solid back. What makes it different from others I have seen is that the seamstress used a special weighted fabric in the middle so it's all weighted. It's not just weighted in pockets. It weighs about 7 pounds. It's machine washable too.
www.sensorycritters.com

Marie

[LoriMomx5]

I am the mother of two children who have sensory integration issues and an occupational therapist. Most of the therapeutic supply companies are reliable that you can order from online, but my mother made my son a weighted vest to the specifications of his OT and it worked great!. I think making a weighted blanket would be feasible. Good luck. These techniques really work!

[Luv Bunnies]

I work in a special ed preschool class. We have two weighted lap belts and a weighted vest that really help some of our kids sit for longer periods. The lap belts are about 2 feet long and 8 inches wide. They're filled with some kind of beans. We lay the belts across the kids' laps when they're sitting in chairs at circle time and it really helps them focus and keeps them from jumping out of their chairs all the time. We reserve the vest for the most jumpy kids. It seems to calm them and keep them more centered. The vest has many pockets that hold small bean bags. We can put more bean bags in the pockets for bigger kids and keep the weight lower for smaller kids.

All of our "beanies" (as we call them) came from a theraputic supply catalog. I think it would be tricky to make them with the right specifications.

[Goofyluver]

You can also use rice or bird seed.

[wvdislover]

A few months ago, someone posted this website: http://www.weightedblanket.net/

The blankets look really nice and seem to be well made, albeit expensive. Keep us posted on what you decide to do. I'd love to have one for my DD9, but the price is an issue--I'd have to think hard about buying one.