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Weighted Quilts for Autism


quiltingkimmy

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I just made one for my grandson, a 3 year old.  We were trying that to see if it helped him stay in bed at night.  I googled for directions and then adjusted the method of making the quilt.

 

I layered the backing right side down, wool batting, a piece of not to be seen fabric on top and pinned them like I would for quilting.  Then I used 4 inch strips of different fabrics and sewed them down over the not to be seen fabric.  Sew one strip right side up by stitching down both sides (from selvege to selvege),  Then put the second strip on the edge of the first strip and stitch down, flip it over so the right side is up and place the third strip on to sew and flip.  Continue on until the right length.  This will form the channels for the beads.  I chose to stitch down the center of the strips from top to bottom to form open channels on the right and the left sides.  Then I put a tablespoon of plastic pellet beads in each channel and sewed another top to bottom line.  Added more beads and sewed the line.  Continue until one half is "beaded".  Then do the same for the second half of the quilt.  I did a second row of stitching completely around the edge of the quilt to make a 1/2 inch edge for easier binding.  Then bind it.

 

I made it about 42 x 54 as a 4 pound quilt.  My 7 year old grandson was here before I bound it and as he sat to watch TV I put it on him.  His first words were:  Oh, this feels good" and then asked for one for him.  The 3 year old added it to his pile of quilts/blankets that he has to sleep with and when he changed locations with all his quilts, the weighted one went right with him. 

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Wow! It is so great to see such understanding and concern for those special people with Autism. I taught quite a few kids with autism in my 22 years of teaching. Autistic students were always challenging but also fascinating. Their personalities are all so different and it is like a complicated puzzle to figure out how to help each one connect to the world better.

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I made mine similar to a website someone posted on facebook for my daughter, then I changed it so it was less messing around with the bulk.  It would be interesting to make one with long sectioned bead pockets to slide into the channels, then you could replace with different weighted slide in bags.

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  • 1 year later...

I noticed this thread on Weighted Quilts for Autism.  I'd like to make a weighted quilt as a charity quilt to take to Childrens Hospital to see if they would be interested in receiving a few of these for children who might benefit from this.  My concern is the little pebbles that are used as weights could be a choking hazard if the quilt ever opened up or just shredded due to constant use.   Has anyone found something different that could be used as weights that wouldn't be a choking hazard if the quilt opened up and it got out?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mercedes the beads are pretty expensive (that's what I used).  I would check with the hospital before making.  I remove the bead sleeve before washing ... don't know that you'd find anyone at the hospital who would be willing to take care of them ... if used by more than one child it would need washing quite often. JMT

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I wonder if there's a chance the bead sleeve would break while being used by a child.   Our Childrens hospital actually gives each child who comes to the hospital a quilt to take home with them so it wouldn't be kept at the hospital.   Because I'm so concerned about a choking hazard with these quilts, I probably won't make any to give to the hospital and just do the "normal" quilts.   Thanks!

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From personal experience, it's always advisable to check with the hospital before making anything to donate. Your local hospital should have info available about comfort items.

Fabric and batting content, laundry requirements, and size are just some of the restrictions. This is for the safety of the patients and for ease of care. My group made a stack of baby-sized quilts for the local hospital and they were rejected for various reasons. We asked if they could be added to new baby gifts for use at home and they directed us to donate them to the city and county police to be added to the comfort teddies that law enforcement give to children under stress. At least the quilts were useful.

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The hospital has already accepted over 40 quilts from our church group so I know they accept the normal ones we make however we did check before starting to make them on any restrictions.   I was just hoping to come up with something for those children with autism.   It was such a blessing when we took the quilts down to the hospital - the office collecting them were so excited and appreciative to receive them that it makes you  just want to get home to start making more.

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  • 1 year later...

We use weighted blankets in our program.

 

We use a simple process where we determine the size of the blanket we want... most common is our medium size weighted blanket.  Depending on the amount of pellets we use will determine the weight of the blanket.

 

For the medium we cut 2 rectangles 21" X 31" - 1/2 inch seam - stitch on 3 sides...

 

mark 4 vertical rows 5 inches apart... we just use a pencil and draw the rows.... stitch to create the 4 vertical rows... now mark 6 horizontal lines 5 inches apart  (don't stitch yet)....

 

Stitch your first horizontal row but leave a 1 1/2 " opening for each vertical row.... pour pellets, rice, beans in.... work them into your first pockets at the bottom... once all in use a straight pin to hold them in... get all your pockets filled and stitch closed the 1 1/2 " opening and start the next row.

 

We then make a pillow case to fit over the weighted blanket that can be washed. 

 

In most of our weighted blankets we use a small plastic pellet.  They are hard to find, but you can use rice, beans, flax seed...

 

I do have a pattern I can share if that helps.  Just let me know.

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