This is what the inside of an electric blanket looks like

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The middle of the blanket wasn’t getting warm, but the sides were really warm.  The possibility of a short in the wiring concerned me, so I decided to investigate.

With my seam ripper, I opened the end of the blanket opposite the plug.  Turns out the heating element wires are sewn to a piece of non-woven interfacing, that is then sewn into the side seams of the blanket.  The problem was that the interfacing had ripped in half down the middle.  The two halves moved apart and started bunching at the sides.

Here is what it looked like when I turned it inside out and started rearranging the wires in the middle.  What a mess.  While arranging them, I looked them over for damage or deterioration.  Everything looked fine.

Ripped webbing w

Once I had the wires spread out, I used some black #3 crochet cotton from my stash, to make anchor stitches to hold the wires in place.  I stitched through one side of the blanket, since it was futile to try stitching the interfacing back together.

anchor stitches w

The stitching went quickly, thanks to my super useful long doll needle.

Doll needle w

When I had enough stitches to keep the wires distributed across the blanket, I tied a knot, and turned the blanket right side out again.  Amazingly, the little black stitches barely show on the blue-gray pile:

Closeup of stitches w arrows w

I used a big running stitch to close the blanket back up temporarily, in case I need to open it up and make more adjustments.

hem stitches w

Here’s a shot of the whole blanket.  It’s a super soft minky-type fabric.

Finished blanket w

So far, the fix is working out nicely.  I’m having to share the blanket with the foster pup, but that’s mostly working out, too.

Myrtle blanket w

I’m one of those people who is cold all the time, so electric blankets are pretty nice to keep around.

Welcome to my new blog layout.  It was time for a change.  For now, it’s a slight shock every time I see the bigger text and photos.  I’ll be tweaking a few more things until it’s the way I want it.  Ultimately, I hope it gives a better reading and viewing experience.

 

15 thoughts on “This is what the inside of an electric blanket looks like”

  1. I have to say that I’m impressed with your resourcefulness! I would never have considered opening up the blanket. After reading this, I had to go check out my blanket, and just from rubbing the outside of the blanket, it appears some of my wires are “out of place” too. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks! Lately, the electric blankets I’ve bought haven’t lasted very long. I did this out of that frustration. Some of the blankets are sort of quilted together throughout, so the wires don’t move. It would be more of a pain to open one of those up. With this small one, the layers were sewn together only at the perimeter. I thought, why not look around in there. 🙂 Good luck with yours.

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      1. I would have loved to see them on that tour. I saw them in 2006 in Church Hill Downs in the rain and a few days later found a bootleg of the concert. I still have it…really special.

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      3. Oh cool. Did Alice Cooper open up for the Stones in Wichita?
        It is an odd venue for a concert but during Dead Flowers it was magic when he sang Kentucky Derby Day…

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      4. We had Black Rebel Motorcycle Club open for them. Alice would have been a pretty cool opener! Here, Mick sang the first verse of Wichita Lineman. The crowd was stunned to silence for the first line or so, and then started roaring.

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      5. That was cool that Mick did that. It was a great show. That was the last time I saw them.
        I’ve never heard of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club…I’ll have to look them up.

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  3. Great repair! Thanks for making your blanket work again instead of just buying a new one. My most recent bedding repair was to remove the torn sidewalls from a mattress pad and replace them with panels from old t-shirts and a little elastic. I would make a few changes if I were to do this again, but it is functional.

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    1. Thanks! If the blanket wasn’t heating up at all, I don’t think I would have tried to fix it. Too many unknowns with an electrical issue. But this was a no-brainer. With any luck, it will last a long time now.

      I love the idea of your mattress pad fix! I recently replaced a box spring ticking with old drapery fabric. We are operating on the same wave length!

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