The fashion and interior design classes are making Linus blankets for patients at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Each patient admitted into the hospital is given a handmade blanket.

    “Twelve years ago, I decided creating Linus blankets for patients would be a great community service project for my [students] to participate in,” fashion design teacher Tonya Wheat said. “This experience will help the students realize how blessed we are when looking into the different illnesses that the patients admitted to Children’s Hospital go through.”

     The hospital has over 360,000 patients a year, ranging from newborn up to the age of 18. The blankets are delivered and put in a donation room, where the patients are then allowed to go in the room and select a blanket that they would like.

    “Last year, I had a student in class who was a patient at Children’s Medical Center,” Wheat said. “I allowed her to pick out the blanket she wanted to take to the hospital with her when we were making them at school. This made her feel extra loved while she was recovering and rewarded me the opportunity to perform a small act of kindness.”

    To help with the blanket project, people can either:

1) donate the fleece fabric and the design classes can make the Linus blankets, or

2) people can bring the fleece blankets that they have made at home.

   It requires 3 yards of fabric for a child’s blanket or larger quantities of fleece can be used for older patients (kids) blankets.  If a 16 yr old football player was admitted to the hospital, he would need a larger blanket. Wheat encouraged her students to pick fabrics that they would like if they were sick and a patient at Children’s.
     “My hope is that the LHS students who participate in this blanket drive will know the joy that giving brings,” Wheat said. “By blessing others it makes us feel as if we are the ones who received the gift, not the actual recipient of the blanket.”
     

For more information about Children’s Medical Center Dallas–
https://www.childrens.com/location-landing/locations-and-directions/childrens-health-dallas
   To make your own Linus Blanket Pattern
https://www.projectlinus.org/patterns/pdf/FringedFleece.pdf