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While blankets can add to the aesthetics of your room décor, your decision shouldn’t be solely based on how graceful they look or how soft they feel. A good-quality blanket can help you get much better sleep and, thus, increase your work productivity and improve your overall health. Although it depends on individuals’ preferences and their geographical location, the best blanket material can maintain the perfect temperature of your body while keeping you sweat-free to avoid never-ending toss and turns in the bed. Soft fabrics for blankets also prevent harsh rubbing against your skin to give a feel of sleeping in the clouds helping you to get seven to eight hours of cozy sleep. The right size of your blanket can also keep you well-covered all night long giving you a sense of shelter and calmness for undisrupted sleep.
Before we help you pick out the best material for blankets, knowing the difference between a blanket and a throw is essential. A blanket is an extra layer of covering that helps you keep warm all night long and it can also be used as duvets or bed covers at times.
Whereas a throw is used for decorative purposes and it’s quite smaller in size as compared to a regular blanket. It comes in a variety of colors and patterns to add warmth to your space. The most common material used for a throw blanket is faux fur to give a fluffy and luxurious look. However, a hand-woven pom-pom throw blanket made from Moroccan cotton will look and feel much better than any faux fur throw blanket.
The best fabric for blankets depends on your preference. For instance, you may prefer fleece blankets over cotton blankets while the others may like the opposite. Therefore, we have rounded up the different blanket materials and their properties to help you make the right decision:
Cotton inherits hypoallergenic properties which means it keeps skin allergies, itching, or redness completely at bay. It is also very soft to the touch which is equivalent to extra comfort. It can be light enough to be used in summers and heavy enough to be used in the winters. This material is highly breathable that quickly wicks away moisture from your body to keep you dry and cool. It is easy to wash, but it takes a longer time to dry. Some cotton blankets may even slightly shrink after the first wash. They are flammable as well, so you should avoid keeping them too close to the fireplace.
If you want to go the extra mile, Egyptian cotton fabric is tremendously soft to the touch and lasts longer than regular cotton because it consists of a higher thread count. Its major drawback is that it’s really expensive but totally worth every penny.
Organic cotton blankets are usually Oeko-Tex certified which gives you the surety of not harming human health in any way possible. Therefore, many people prefer cotton for a baby blanket.
Wool is one of the warmest natural materials out there. And its highly breathable properties help you remain sweat-free and cool to prevent overheating of the body. Unlike cotton, wool blankets are fire-resistant, so you can easily take them with you for your camping trip and the water-repellent properties prevent you from getting completely drenched in rain. It is biodegradable to take care of the environment. And these blankets also feature hypoallergenic properties to keep any sort of allergic reactions at bay.
However, it feels slightly scratchy against the skin, and it takes some time to completely dry out.
Bamboo is not only skin-friendly but also eco-friendly. It is an ideal renewable source as it grows rapidly. As it is naturally grown, therefore, it is free of pesticides and fertilizers making it ideal for your skin and keeping any sort of skin allergies at bay. It is also super soft to the touch and highly breathable to ensure you remain cool in summers and warm in winters. It has excellent moisture-wicking properties to prevent it from sticking to your skin while you’re deep asleep. No matter the rounds of washes, you can be sure that it won’t lose its texture and color.
Silk is naturally produced by silkworms and it is another eco-friendly material. It inherits hypoallergenic properties making it perfect for the ones with extremely sensitive skin. It is the most luxurious kind of fabric and it can give a lovely drape on your bed. Silk is so soft that you won’t even feel it rubbing against your skin. It is also a very good thermal insulator that maintains its temperature according to the weather.
However, as silk is not produced in abundance and it requires lots of labor and machine work for manufacturing, therefore, it is very expensive. It also requires special care for washing and maintenance.
Linen is an organic fiber derived from the flax plant. It keeps you cool and sweat-free all night long for added comfort. It is extra soft to the touch to keep rashes and itching at bay. For an extended lifespan, it easily withstands several washes and daily usage.
It also comes with a few cons, one of them is it’s really expensive like silk. It also tends to get very wrinkly so be ready to iron it regularly if you’re not a fan of the crumpled look.
Vellux blankets are also known as hotel blankets. They usually feature two layers of foam with strong nylon fibers sandwiched in. This is what makes vellux blankets incredibly soft yet warm enough to provide you with an extra level of comfort. They can last up to thirty years as they don’t deteriorate even after plenty of washes.
Here are some other factors that can help you make the right decision for the right type of blanket:
Blankets come in a variety of weaves and the weight and warmth of blankets depend on it:
You need to ensure that a blanket will not make you sneeze and cough all night long regardless of how soft or warm it is. Therefore, go for such blankets that are equipped with hypoallergenic properties as mentioned above.
While comfort is equally important but that doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on the style. With the right design of your new blanket, you will easily add style to your interior or complement your Bohemian bedding, for instance.
Wool has a fuzzy look to it and pure cotton comes in a variety of floral patterns and vibrant dyes. The style and texture depend on the kind of fabric. That’s the reason why you would almost never see floral patterns on wool blankets.
You should ask yourself a few questions: Is it easy to wash and dry? Does it require to be handled with extra care? How often should I wash it? Does it need to go for dry cleaning?
To answer these questions we have curated a list below for maintaining different materials:
Some blankets are ideal for summers while the others for winters and a few even work great all year round. Hence, you should consider the climate you’re living in and invest accordingly. You will either be needing one type of blanket or different kinds of blankets to cope with different seasons. Let’s see which kind of blanket is ideal for different seasons:
Blankets do more to your quality of sleep than just adding a sleek look to your interior. Although the type of blanket best depends on your preference and the region you live in, there are some other essential factors to consider before investing in one. Always look for such properties of the blankets that will help you get a deep sleep with zero to none toss and turns.
