Fidget blankets - can you help our residents living with dementia?

Fidget blankets or quilts offer comfort for our residents living with dementia and are laptop-sized, providing sensory and tactile stimulation for an individual.

Our talented teams at MHA have been creating fidget quilts and blankets but the demand is more than we can keep up with so we are appealing for your help and needlework or knitting groups you might be involved with.

The quilts and blankets can be quilted, knitted or crochet blankets with different decorations to provide sensory stimulation for residents living with dementia. The blanket can also be plain, simply to provide, warmth and comfort. Blankets can be brightly coloured but we would suggest that the blankets are not too heavily patterned. They can be large to lay across a resident’s bed or big enough to lay over a resident’s legs.

You could decorate the blanket with ribbons, beads buttons, loops, zippers, buckles, pompoms, a pocket or two to put things in etc. But keep it simple, too much could be scary or confusing for a resident.

Very important, all decorating items should be securely attached so that residents cannot pull them out. Decorative items should be large enough so if residents do manage to pull them off they can’t swallow them.

Get involved...

If you are interested in helping out and having a bit of fun on the way, find out more by downloading our Fidget Blanket Guidance resource, including where to send your completed quilt or blanket to.

We are sure that the homes would love to share their photos of your wonderful blankets in use and hope that you will enjoy seeing your creations benefiting our residents living with dementia.