The Best Throw Blankets, Tested and Reviewed
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Throw blankets are crucial for any interior. Not only do they feel fantastic for movie night or snuggling with your S.O., they also give you a chance to add color, texture, and pattern to any space. Throw pillows can do a lot of work on your sofa, but a good throw blanket should also pull triple duty in pillow forts, impromptu picnics, and over your lap in the backyard once fall hits.
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Most throws clock in at 50” x 70” which is an ideal size for easy folding and tossing over the edge of the sofa, while still giving you good coverage while splayed out. We looked at a variety of fabrics and designs to hit that ideal midpoint of comfort and style.
How Do You Test Throw Blankets?
I’m looking for throws that can do three main things: design, comfort, cleanability.
Design – Not all throws need to announce themselves with Memphis colors, and there’s room for both visual pop and cooling neutrals. What they can’t be is boring.
Comfort – This category is mainly about softness and warmth. Does climbing under this throw make you 70% more likely to take an unplanned nap? Is it so soft you want to rub your face all over it? If so, it’s working.
Cleanability — Prepare yourself for your throws to absorb all pet hair, get pushed under the sofa into deep dust bunny territory, and be used as a de facto napkin for movie night popcorn grease. If you can’t clean it easily, is the juice you’re bound to spill really worth the squeeze?
Bien Mal Tiebreak Blanket
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Design: Big style points for Bien Mal here as they take a pretty standard jacquard style–think of the fringed blankets depicting sentimental Christmas scenes at Aunt Ida’s house–and turn it on its head. With designs that evoke folk art, charming abstraction, and a hilariously winsome Dave Shrigleyesque line drawing of a potato, this LA-based brand is down to clown. I went for Tiebreak, a modern motif that at first seems like a simple geometric design, but is actually the outline of a tennis court. One side is burgundy (clay court season, baby) and the other is a pale green, giving strong Wimbledon vibes. I love how the design is revealed only when the blanket is fully laid out. If you want to go more gonzo, check out Bien Mal’s other designs. They cover the most aesthetic territory of any of the brands I tested, so follow your bliss.
Comfort: I found this blanket surprisingly warm for being cotton. It’s certainly the warmest of the two cotton throws I tested, and it’s very soft to the touch. With dimensions of 50” x 70”, it won’t fully cover you up if you’re tall. I found my feet sticking out a bit when I nestled in for a nap, but shorter folk, or those who go full fetal when taking a rest, should be well covered.
Cleanability: Bien Mal’s cotton throws come with the three glorious words I was desperate to hear: Machine wash cold. Unsurprising, as we’re dealing with cotton here, but this will extend the life of the blanket and make you more likely to use it. We all know how often dry clean only garments get the washing they deserve.
Coyuchi Cirrus Supersoft Cotton Throw
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Design: You have to see this one live to really get the full feel, because this blanket is all about the textured weave. At first blush it’s a single color with white stripe accents, but actually it’s this wonderfully variegated design that evokes a herringbone tweed one minute and broken-in denim the next. This throw comes in four colors, though the navy blue and rusty red punch hardest. It’s made in Germany from Turkish cotton. The two white stripes at either end of the blanket give it a vaguely sporty or collegiate feel.
Comfort: This blanket strikes perhaps the best balance of softness and warmth of the four tested here. Thanks to a gentle brushing technique, Coyuchi’s blanket has a cotton-ball hand that makes you want to nestle in on first touch. Initially launching in 1991 in Point Reyes, California, Coyuchi has been at the forefront of sustainable textiles, so if you find it comforting to lounge in 100% organic cotton, then this is your brand.
Cleanability: We love cotton because we can throw it in the washer. Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. La dolce vita!
The Citizenry Esperanza Alpaca Throw
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Design: This is such a lovely, earthy design. The Esperanza is handwoven in the Peruvian Andes, and I was drawn right away to the rich color story and oversized plaid. This blanket doesn’t shout the way the Pendleton design does, but its appealing mix of browns and beige will still hold their own in a busy interior. In my home, it’s more of a background player, a textile cousin to the house’s craftsman style woodwork and brass accents. It looks great festooned on my sofas, one dark and one light. And if your furniture and accessories pop, then this color temperature-neutral throw will provide ballast to more maximal pieces. The Citizenry has a variety of designs in their alpaca blankets, so check out their inventory, much of which is quite muted.
Comfort: Though lightweight, the blanket delivers some serious warmth–probably the best weight to warmth ratio of the four tested here. The throw is 50” x 70” but also available as a bed blanket if you want to go bigger or play matchy matchy with your linens. If I have any criticism it’s that I thought this soft blanket would be softer. I’ve had a few alpaca throws over the years and an alpaca sweater or two, and all of them were softer and fluffier than the Esperanza. It’s by no means coarse, but just not that buttery cloud feel that only alpaca can truly deliver.
Alpaca is hypoallergenic, which should provide comfort to a lot of folk who can’t get down with wool.
Washability: A drawback of this alpaca wool blanket is that it’s dry clean only. But, alpaca, as it’s naturally odor resistant, won’t need as much washing as you might think. In fact, I spilled some nasty liquid on mine the first time I used it, and much of it beaded up and rolled right off. I spot cleaned the rest of the mess with water and hung it out to dry on my porch for a couple hours. No worse for the wear!
Pendelton Preservation Series PS02 Blanket
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Design: Pendleton goes deep in a pretty narrow aesthetic lane—Americana, National Parks, Native American motifs—so if “rugged” and “Southwest” aren’t titles of your Pinterest boards, you might look elsewhere. With that said, New England trad, steel-and-glass industrial, or mid-century modern interiors can all benefit from what Pendleton has to offer–namely strong colors and appealing geometry. I was especially attracted to the Preservation Series PS02 for just those reasons. Modeled on an 1870 Navajo/Dine child’s blanket, the PS02 has a compelling cross motif that represents Spider Woman, a powerful teacher in Dine legend who taught people the art of weaving. In addition to warming me up when I sit underneath it, the blanket adds a real shot of color folded and draped over my two monochrome sofas.
Comfort: Here comes the warm snuggle. Pendleton wool is famously thick and durable and this big old wool blend blanket delivers. It’s by far my favorite for cool weather cuddles on the couch (open a window so you don’t overheat!) and for restless nights when I ditch bed and wind up on the sofa, this is my go-to to get back to sleep. Though not a weighted blanket per se, the additional heft of this bad boy is ideal for those who want to be cocooned.
Washability: Dry clean only! Which means when Fido pees on it you’re gonna be out some bread to get it clean. I’m sure you could always hand wash, but at 64” x 80”, you’re going to need the whole bathtub. I recommend an occasional airing out and seasonal washing to keep it fresh. I should also note that over the course of blanket testing, this one attracted by far the most dust. Stray hairs and dust bunnies and loose lint clung to this guy like a remora to a shark, so factor that into your laundry life, Jack.
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