How to Make a Weighted Blanket / Sew a Weighted Quilt (fibromyalgia)

May 12th is National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, and it’s become an important day for me; three years ago, after battling the most unbelievable pain each and every day, I was formally diagnosed with systemic inflammation and fibromyalgia. Diseases aren’t something folks normally open up or talk about, and unseen diseases, like fibromyalgia, are talked about even less. So let’s do just that and talk:

• • Fibromyalgia affects 2 to 4 percent of the US population (that’s approximately 8 million people in the US alone)
  • While it affects both men and women, women make up over 90% of those diagnosed
  • The average age of onset is 40
  • There are several working theories on what causes it; among those are:
    • abnormal functioning in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
    • inability to suppress cortisol
    • defects in the central nervous system
    • alterations in both the ascending and descending pain pathway
    • …the list goes on.
  • There is no formal cure, though managing the pain through both prescription and supplements is a standard course of treatment

Prior to the onset of the fibro, I admit I could feel a bit hard of heart when I heard people talk about being in pain *all the time*. I never really believed you could be, figured you could just “take a Tylenol and get on with it”. For me, the humility it has brought to my every day – and realizing that yes, you truly can hurt every moment of every day – has been humbling.

A few months ago I asked in a Fibromyalgia Support Group how each person would, in pictures, describe their fibro. The response was amazing – and each person’s comments (over 100!) seemed to fall into one of four groups. I took these four groupings, and created four unique “fibromyalgia fabrics” shown below:

1. The Disease/Symptoms: This fabric shows the unending questions (question mark), the way it slows you down (ball and chain), the many medications to alleviate the pain (pill bottles and pills), the doctors appointments (medical chart), the burning pain (fire), the numbness (ice), the sharp nerve pain (needles), the insomnia (sheep jumping over clock) and other images that pictorially describe what sufferers feel. The design appears in shades of gray, showing the despair.
2. Neurological Pathways/Neurons: This fabric shows the neurological pain that comes with the disease. Nerves fire, causing painful muscle spasms and contractions. The gray from Fabric 1 (the disease) appears in this print, along with purple (the color of those suffering from fibromyalgia) and bright green (where the nerve fires).
3. The Tangled Mess/Brain Fog: This fabric shows the mess that this disease really is. The brain fog is real, and feels like a struggle to sort through the jumbled mess inside your head. The tangled web of unending questions, changing symptoms, and varying outcomes is shown in this tangled print using the same greens, purples, and grays that coordinate with the other three prints in the collection.
4. The Hope: This fabric shows the hope that we each have. The hope of pain-free days. The hope of mental clarity. The hope of healing. So so much hope. The print plays off the same purple tones in the purple ribbons (the color representing fibro) and includes bits of gray and pops of brilliant green. The white background stands in stark contrast to the gray of the disease print, further showing the bright hope we all have! Butterflies fill the space, transformed by the hope that we each feel.

So let’s talk about turning these powerful fabrics into a weighted blanket. Instructions are below for two options; I’ll touch briefly on the “basic blanket” in the video at the start, and then give you the full process for creating the beautiful fibromyalgia weighted quilt in detail. You’ll note that there is no batting used in this version of the quilt as (a) it makes it too warm to use during the warmer months and (b) the weight pellets often destroy the batting, causing it to bunch and tear in ways you don’t want.

WHAT YOU NEED

• fibromyalgia “cheater quilt” fabric panel
  • tip:  purchase one yard to make a lap blanket (36″ long x 42″ wide), two yards for a full length blanket (72″ long x 42″ wide). Note that if you order two yards, you will receive two separate 1-yard panels (the fabric can not be provided to you as one single 2-yard panel); however, you won’t even see the seam as you’ll be top stitching across the same attachment point to make the pockets making it invisible.
• backing fabric (1 or 2 yards depending on the length of the weighted blanket you choose. In my blanket, I used the rich purple and green “neurons” fabric and it turned out gorgeous)
• OPTIONAL: binding in bright green
• plastic poly pellets
  • tip: to determine the amount of weight needed for your weighted blanket, take 10% of your bodyweight. So, if you’re 120lbs, purchase 12lbs of poly pellets
• measuring cup
• kitchen scale
• fabric sheers / scissors
• purple thread
• sewing machine

HOW TO MAKE BASIC BLANKET (as shown briefly in video)

• trim away most of the white borders, leaving 1/2″ of white all the way around your quilt (this will serve as your allowance).
  • note: if you purchased two yards, trim as noted above and then, with right sides together, sew the panels together to make one two-yard panel
• fold the top edge of the fabric down on the white line (towards the back, wrong sides together), press, and pin along the edges
• place front and back fabrics right side together and stitch down the left, across the bottom, and up the right side along the white line, backstitching where you start and finish
• turn right sides out and press seams
• pin the fabrics together every 6″-8″
• sew vertical columns on your blanket using the pre-printed pattern as your guide, backstitching where you start and finish. You’ll end up with seven (7) long pockets regardless of the length you chose
• determine the amount of weight you’ll need to add to each pocket:
  • first, take the total weight of your blanket and divide it by the number of pockets:
    • for one yard, divide the weight by 42 pockets (ex: 12lbs divided by 42 pockets equals .28 lbs per pocket)
    • for two yards, divide the weight by 84 pockets (ex: 12lbs divided by 84 pockets equals .14 lbs per pocket)
  • second, measure out the amount of weight per pocket using your kitchen scale and measuring cup (ex: add enough pellets to make .28lbs in the measuring cup using your scale)
• pour the measured amount of filler into the first long pocket. Repeat six more times.
• sew across the first row, sealing the first row of pockets closed (backstitch where you start and stop)
• repeat the two steps above until all the rows have been sewn shut and you have either 42 or 84 squares neatly sewn closed. To finish the top row, stitch the blanket either by hand to bury the stitches or sew with a scant 1/8″ seam to close off the top row. If desired for extra durability, continue the 1/8″ stitch all the way around the blanket on all four sides.
• tie off or bury any loose threads at the start and end of each row and column
• either gift to a loved one with fibromyalgia or enjoy your new weighted blanket if you made it for yourself!
  • tip: do not put a weighted blanket heavier than 20 pounds in a household washing machine (or less depending on your machine). Whenever possible, spot clean to remove any stains and allow to air dry in the sun.

HOW TO MAKE QUILT WITH BINDING (as shown in detail within video)

• trim away most of the white borders, leaving scant 1/4″ of white all the way around your quilt (this will serve as your allowance).
  • note: if you purchased two yards, trim as noted above and then, with right sides together, sew the panels together to make one two-yard panel
• place front and back fabrics wrong side together and pin the fabrics together every 6″-8″
• stitch down the left, across the bottom, and up the right side along the white line, backstitching where you start and finish
• sew vertical columns on your blanket using the pre-printed pattern as your guide, backstitching where you start and finish. You’ll end up with seven (7) long pockets regardless of the length you chose
• determine the amount of weight you’ll need to add to each pocket:
  • first, take the total weight of your blanket and divide it by the number of pockets:
    • for one yard, divide the weight by 42 pockets (ex: 12lbs divided by 42 pockets equals .28 lbs per pocket)
    • for two yards, divide the weight by 84 pockets (ex: 12lbs divided by 84 pockets equals .14 lbs per pocket)
  • second, measure out the amount of weight per pocket using your kitchen scale and measuring cup (ex: add enough pellets to make .28lbs in the measuring cup using your scale.  It may be more helpful to convert ounces to pounds, knowing that 16oz = 1lb)
• pour the measured amount of filler into the first long pocket. Repeat six more times.
• sew across the first row, sealing the first row of pockets closed (backstitch where you start and stop)
• repeat the two steps above until all the rows have been sewn shut and you have either 42 or 84 squares neatly sewn closed
• tie off or bury any loose threads at the start and end of each row and column
• attach binding by cutting strips 2.25″ x ZYX (for 1 yard-sized weighted quilt)
  • tip: if you’ve never attached binding before, see the video for full details
• either gift to a loved one with fibromyalgia or enjoy your new weighted blanket if you made it for yourself!
  • tip: do not put a weighted blanket heavier than 20 pounds in a household washing machine (or less depending on your machine). Whenever possible, spot clean to remove any stains and allow to air dry in the sun.