Weighted Blanket - Cozy and Relaxing DIYS!
Today we are going to show you three easy DIYs to help you relax and de-stress!
POCKET ZEN GARDEN
MATERIALS
Paint
Tin foil
TOOLS
Paint brush
Paint pen
Zen gardens are great for calming the mind and promoting mindfulness, so we’re going to make a pocket sized version! To make this DIY, you’re going to need a metal mint container. We found some (without the mints) on Amazon. You can check them out here. Next we poured some fine white sand into the container. With a white paint pen, we wrote “lil’ zen” on the top of the tin.
Zen gardens come in all shapes and sizes, but since ours is super mini, we are going to go ahead and make some of the elements that go inside of the garden with some white oven bake clay. We started by rolling out six mismatched oval shapes to create rocks. To create a faux air plant, we rolled out six snake-like pieces with pointed ends. We used shorter pieces for the inner leaves and longer ones for the outer leaves. Next, place them on a small piece of tin foil and follow baking instructions on your clay!
Once they were baked and cool, we painted the rocks gray and the plant green. Finally, we grabbed a little rake from the craft store and painted it white to match the rest of the theme! Finally, we added everything to the garden!
WEIGHTED BLANKET
MATERIALS
Two pieces of fleece that are 49” x 49”
Dry rice
TOOLS
Sewing machine
Small container
This next DIY we are SUPER excited to do, because we’ve seen so many of you ask us to make this! So, we’re here, we’re doing it, we’re DIYing a weighted blanket.
So if you’re like us, you may not know why weighted blankets are so relaxing! We did some research and found out that weighted blankets actually provide a deep pressure touch, much like recieving a strong hug from somebody! They can help relieve feelings of anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress, so we’re here to show you how to make one in a few simple steps!
We are planning to make a 4x4 ft blanket, so we are going to cut two pieces of fleece that are 49” x 49” to allow for some seam allowance. Once these two pieces are cut, lay them together with the good sides facing in. Use a sewing machine to sew up three of the sides, leaving a half inch seam allowance all the way around.
We used a zig-zag stitch because it is stronger than a regular straight stitch. Next step is to add the weight to our weighted blanket, and for this we are going to be using rice! We are going to be making this blanket for someone who is about 70 pounds. A simple formula to figuring out how heavy the blanket needs to be, is to figure out 10% of the person’s body weight, plus one pound.
Time to do some math. We need to figure out how much rice needs to go into each pocket. We are going to be making 12 rows of pockets horizontally and 12 rows of pockets vertically, which makes 144 pockets in total over the entire blanket. Take the weight that we calculated earlier (ours is 8 pounds) and divide 144 by your weight (in our case 8 by 144!). This will give you the amount of rice that needs to go into each pocket (.05 pounds for us!). To do this, you’ll need a food scale.
Grab a small container or measuring cup and place it on your food scale. Press the ‘balance’ button on your scale to remove the weight of the container. Then, fill the container with rice until it reaches your desired weight (.05 pounds).
Time to move back over the the blanket. Use pins to mark off rows all the way down your blanket that are six inches thick. Make sure one end of your lines end at the open end of the blanket. Then, go ahead and add a straight stitch all the way down each of these lines. Once the tubes are sewn, add your .05 pounds of rice into the bottom of each of the tubes. Let all of the rice fall to the bottom, mark a line all the way across 6 inches up from the bottom of the blanket, and sew the pockets shut. Continue to measure, pour, and sew until you reach the top of your blanket! Tuck in the top to hide the raw edge and sew shut!
Something to note, we made this blanket out of rice which is a bit more of a eco-friendly option than the plastic pellets that a lot of people tend to use. The only downside to rice is that the blanket cannot be washed, but you can use a duvet cover and wash that instead!
AROMATHERAPY STUFFY
MATERIALS:
Small square of fleece/fabric (or any left-over soft material!)
Rice
TOOLS:
Sewing machine
The final DIY is going to be a super comforting, warm and lavender scented stuffy! This DIY is perfect for kids and adults! This can be used for warmth, aromatherapy, and a little fidget toy!
Start with a small scrap of soft fabric. Fold the fabric with the good sides facing each other, and trace out your desired shape! We decided to make a cat shape! We then cut out the shape through both layers, with some seam allowance around the edge. Make sure to keep any scraps of fabric, as we’ll be using them later! We pinned the two sides together, and sewed around our shape, leaving a gap at the bottom to allow for the shape to be stuffed and flipped inside out. Go ahead a flip it inside out and stuff!
We stuffed ours with rice, dried lavender, and scraps of fabric! We added a couple of drops of lavender essential oil to the fabric to add even more lavender scent! Once finished, add a blind stitch to the bottom hole! To create a blind stitch, make sure the inside edge is folded in. Knot your thread to one side of your gap, and bring your needle and thread across to the other side, threading through the inside fold of the fabric. Come back into the gap, cross over to the other side, and thread through the other side of the folded fabric. Pull. Do this with small stitches so that no rice escapes, and tie securely at the end when finished. And you’re done! A great part of this DIY is that it can be microwaved for about 25 seconds to warm up and be super cuddly and relaxing! Make sure you check in on your stuffy in the microwave to prevent burning.
And that’s it! If you make any of these DIYs, show us using the hashtag #SorryGirlsSquad! Check out the video below for more relaxing fun!