This Blanket Is the Best Throw for Picky People With Exacting Taste

A throw blanket is a uniquely specific item that’s surprisingly very personal. Setting aside aesthetics (for now), the perfect throw for you might not be the perfect throw for your sister, your cousin, or the person you’ve chosen to watch TV with in silence for the rest of your life. There are a dizzying array of options, in every possible material and category, from wool to fleece to cotton, and quite often, the only way to know if a throw blanket is the one for you is not to touch it in the store for five minutes, but to take it home, dissolve into the couch, and really use it. What’s good for the goose is likely not great for the gander—but Brooklinen’s got a blanket that’s as close to the Platonic ideal as anything can be.

Artist Zoe Schlachter, known for their colorful graphic prints, created this limited-edition throw for Brooklinen, and when I requested it for testing, I did so knowing that it very well could join the pile of once-loved blankets that are now destined for their second life at an animal shelter. Let’s be upfront: the blanket costs $198, which is a lot for a blanket. It could also be viewed as yet another entry in the wide-ranging category of avant basic home goods that have seemingly saturated the market. I wasn’t expecting to be as wowed as I was because I’m particular—and a blanket that I haven’t fondled in the store for a good twenty minutes isn’t something that I’d generally go for. However, I’m thrilled to report that this blanket is perhaps the best blanket I’ve used, and is versatile enough to be something for just about everyone.

Why she’s so good

The knitted throw comes in two colors, one of which is the`gorgeous and effervescent Cielo—blues and moody purples and some sage green in a wiggly pattern—and Dazzle, a black-and-white checkerboard-esque moment, not without its own squiggly motif, that felt a little too rich for my blood. It’s nice to have a throw blanket that looks good, because so often, it functions as decor; I chose Cielo because there’s something about a black-and-white graphic that feels overwhelming. When folded nicely and placed on the back of the sofa, as I do every evening when the living room is closed for business, it’s a nice accent.  

Of course, the real mark of a good blanket is not just how it looks, but how it feels. My personal history with throw blankets is littered with a variety of synthetic blends, some fleece mistakes, and a hand-knit (by me) wool number that succumbed to the moths and had to be thrown away. Unlike many other throw blankets I’ve loved and discarded, this one is knit from recycled cotton and has a nice heft to it, similar to those thin cotton bed blankets that, unfortunately, are reminiscent of hospitals. However, this is not a hospital blanket! It’s the perfect weight for a fussy person (me) who is either too hot or too cold, but never just right. 

The size is also generous—at a cute 60x60 inches, this is a great thing to have on hand for guests that need to sleep on your sofa, and much better than, say, lugging a spare comforter out from its underbed storage container and offering it to your guest. (In my opinion, sleeping on a couch with a comforter evokes the particular feeling of being home sick from school, and while that’s not bad, it’s maybe not ideal for a good hang or a good nap.)

Trying her out

My requirements for a throw blanket are simple: versatility is key and the blanket in question should be usable in every temperature. There are few things more uncomfortable than sweating under a staticky fleece thing purchased under duress at a Hudson News in the airport or shivering under a thin something-or-other that's masquerading as a blanket, but really, should be used for anything else. 

To ensure that my findings would be comprehensive, I tested the blanket in a variety of conditions. With the air conditioner blasting in my apartment, slumped in front of the TV on the couch, the blanket was comfortable enough to feel cozy without feeling suffocated. Later, when the weather turned, I threw the windows open, put on some sweatpants, and returned to the me-shaped indentation on the sofa to read, in an attempt to mimic the pre-winter conditions of my apartment before the heat turns on. Miraculously, the blanket was comfortable, even in these conditions—breathable, warm but not hot, and heavy enough to feel like a weighted blanket without actually being weighted. 

Get this blanket! 

Now, the bad news: this blanket is limited-edition, so if you want to feel anything akin to the peace it brings, run, don't walk!  It’s hyperbolic to say that this blanket is perfect, and linens and things are purely subjective—but I’d be surprised if it isn’t good for just about everyone, no matter what their personal requirements are. 

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