[AS.weighted blankets]

[wispfox]

So... I can find weighted blankets, as well as instructions on how to make them, which is good. (yay!)

But I'm not even sure that what I'm actually looking for is possible. I can approximate weighted blankets in the winter by piling lots of blankets on myself. But, in summer, it's too warm and/or humid for that. So I'm trying to find something which would have weight but no to nearly no heat retention (the equivalant of a very thin sheet, or nothing at all). I'm not sure this is possible, though...

(instructions), and a couple of ebay stores which sell them. Also, some other stores with sensory stimulation stuff, just because lots of them are nifty. :)

Comments

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Oh my! Why do you want weighted blankets? What do they do for AS? I *REALLY REALLY REALLY* want a weighted blanket with little heat retention, but I'd be happy to have a plain old weighted blanket for winter... I never realized this was anything other than a personal quirk.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Weighted blankets tend to help with overstim problems, and for me, help with getting to sleep if I'm having trouble (probably if I'm having trouble because of too much stimulation).

More specifically, deep pressure helps. It's why I will ask people to sqeeze me really, really, really tightly, sometimes.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

One part of my brain is going "Ooooh, weighted blanket sounds like such a niftyhelpful idea". Another is going "waitaminute", because, in the case of the home-made, if the weight is in the pockets, it's not going to be evenly distributed, and clumps have something of an opposite effect. (Manufactured ones seem to have solved that problem, but anything of a reasonable blanket size is very, very pricy. And layered multiple blankets confuse me, pile up in heaps, slide off the bed, and are generally unmanageable and, again, produce the opposite effect).

Ah well, good thing I can stand very large amounts of hot. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

clumps have something of an opposite effect

True. But I figure there must be _some_ way to make a home-made one be not clumped...

[phaedra-lari.livejournal.com]

Could you make a weighted sheet?

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I... don't know!

Maybe. I shall contemplate. That would be good, if possible. (I'm not sure a sheet is strong enough, for example)

[randysmith]

Someone else wants this? Cool! I thought I was just weird.

For the "eeighted blanket with no heat retention" I've played around with the idea of creating a metal mesh (high heat conductivity) woven into a large piece of fabric. You'd probably want the mesh covered, but if it was fine enough it could be covered by just a thin layer of fabric and still (I'm hoping) feel fairly comfortable. That would be an "anti-blanket" in that it would help you radiate heat instead of storing it. At least in theory :-}.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

metal mesh & blanket: Yeah, I was thinking something along those lines, but wasn't sure how well it would work, for comfort and flexibility.

also, I suspect it'd be more expensive, by far, than something which has some sort of pellet thing in it. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Incidentally:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/wispfox/520115.html?replyto=3346867

[ladytabitha.livejournal.com]

Why...?

Why why why?

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Heavy blankets are really soothing and calming, to me. No idea why other people would want them.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Because, along with other types of deep pressure, it helps with overstim problems. I tend to have overstim problems being one of the major reason I can't settle down enough to sleep.

This is along the same lines as me sometimes requesting being squeezed very, very tightly (thus why australian_joe sometimes refers to himself in relation to me as something the lines of an autistic cuddle bar. I believe that term partly comes from the idea of a Squeeze Chair (http://channel.creative-capital.org/project_311.html), originally created by Dr. Temple Grandan), in order to cope with being overstimed.

[ladytabitha.livejournal.com]

Perhaps a heavy fabric, but a holey pattern?  I really have no idea.  Alternately, a good A/C unit in your room, or rocks.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

That's kind of a neat idea. I wonder if a blanket filled with sand (or whatever) but perforated with largish holes would work?

In response to your other comment, I do find that heavy blankets help me go to sleep, enough so that I want them even in the summer when having them on me causes serious overheating and awfulness. I usually wind up sweating and choosing to throw them off, but ...

I also like having a friendly motionless person lie on top of me if I'm on my stomach. That feels *great*.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

heavy fabric w/holes may or may not work. Might just result in me being similtaneously hot and cold. :)

A/C - I use that, but would prefer to not have to use A/C to counteract the fact that I've a heavy blanket on me. I did this last night, in fact. I'd prefer to use less A/C, generally.

chainmail quilt

[dajt.livejournal.com]

Now I'm imagining a quilt with the batting replaced by chainmail. It'd be a horrible amout of work to make, unfortunatly. . . But if you used fairly thin cloth, it wouldn't retain heat much, while being reasonably heavy. And it would provide some protection from random sword blows. :-)

Re: chainmail quilt

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I am amused to note that so far three people (including you) have suggested something along these lines. I had, in fact, considered it, but discarded as entirely too much work, and probably fairly expensive.

[jtdiii.livejournal.com]

If you were to take 9- 10 yards of a 5.5 to 7.0 oz linen, (Around $5-6 a yard at Sew Fisticated in Sommerville, or slightly more on line.) wash and dry it several times and then sew it into a baffled quilt with poly pellets as the filling, it should be heavy enough for your purposes and still breath well. It will be machine washable and will get softer with each wash and dry cycle.

Cotton would work, but it will not breathe as well as linen does on the muggy nights and it does not dry out as quickly during the day.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Hmm! Thank you for this info. I shall have to investigate. :)

[brynndragon.livejournal.com]

Oh dude, if you figure it out please tell me. I have a really hard time sleeping if either a) my temperature is off (too hot or too cold - I will wake up in the midle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep in the winter at times) or b) I don't have enough weight on me (my comforter is perfect, but a sheet won't cut it). Hell, we could attempt to work on it together, if it seemed like something where two people would indeed be more useful than one.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I will tell you! If my mom ends up visiting with a sewing machine for purposes of making this kind of thing, do you want to be involved? :)

Also, I note that you should read the many replies to this.

Really, what I need is a sewing machine that works without huge amounts of effort, because what with this and the curtains I want to make, it'd be helpful!

[bluepapercup]

Thank you for linking to that site!

I am a chronic "explorer" (I pick up and touch everything that's not nailed down) and am dating a relentless fidgeter -- so some of those toys/stuff seems like it would fill a real need for us.

Also - the sensory pillow? Wow. Like something I always knew I wanted but could never put into words.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

link: Welcome!

explorer: so'm I. I frequently can be seen drawing my hand/fingers along things as I walk by.

pillow: I'm not sure I can find one, so I'm not sure what you're referring to. :)

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

How about using bungie cords, hooked to strong reinforced grommets in the corners of a smaller-than-normal thin gauze sheet, instead of weights?

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

...

No, that would trigger feelings of being trapped, and would be unpleasant rather than good.

Easy way to use heavy blankets without overheating

[dajt.livejournal.com]

Sleep in a waterbed. Put a thin sheet between you and the sack-o-water. Carefully regulate the temperature of said water. (Too high and you wake up sweaty, too low and you wake up with hypothermia). Lots and lots of heavy blankets on top. Back when I was young and couldn't afford air conditioning, this technique allowed me to survive many hot summers.

Re: Easy way to use heavy blankets without overheating

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Mmm...

That rather requires a waterbed, which is both expensive and not something I'd want to buy, knowing that I'm intending to change coasts within the next few years. But interesting thought!

Another problem is that I strongly dislike having part of myself hot and part cold, and that _would_ have that effect.

[ratatosk.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed at the number of responses to this. Anyway, what are poly pellets? Can you feed them to your SOs?

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I was amazed, myself, actually. :)

And, amusing though your description is, poly pellets are, I believe, small plastic pellets. Polypropylene stuffing, I think.