All About… Weighted Blankets

At Wallypop, we make our weighted blankets custom to your exact specifications. Every blanket is carefully handmade in our basement shop.

image shows a weighted blanket made with a fun fox print and dark brown minkee. This blanket is half completed, with only the vertical channels sewn.

Aren’t Weighted Blankets Hot?

Well, they’re a blanket. There is that. But the beads themselves don’t add heat. They actually will tend to acclimate to their surroundings. If you’re looking for a cooler blanket, choose one made from all cotton, and avoid Minkee or fleece, which are warm fabrics.

What Size Blanket Should I Get?

Our weighted blankets are available in three standard sizes plus a lap pad, but we can also make a custom size just for you. The standard sizes are:

• Small: 41″ x 35″
• Medium: 58″ x 42″
• Large: 72″ x 43″

We strongly recommend choosing a blanket sized to the person, rather than to the bed, especially for children, but that doesn’t mean that the smaller sizes are only for kids. Think instead of your intended use. Will you use the blanket for sleeping? Will you use it while traveling? Do you want something to soothe your joints while you relax in a chair?

That said, if you prefer a blanket sized to your bed, we can absolutely do that. Blankets wider than about 43 inches will either have 1-2 seams on the face of the blanket, or will have a more limited selection of prints. We recommend (and will make unless you request otherwise) keeping your blankets SMALLER than your mattress. If they hang over the side of the mattress, they’ll tend to slide right off the bed as the weight pulls them down.

image shows a floral striped weighted blanket

How Heavy Should I Get?

The most common rule of thumb is 10% of the user’s body weight, or 10% plus a pound. Some people prefer less, some prefer more. I would never recommend going over this guideline with children.

What fabrics are possible?

Really, the world is your oyster here. Fabric for a blanket needs to be sturdy enough to handle washing with the heavy beads inside them, but you have such a wide variety of fabrics to choose from. Cotton. Flannel. Minkee. Fleece. Twill. Denim. Some Satins. Some Polyesters. Rayon from Bamboo (“Bamboo” fabric). Microfiber. Knit (the blanket will NOT be stretchy – the inner layers will still be flat cotton).

What do you use for the weight?

For the maximum in washability and long life, we use poly beads. Obviously, food items render a blanket nonwashable (and attract pests and rodents and tend to grow mold). Metal washers and other metal parts will rust. And glass beads can shatter and break and then you get glass shards working their way through your blanket into your bed. Ouch.

image shows a completed purple weighted blanket covering a giant stuffed monkey

How are Wallypop brand weighted blankets constructed?

We use small pockets to hold the beads, to ensure even distribution of weight throughout the blanket. We also use a unique, structurally sound construction to ensure your blanket’s long life – we use four layers of fabric throughout, to reduce wear and help prevent holes in your blanket.

Care Instructions?

Our blankets are machine washable – we recommend using the gentle cycle and checking your washer’s owner’s manual first to verify that it can handle the weight of your blanket. We recommend air drying your blanket.

You can buy yours right here!

image shows a monkey print blanket hanging over the back of a chair

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