Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Best Blankets 12/2024

Best Blankets

Garnet Hill Plush-Loft Blanket

Autumn and winter are the prime seasons.

The texture is soft and cushiony. Similar to a cool quilt that, on the reverse side, is covered in luxurious faux fur.

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The many wonderful reasons why

When it comes to finding the coziest and longest-lasting blanket, our staff and beta testers consistently choose the Garnet Hill Plush-Loft option. Like a quilt, it is pieced together, but unlike a quilt, it is filled with lofty fill rather than thin batting. The top of the Garnet Hill is comprised of quilted sateen, the thin middle layer comprises of polyester fill, and the back is a super-soft polyester plush that feels more plump and luxury (like a fantastic stuffed toy) than L.L.Bean’s velvety Wicked Cozy Blanket. My daughter and my dog selected the Plush-Loft as their favorite blanket during the research for this book. It has the polished aesthetic of a quilt, yet the breathability of a comforter (which is how we tested it). We also appreciate the fact that it comes in a wide variety of sizes. It’s the only option that comes in a throw size, which is ideal for lounging about the house. (L.L.Bean also offers the Wicked Cozy in a throw size; however, it is crafted from a slightly different fabric.) If you are not satisfied with your purchase from Garnet Hill, you can send it back for an exchange or refund at any time.

Of the five loft blankets we’ve tried, the Plush-Loft is the clear winner. In tests, it held its shape without losing its elasticity and did not pill or snag. And after a wash, it felt even more plump and the seams looked like new. This blanket has received mostly positive feedback from owners, with a few people reporting that it slides off the bed during the night. After two cold winters with the Plush-Loft, we’ve come to the same conclusion: it’s too heavy, and every night it sinks lower to the floor. But it’s so reassuring that the occasional tug is worth it to us. Even though I’ve washed it numerous times and it shows no major signs of pilling or wear, the plush appears to have seen more use. It’s still quite pliable. Plush-Loft blankets are a favorite of three of our employees, who have all purchased one for themselves or their children (one uses them under comforters for Maine winters). The most common criticism has to do with the fact that darker hues tend to show every little bit of lint. An employee also mentioned that the blankets might require a trip to the laundromat because of their size, since most home washing machines are too tiny to accommodate them.

Negatives that aren’t dealbreakers include the fact that this is the smallest of our top recommendations, with a queen size that measures 4-10 inches shorter than other queen-size blankets we tried. The king size we tried shrank just enough in the wash to leave only a narrow margin of fabric around the sides of a king bed, and there was hardly any fabric left over to tuck under the mattress. Gain some girth if you can. This blanket is noisier than the others on our list since the sateen is slightly crinkly. And it took the longest time to dry (about four hours on low) of any of the blankets we considered for the dryer.

There are a variety of sizes available, including a throw blanket, twin, double, queen, and king.

Composition: cotton and polyester fleece

Consisting of eight different hues, the colors are solid.

L.L.Bean Wicked Cozy Blanket

Autumn and winter are the prime seasons.

How it feels: Velvety, with a texture that’s more like plush than like polar fleece.

We looked into 17 different fleece blankets and put four through their paces before deciding that the L.L.Bean Wicked Cozy Blanket was the best. It was softer, more breathable, and less staticky than the other polyester fleece options we examined, and it had a far more premium and high-end feel than the cheap fleece options we encountered in big-box retailers. (It was a hit with the little ones and the animals, too, because of how comfy it was.) This blanket would be an excellent alternative for someone who always runs chilly; my feet warmed up faster under it than with almost all of the other blankets we examined. We also tried out the lightweight variation and found that it was just as toasty as the regular version but not quite as cumbersome.

When compared to the cotton fleece we tried from Garnet Hill, which pilled and matted after only one wash, the Wicked Cozy performed better in our durability test. We saw some owner feedback indicating that the Wicked Cozy sheds a lot in the dryer, but we didn’t experience this problem. It took less time to dry than almost any other blanket we picked (approximately two hours on low) (about two hours on low). Furthermore, it did not shrink at all in our wash testing, making it the only fleece blanket that passed. Among the fleece blankets we looked at, it had some of the best evaluations and has been readily accessible for the previous three winter seasons. In the cold and wet of a New England winter, one of our employees wore her Wicked Cozy and found it to be both cozy and durable. There is a one-year return policy at L.L.Bean.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: In our sleep testing this blanket made me warm, although my spouse found it was highly breathable. In contrast, I had no overheating while using the mild formulation. The original was more mobile than the cotton and wool alternatives we tested, so it migrated around the bed a little while we slept. The blanket was safe to dry in the dryer despite the care instructions’ recommendation that it be “tumble dried with no heat.” You’ll get zapped by the static if you don’t use a dryer sheet.

Available in Twin, Full/Queen, King, and Super King sizes.

Material: polyester fleece

Style: six distinct hues

Coyuchi Pebbled Handstitched Organic Quilt

Optimal Seasons: Fall, Winter, and Spring

Texture-wise, it’s soft and lightly brushed, with a rippling pattern that becomes more pronounced after a wash. It’s heavier than a standard cotton blanket, but fuller.

The many wonderful reasons why

The Coyuchi Pebbled Handstitched Organic Quilt is the most impressive commercially-available quilt I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been quilting for 15 years. Designed by an ethical business, it features quilt-inspired embellishments with a vintage feel. Additionally, it is the most adaptable blanket we offer. Quilts are typically more costly than other types of blankets, bedspreads, and coverlets since they are an investment piece that can be used to enhance the aesthetic value of the bedroom. The Coyuchi is the most expensive option on our list. It’s also a bargain compared with most handcrafted quilts, which may cost several hundreds of dollars more.

The Coyuchi is what is known as a “whole cloth quilt,” which means it is pieced together from large, continuous pieces of fabric. Many of the quilts you’ve seen from the United States were likely patchwork quilts, in which scraps of fabric in a wide range of colors and designs were pieced together to form a whole. To better highlight the intricate surface stitching, quilts like the whole cloth Coychi are typically produced in muted solid colors (the Coyuchi is available in white, gray, dark blue, and light blue). Both types of quilts feature a layer of material sandwiched in the middle (called batting, it can be made of cotton, wool, or polyester) that gives warmth and texture.

The Coyuchi’s finest feature is the quality of its stitching. It’s based on traditional kantha quilts from India and Bangladesh, which have dense needlework all over the surface (these quilts have served as an inspiration for Americans for centuries). The gently brushed fabric of the quilt, together with the contrasting thread used in the design, creates a beautiful, imperfect pattern that is almost meditative to trace with the fingertips. The fabric retains its suppleness while exhibiting charming wrinkles and puckers after a cycle in the washing machine and dryer. Although it is not a Fair Trade Certified product, this quilt does meet the requirements of the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

If you don’t reside in a very cold or hot area, the Coyuchi quilt is the best option for you as a year-round blanket. You can use it to keep warm in the winter by draping it over your blanket and to keep warm in the summer by draping it over your sheets. You may also use an extra blanket instead of the comforter. The binding around the blanket’s edges is beautifully manufactured and didn’t stretch or shrink in the wash, giving the quilt a professional appearance that will look great on your bed. The Coyuchi is only available in two sizes, and its sides are probably too short to tuck in, but I still found that I liked the way it looked best just thrown over the bed. The return period at Coyuchi is sixty days. Some drawbacks, but nothing fatal: Toenails and cat claws will have a field day with the thick embroidered thread on the surface. However, the stitching caught but did not rip or break throughout the wear testing, and settling the threads back into place was as simple as pulling the quilt taut. It’s possible your pets will like playing with this quilt, but that’s also true of many bed spreads. We’ll be putting the Coyuchi through extensive durability testing to determine how it holds up to regular use.

Full/Queen, King

Material: cotton

A total of three different solid colors.