Weighted Blanket

[OliveOilMom]

Thank you for the link and the advice. I do not think I could sew a blanket, not practical for me. I looked at the price for the lead you linked to, it is very expensive. I think the weighted blankets on eBay are less costly but I cannot invest in one now anyway. Maybe some day. Thank you for sharing such an interesting idea on how to make my own lead blanket, I never thought it could be possible but you figured it out quickly

Did you read what I added in the edit? I think that would be a great idea. It wouldn't be hard at all to make a utilitarian one and I could sew that up really quickly, but I could also make some very pretty and nice ones. The ones I've seen online don't look like something you would want to leave out on your couch or on your bed in sight, but they could be made to where they look beautiful. I crochet and also embroider. Not only could I crochet one big enough for a bedspread for any size bed, and do that out of the thread so it's one of the lacy ones, but I could also crochet one out of yarn like a regular afghan. I could make them in any pattern that someone wanted, and in whatever colors they choose. Embroidery would be just as pretty and I could even make coordinating curtains or pillows to go with it, or even dresser runners etc.

 

[pax]

Lead is toxic

 

[zurb]

But only if you chew the blanket

 

[OliveOilMom]

Lead is toxic

Lead is toxic if it's ingested. I suppose I should have thought of every single possibility and put a disclaimer there that you shouldn't use lead roll if you are making the blanket for somebody who routinely eats bed linens and clothing. Otherwise I think it would be ok.

As for being around toxic things, so are poinsettia plants but I don't see a whole lot of people not having them in their homes during Christmas time because they might decide to eat them. Bleach and most cleaning products are toxic too but you have them in your home. The gas in your car is toxic too.

 

[pax]

The dust is toxic if you inhale it or ingest it. I live in a city that once had a lead smelter. I should bloody well know. It's a bit like saying asbestos is ok as long as you don't breathe. Why put yourself at risk if you don't have to?

 

[OliveOilMom]

The dust is toxic if you inhale it or ingest it. I live in a city that once had a lead smelter. I should bloody well know. It's a bit like saying asbestos is ok as long as you don't breathe. Why put yourself at risk if you don't have to?

I wasn't saying you didn't know, just that you don't come in contact with the lead when it's inside the blanket. If it's sewn in there it's going to be safe. You can cut the sheet of it with tin snips or dykes and you only do that once and if you think it will be problematic you can wear a mask, but once you put it in the blanket you won't be coming in contact with it. I don't think it would be anything to worry about if it's in there like that. If it were dangerous inside of something like that then they certainly wouldn't use it in xray rooms. The techs have to wear lead aprons and thyroid protectors quite frequently and they don't have problems since it's inside something.

 

[pax]

OFFS. The lead they use in surgeries is incased in rubber or other poly and they use it to to protect you from x rays, not because it feels nice. Its going to go through a blanket. Its going to create dust if its cut, rubbbed, scrunched, washed. Read an SDS.

 

[OliveOilMom]

OFFS. The lead they use in surgeries is incased in rubber or other poly and they use it to to protect you from x rays, not because it feels nice. Its going to go through a blanket. Its going to create dust if its cut, rubbbed, scrunched, washed. Read an SDS.

Feel free not to make one then. This could be under several layers of fabric and the part of the blanket with the lead in it wouldn't go in the wash.

 

[gonzerd]

Pax made the point already, but I'd like to add some extra weight () to it by repeating it. Don't use lead as a filling for a weighted blanket! It is highly toxic. An adult might know this and use the blanket with appropriate care (and even then), but a lot of people here might want one for their children, and children fidget, take things apart, put stuff in their mouth, without realizing the dangers. If it's not properly encased, like it is in the surgical protective gear that's been mentioned, just sucking on the blanket (which plenty of kids, and even adults unconsciously do) could cause them to ingest some of the lead. And then there are pets, who sometimes find joy in destroying things like blankets by scratching and biting it, distributing the lead particles not only into their own system, but all over the house. There are better, cheaper alternatives, so really, just use those.

My grandfather got lead poisoning from working at a print shop and he spent the latter half of his life carrying around a bottle of compressed oxygen/air connected to tubes going into his nose just so he could breathe, and if you can't breathe anymore, having a weighted blanket, no matter how nice, won't make much difference.

 

[CleopatrasAsp]

I saw a pattern on Pinterest of a plain blanket that was made with a lot of pockets on one side. You would fill up ziploc baggies with sand or other weighted material and put that into the pockets and fasten them shut with velcro or something. That way it could be as heavy or light a blanket as you wanted, depending on how much sand you put in, and when it needed washing, just remove the baggies of sand (or buckwheat shells or whatever) and wash the blanket.

I'm not that great at sewing, but it looked pretty simple even for me. It might be a decent alternative for folks who can't afford to buy a blanket or who want to be able to adjust the weight of it.