Re: weighted vests and blankets

[Guest guest]

How much weight will often vary from person to person and, in some cases,

from situation to situation (this is why many of the vests you can buy come

with different weight amounts and little pockets they fit in on the inside

of the vest). It's been a long time since we bought or used ours, but I

think it had a couple half pound bean bag-type weights and a few more

quarter pound. That was for an elementary aged child, so I'm guessing your

grandchild might want more weight because of age (but could be completely

wrong). I would suggest sewing it with the inside pockets and then making a

mixture of weighted bags. Then you'll just need to experiment to see what

amount works best. You could always start at a couple pounds and then move

up or down a bit as needed (so you don't end up with a ton of little bags

of beans or weights that aren't being used for anything).

Best,

On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 5:23 PM, lois_overcast wrote:

> **

>

>

> I want to make a vest for my grand who is 15 but I don't know how much

> weight I need to add to a vest or a blanket to get the desired effect. I

> can't afford to buy 1 so any suggestions?? thanks lois

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have read that for a weighted vest it should be 5% of the childs body weight

and for blankets it should be 10% because they are not standing up and bearing

all the weight. You may want to consult the Occupational therapist at the

child's school they should be able to help.

weighted vests and blankets

>

>I want to make a vest for my grand who is 15 but I don't know how much weight I

need to add to a vest or a blanket to get the desired effect. I can't afford to

buy 1 so any suggestions?? thanks lois

>

[Guest guest]

I made my daughter one and I spent less than $ 5,00.

I purchased a denim jacket long sleeves in good will for $2.79. One size larger.

Then I cut the sleeves and used that material to make packets on the inside of

the jacket. I have 2 packets on the front left side ,2 packets on the right side

(pockets are places not at the same level but instead top and bottom). 2

packets on the back (again 1 top & 1 at the bottom). Then you need the

smallest zipploc bags that they sell. You need sand to fill the bags not all

the way .( you need to play with this so the bag can fit in the jacket's

pocktes. you need to measure the sand so all the bags get the same amount( for

instance if you put 1/2 cup in one, they all have to have 1/2cup of sand. This

way you can always adjust the weight. I also made a bag made out of fabric to

contain the plastic bag with the sand and that is what goes inside each pocket

in the jacket. The weight needs to be equally distributed in the jacket . Hope

that helps

> I want to make a vest for my grand who is 15 but I don't know how much weight

I need to add to a vest or a blanket to get the desired effect. I can't afford

to buy 1 so any suggestions?? thanks lois

>

>

[Guest guest]

What a good idea!

Another thing is to make the vest so that the tops of the pockets close

with something like velcro. That way, when you need to wash it you just open

the velcro and take the baggies of sand (or whatever) out of the pockets

and pop the vest in the washer. My dd had a weighted lap blanket made that

way, and it was great to be able to wash it with no fuss.

Sandi

In a message dated 2/23/2012 6:10:51 P.M. Central Standard Time,

mariafer2@... writes:

I made my daughter one and I spent less than $ 5,00.

I purchased a denim jacket long sleeves in good will for $2.79. One size

larger. Then I cut the sleeves and used that material to make packets on the

inside of the jacket. I have 2 packets on the front left side ,2 packets

on the right side (pockets are places not at the same level but instead top

and bottom). 2 packets on the back (again 1 top & 1 at the bottom). Then

you need the smallest ziploc bags that they sell. You need sand to fill the

bags not all the way .( you need to play with this so the bag can fit in the

jacket's pocktes. you need to measure the sand so all the bags get the

same amount( for instance if you put 1/2 cup in one, they all have to have

1/2cup of sand. This way you can always adjust the weight. I also made a bag

made out of fabric to contain the plastic bag with the sand and that is what

goes inside each pocket in the jacket. The weight needs to be equally

distributed in the jacket . Hope that helps

On Feb 23, 2012, at 5:23 PM, " lois_overcast " <_lois_overcast@..._

(mailto:lois_overcast@...) > wrote:

> I want to make a vest for my grand who is 15 but I don't know how much

weight I need to add to a vest or a blanket to get the desired effect. I

can't afford to buy 1 so any suggestions?? thanks lois

>

>

[Guest guest]

I made a weighted blanket for my son a few years ago and a vest. After reading

your post, I dug thru my notes. The first vest I made when he was small I made

from scratch. For the second vest, I just bought a fishing vest - the one with

all the pockets - and then added little bags with weights. It was easy and

looked like something a guy would wear.

I used poly pellets to weight the blanket and vest so I could toss them in the

washer, plus add weight without adding a lot of heat. I ordered the poly pellets

online at a much lower price than what they sell for at the fabric stores. When

you order, look for beads that are non porous, round (no sharp edges), uniform

in size, and able to withstand the temperature of a dryer when washed. I also

looked for really small beads so I could use what was left to make a squishy

pillow, which everybody loves to use, even our cats.

The weight of the finished blanket should be based on the user's weight and

comfort level. I've come across several opinions on how heavy a weighted blanket

should be.

• Option 1: 10% of the user's body weight plus one pound.

• Option 2: 8% of the user's weight for up to 100 pounds, 7% of the user's

weight for 100 to 150 pounds, and 5% of the user's weight from 150 to 200

pounds.

Hope this information is helpful. Let us know how it turns out.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the input.  I am planning on a trial run with my cooling vest because

of the pockets on it.  I will let you know how it goes.  lois