AIBU to ask for help in saving Blankie's life?

[ItNeedsCleansingByFire]

My 23yr old DD has a childhood blanket she still sleeps with and snuggles.

Its name is Blankie (well of course it is ). It was originally a white flat cot size classic cellular blanket with a satin ribbon trim. Twenty three years later it is a grey ratty bundle/knot approximately the size of a hand, with a couple of strips dangling off. Like tentacles. (See attached photos for similar type "blankies" as DD's is too embarrassing outing to put a real photo up).

It is shrinking every year and she is worried what will happen when it is too small to snuggle. I have offered to sew it into a pillow/cushion type thing (after donning a full hazmat suit) but as it's a knot rather than flat fabric, it wouldn't really work. We have considered sewing it into the tummy of a toy like a teddy but apparently the blankie needs to be "touchable". So the grey ratty Blankie knot needs to be kept touchable whilst stopping the shrinkage.

We are at a loss. I don't really have any other ideas - well I do, but they involve a flame thrower and DD is resistant to this, but I know MNers will have genius suggestions...

(I would also like to make a Gordion Knot joke at this point but sadly I'm not intelligent enough. So any suggestions on this would also be welcomed )

Fuck sake I forgot the photos. (And just realised the thread title sounds like some awful trolling for a gofundme )

Just to reiterate Blankie is a knot, not flat.

Just checking - she's 23 YEARS old? Not 23 MONTHS?

Come on, OP - she's old enough to let go now. Why are you using up any energy on this?

Oh sorry yes classic MN mistake. She is 282 months old. Just for clarity

does Your DD have any additional needs?

😂
I have no solutions but I can well imagine my kids still having their blanket at 23 years old!

(Plus I'm 34 years old and still have my bear that was gifted to me when I was 6...in the event of a fire, that bear would be one of the things I would save 😁).

I think it's fine to have an emotional attachment to toys/comforters as an adult and to want to keep them, but she would need to be realistic about the insisting she can still touch it - if you need the surface to still be touchable, then that surface can't be protected, and it's going to continue to deteriorate. Unless it was idk incorporated into the fabric of a new blanket, crocheted into other material. Then it probably wouldn't be the same blankie anymore. The putting it inside a teddy or another object sounds like a good idea to me if she will compromise. Otherwise it will just fall apart one day for good.

Knit her a new one for Christmas

I am that daughter!! I did retire blankie at 19 when it was just too ratty to continue, and blankie is now shrink wrapped and in a plastic box. I replaced blankie with a bear - but had to sew nylon thread around the bears jumper so it feels the same as the bit I would rub my finger on to sleep. The bear has survived the intervening 30 years with a few minor fixes <3

Someone had to say it!!!

My DD (21) still has Bob the dog that her grandma gave her when she was born. Do you need to do anything to it op? Is the problem that it will keep falling apart if you don't stabilise it? Perhaps your daughter could look into visible mending to preserve it.

Fucking hell, I knew I have should have gone for Chat not AIBU - it's a good job this isn't about adult DS's blankies, imagine. Well I have a flamethrower ready if anyone would like to borrow it to use against me or DD

I think it's not uncommon for adults to have attachment to childhood things like blankets/toys/bedding etc. Last time I was in hospital I didn't take my teddy as he is too old to cope with an extended stay away from home, but DH did bring him to visit me and I'm late 40s!

Why is it shrinking? Presumably not through being washed, from what you've said. Is it disintegrating through being handled? If so it's inevitable that it will eventually disintegrate completely.

So she needs to make a choice between 'preserving' it (keeping it in its current state by no longer handling it, eg by putting it into a bag) or 'conserving' it to try to prolong its life but accepting that it won't last forever.

I'd get pest control out and let them take it away...

Can you sew it onto a new blanket! My 20 year old still has hers

Perhaps it could be refashioned by a 'creative' darner? Darning is quite a thing these days.

Recognising that blankie itself needs to be preserved, would it be an option to put blankie into the tummy of a soft toy, but crucially to make the soft toy a jumper/similar out of a blanket with a similar texture and edging so that it feels right?

How about putting it in a (sealed) box frame?

I think blankie is dead, he had a good run but at 23 she can sleep without it.

I'd stitch it onto a new cellular blanket. It'll have a lump where the knot is but that's fine. Spread it out like an octopus.

Or maybe onto an old muslin or two if you still have any around.

ooh, if it's the satin edge that's her favourite part to touch, could you remove that and stitch it onto something else like a bear?

Oh sorry I cross posted with helpful suggestions and more posts! Thank you.

I have never heard of visible mending etc so this is very interesting. I wonder what PPE they would have to wear though... She used to hide Blankie, DH used to search to find it and send her a photo of it in the washing machine but it's too delicate for that now!

Yes it's shrinking due to handling but she wants to keep handling it, so it's hard to find a solution. I think the putting into a toy tummy, and sewing one of the tentacles trailing ribbon bits around the toy's arm seems like a good compromise.

We learnt our lesson, adult DSs blankets were fleece so they're still pretty much as new! Shame we fucked up the first time, but that's what happens with PFBs Maybe I should start a thread in the pregnancy section to warn people of this pitfall...

Also, cmon MNers where are the Gordion Knot jokes? You're letting me down here, I want to take credit for them show this to DD with any useful advice.

Sewing into a teddy and using a bit of tentacle I think is in the lead at the moment.

I'm 55 and still have my teddy from when I was a toddler. My 19 year old son still has the blankie his great grandma made for him.....and repaired many many times. However I think your blankie is in dire need of CPR. Can anyone else make her new version?? 🤞💐

I think i would buy a new one then flatten blankie as much as possible and stitch it to the new one to prolong its life .

My dad id 13 and still has her blankie 😳 we’ve jokingly said we’d set fire to it, but to be perfectly honest I think it’s cute that she loves it. It was her baby duvet and had checks on it and a cupcake design in the middle. I’ve sewn the holes it has gained over the years, it’s now faded. I think preserving it would be the answer, like in a frame.