Double blanket: types, sizes, care rules

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

In order to choose a quality double blanket, you need to know a few secrets. Such products are made from different materials, and each of the varieties of this type of home textile has its own characteristics. They relate to the method of operation, as well as methods for caring for the blanket. From this article, readers will be able to learn how to wash a double blanket in an automatic machine and whether it is always possible to do this. In addition, we will tell you how to properly dry it after washing and store it.

Plaid on a double bed - beauty, warmth and comfort in the house

There are a large number of different bedspreads and capes that can be used to cover beds, sofas and even armchairs, but not all of them can be called blankets. The latter, to a greater extent, have a completely different purpose. They are not so much a decorative element of the interior as they are a functional and practical thing, a kind of analogue of a blanket. A blanket is usually covered during daytime sleep or just to keep warm while relaxing.

That is why they are usually made from natural materials such as wool or cotton. Sometimes high-quality synthetics are also used as a base, but we are talking about good microfiber or acrylic - pleasant to the touch and absolutely safe materials, which, unlike natural fibers, are also hypoallergenic. Double throws can also be used as a bedspread rather than for their intended purpose as they are large enough to cover the entire bed.

Types of large blankets

First of all, they differ from each other in the material from which they are made. Traditional blankets are woolen products. In general, the word "plaid" from English is translated only as "woolen scarf". This is probably why everyone associates this textile with yarn from the wool of sheep and goats. There are also products that are more exotic in origin: cashmere, mohair and camel blankets. They cost an order of magnitude more expensive than cheaper sheepskin samples, but they are especially soft and more pleasant to the touch.

The advantages of any wool blankets are:

• lightness;
• warmth;
• good air circulation;
• durability;
• relative ease of care.

Other popular natural materials for making blankets are cotton and bamboo fiber. They are distinguished by a specialsilky texture of the surface and the ability to "adjust" to the temperature of the human body. Such a double blanket will perfectly warm you on a cool autumn day, but it will not be hot under it in the summer either.

Synthetics can be made from polyester, fleece or acrylic. The first type of blankets is the cheapest, at the same time the most short-lived. Polyester bedspreads sparkle, you won’t be able to lie under them for a long time, because they don’t pass air well and “float”.

Acrylic fluffy blanket is good for winter, and fleece can be used at any time of the year and even taken on the road, because it is very light and thin.

Noble woolen goods

Now let's take a closer look at each of these types of blankets. Wool is a rather delicate material, so traditional bed covers are not made from it. Plaids from it are obtained quite thin, they crumple at the slightest touch, and they cannot be washed often. The size of a blanket for a double bed can be 160x220 cm, 180x220 cm or 200x230 cm. There are some variations in these parameters, but they are usually minor.

Woolen blankets are usually small, their maximum width is 160-180 cm. The side edge must be smooth. The pattern on such blankets is also usually restrained - it is either a strip or a cage, but the color variety of wool products pleases. They can be both plain and colored, and manufacturers use for dyeing yarn not only discreetbeige-brown dyes, but also bright, juicy shades (red, orange, yellow, green, blue).

Fleece blankets

Fleece products, a material that was invented not so long ago as an alternative to natural wool, are 100% synthetic. This fabric is made from polyester, formed from a synthetic material into a knitted fabric, which is then processed in several stages:

• heating the fibers, exposing them to moisture;
• the threads that make up the knitted fabric are pulled outward, thus fluffing the fabric;
• the surface of the material is subjected to anti-peeling treatment, which consists in removing a small pile from the fibers so that later they do not form pellets.

Fleece blankets should be made from high quality fabric that follows all of these manufacturing steps. Otherwise, the product will deform and roll very soon. There are several types of such home textiles:

• Thin blankets are warm, light and easy to clean products, their weight usually does not exceed 500-600 g.
• Fluffy fleece blanket is also light and elastic, but it is not smooth in texture, but fleecy. This blanket weighs a little. A large plaid will hardly reach one kilogram.
• "Fur" plaid-blanket is another variety of synthetic bedspreads. It is they who most often cover beds and sofas on top, but are sometimes used as warm winter blankets. Such blankets are very thick, with a thick long pile and a large area - 180x220 cm or 220x240 cm. Accordingly, they weigh decently - 2-3 kg.

The advantage of fleece blankets is that they can be washed frequently, they dry extremely quickly and take up little storage space.

Fashion trend - knitted double plaid

This category includes handmade blankets (although sometimes there are samples of industrial production). There are many different techniques in which craftswomen create home textiles, as a rule, they use textured knitting (enterlac, tartan, zigzag, braids) or a technique similar to patchwork, when the product consists of multi-colored shreds.

But very large knit blankets are especially popular now. To make them, you need to purchase special thickened yarn and large-diameter knitting needles, which, by the way, can be replaced with your own hands. A double plaid, knitted in the usual way from pure wool or blended yarn, will weigh about 3 kg, but fashionable knits are twice as heavy - for a plaid with dimensions of 150x170 cm, you will need to buy about 5-5.5 kg of yarn.

Bamboo and cotton blankets: care features

In many houses, cotton bedspreads have remained since pre-perestroika times. Then blankets and various bedspreads were made from this material. Since then, manufacturers have not abandoned the manufacture of cotton blankets, and for good reason. This material has excellenthygienic properties, besides it is practical and easy to use.

Cotton blankets can be thin or thick. And if the owner should not have any problems with washing and drying the first (the main thing is to set the machine to a low temperature and a delicate rinse and spin cycle), then the latter are not so perfect in this regard. Thickened products are quite difficult to wash - cotton, having taken in water, becomes simply unbearable, so even a 7-8 kg washing machine can easily stall during operation. It would be better to clean such a product manually or take it to dry cleaning.

Bamboo blankets appeared in our country not so long ago, but they have already managed to fall in love with consumers because of their beautiful appearance, tenderness and ability to thermoregulate. In addition, they are unpretentious in care.

Can double throws be washed?

In order to answer this question, you need to know a few important nuances about the thing to be washed. The first is what material the blanket is made of, the second is how much a double blanket weighs, and not only in dry form, but also when it gets wet. The third important factor affecting the ability to wash home textiles is their texture.

So, in the machine you can clean woolen, cotton, bamboo and thin fleece blankets (including fluffy ones). Whatever material the product is made of, it is better not to set the thermostat of the machine above 30 degrees, and choose the maximum washing modegentle.

The second question is about the weight of double blankets. It all depends on the degree of loading of the machine drum. Each model has its own. Appliance manufacturers always indicate that a certain amount of cotton, wool or synthetics can be washed in the machine at a time. For example, in a conventional machine with a drum capacity of 4.5-5 kg, you cannot load more than 4 kg of dry cotton, 3 kg of synthetics or 2 kg of wool. We have already given the approximate weight of double blankets in the article.

Textile texture is also important. Some blankets are made with decorative trim, or they are made from very delicate fibers. In order not to damage the structure of the product, you need to carefully study the information that is on the tag. Manufacturers, as a rule, indicate data on the method of washing their goods.

General recommendations

Plant, regardless of its size, should be washed with liquid detergent. It washes dirt out of fluffy fabrics better and rinses out more easily, besides, it makes the material soft and smooth.

You need to wring out the blankets at low speeds, and then dry them in a well-ventilated room, and preferably outside. There are also recommendations on how to store such textiles. If you need to remove the blanket for a while in the closet, you do not need to put it in a plastic bag or the packaging in which it was sold. It is better to use a linen bag or an unnecessary pillowcase.

During long-term storage, the blanket is filled with dust, it can be saturated with extraneous odors. Before washing the product, it is better to just hang it outside so that it is ventilated. Frequent "water procedures" will have a bad effect on the condition of the blanket - the fibers from which it is made will quickly become thinner and fade, which will make it lose its attractiveness.