@shadyspeaks says on the stim toy introduction post,
Hello! These are all great but I noticed weighted blankets are missing.
It’s super kind of you to prompt me, but I decided against including them in an introductory post because I’m unsure of recommending a weighted blanket to someone starting out with stim toys. They’re an expensive purchase if you can’t DIY them, and while I know a great many stimmers adore them, they don’t work for everyone. It’s sometimes not so bad if slime or a Tangle doesn’t work for you, in terms of monetary outlay, but it is a problem if a weighted blanket doesn’t work for you, and I wanted to keep the post to more general/basic tactile items, knowing that this blog is packed full of sensory things for stimming folks ready to move past that basic list. And thanks be to lovely followers, submissions and comments, the stimming awesomeness featured here gets better all the time!
(Of course, depending where you’re located, spending money on a Tangle you don’t like can also be a problem. I don’t wish to pretend it isn’t, knowing how difficult they can be for some international folks to find at affordable prices.)
For the anon, if you wish to try weighted items and pressure stimming, I’d recommend trying a weighted plushie (buying a plushie, opening a seam and stuffing it with rice or plastic pellets before sewing it up again) or a weighted lap pad first. If you’re the sort of person who loves heavy covers or the weight of an animal or heavy toy on your lap, pressure stimming may be for you, but I’d definitely try the cheaper options first before making or buying a blanket.
(You can DIY a weighted lap pad by stuffing a cheap zipper-case throw pillow of the right size with dry/uncooked rice, if you want to do it as inexpensively as possible with no sewing. This is how I made mine - the pink watermelon slice pillow shown in this photo. It contains about half amounts of scented rice and its original poly stuffing. Just remove the rice before laundering!)
Weighted blanket, plushie and lap pad DIYs: Weighted Tie Blanket | Weighted Plushie | Weighted Lap Pad
Weighted blanket etsy sellers: Autistic Rabbit (based in the US) and Sister Cat Blankets (based in France).
Weighted blanket sellers: Weight on Me (based in the US)
