The weighted blanket is nearly finished! This week I put on the binding on. A slapdash job if ever there was one. With a quilt there is a nice clean edge to work with, whereas this brushed cotton was shifting about all over the place. I also did some of my all time worst mitred corners. This isn't one of them.
All the buttons are on, so the pockets can be fastened up. Slowly and surely I am filling them.
Every pocket will contain a weighted pad. I am using two layers of thin wadding with muslin on the outside, and putting plastic pellets inside the space between the two layers of wadding. The pads are divided into 6 inch squares, and I am putting approximately 2 ounces of pellets into each square. So far I have made twelve sandwiches, so that leaves me with twenty three to go.
Already the blanket seems to weigh a ton when it is folded up. I stretched out on the settee to try it out. Once the weight is spread out over you it is surprisingly relaxing. I never realised it could be quite so pleasant lying under a load of flat bean bags.
Here goes for Week 301:-
Many thanks to Leanne for linking up last time with her Windows quilt. If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more.
If you have no free motion quilting to show, feel free to link up and show any project you like. Here are the usual rules, but feel free to ignore them. To keep the original emphasis, however, preference will be given to free motion quilting when featuring projects from the previous week.
If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.
Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.
Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-
1. Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.
2. Link back to this post in your own post.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.
4. The link up will remain open for five days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Tuesday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland, Brazil and Sweden have taken part. The
first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.
I've never seen how a weighted blanket is made, so this was interesting to me! I take it the pockets permit the weights to be removed for laundering? Are the plastic pellets similar to what's inside a beanbag chair? I wonder, could drapery weights be used for this purpose as well? You know, those rectangular or triangular weights that get hand stitched into the corners of a drapery panel hem so the curtain hangs nice and straight? I have a ton of those left over from when I used to do home dec sewing for hire. Oh, and did you intend for the linky not to open until midnight tonight? I meant to link up but it says it isn't open yet.
ReplyDeleteYes, the idea is that you take out the pads so you can wash the pockety blanket while empty. The pellets are the same as the ones used in beanbags. I thought about curtain weights, or the weighted tape to put in hems, but that would have been far more expensive. If you already have them though, I expect you could use them so long as they were well padded.
DeleteI always start the linky at midnight - force of habit - but put the post up earlier than usual because I needed an early night. I'll try and remember to open up early next time I put the post up early. Nice to hear you were ready and waiting!
Hi Muv, that sounds just fascinating and a lot of work. Why does your brother-in-law need this again?
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Hello Andrée, it is an epic project. Nearly there though! It is for my niece's husband, to see if it helps relieve his insomnia. I hope it works!
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