For a wool throw, weight matters more than size. Under about 600 grams a blanket slides off your lap; between 600 and 800 grams it stays put and travels well; above 800 grams it presses rather than covers. Choose by how you will use it, then check the dimensions second.
Almost every wool blanket listing leads with dimensions, which is the less useful number. Two throws at the same 130 × 180 cm can differ by 400 grams, and that difference is the entire experience of owning them. Grams tell you whether it will stay on your shoulders, whether it packs, and whether it will feel like a blanket or like a coat you took off.
The Three Weight Bands
| Weight | Feels like | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 600 g | A large scarf | Travel, plane cabins, layering over a duvet | Slides off when you shift; adds little warmth alone |
| 600–800 g | Substantial but portable | One person on a sofa, car, porch, rolls into a bag | Not big enough to share |
| 800 g and up | Weighted, dense, grippy | Sofa anchor, cold rooms, sleeping under | Heavy to carry; slower to air out and dry |
The band you want is usually decided by one question: will this blanket live in one place, or move with you? Weight that is a virtue on a sofa becomes dead cargo in a bag.
Weight Is Not the Same as Warmth
Wool warms by trapping still air, not by mass. A crimped, lofty wool at 600 grams can outperform a dense, tightly woven 800-gram blanket in raw insulation, because loft creates more trapped air per gram. What weight actually buys you is different: drape, contact, and stability. A heavy blanket follows the shape of your body, stays in contact, and does not shift when you do — which is why weighted blankets work at all.
So the honest framing is: loft for warmth, weight for the feeling of being held. Most people shopping for a wool throw want the second and describe it as the first.
Our Three, and the Reasoning Behind Each
We make three throws that sit deliberately in three different places, and the numbers are on the product pages rather than in a size chart footnote. The Nomad Twill Wool Throw is 660 grams of pure Inner Mongolian wool at 47 by 71 inches — one-person sized on purpose, woven in twill so it bends rather than sits stiff, and light enough to roll into a bag. The Herringbone Cashmere-Blend Throw is 800 grams at 57 by 79 inches, with cashmere at ten percent, which is there for the hand rather than the label: pure lambswool has the structure, and the cashmere softens the first touch so people actually reach for it. The Heritage Cabin Wool Blanket is 830 grams of pure wool and is deliberately not soft — it is coarse and dry, the kind that grips air and holds heat, and it is the wrong blanket for anyone who wants silk-smooth.
Weave Changes How Weight Behaves
Two blankets of the same weight can behave completely differently depending on how they were woven.
Plain weave is the densest and most wind-resistant, and it sits stiffer. Good for a blanket that will spend its life on a bed or a bunk.
Twill — the diagonal structure of a good flannel shirt — drapes with you instead of against you, and feels broken in from the first use. It is the right structure when a blanket has to wrap around shoulders rather than lie flat.
Herringbone is twill with a reversing direction, and it has a practical side benefit nobody mentions in the marketing copy: the broken surface pattern hides lint, pet hair and crumbs far better than a flat weave does. You wash it less, which is its own form of longevity.
Size, Once Weight Is Settled
Throw sizes cluster into three useful ranges. Around 120 × 150 cm (roughly 47 × 60 inches) is a personal throw: one adult, one chair. Around 130 × 180 cm (roughly 50 × 70 inches) covers one person fully lying down on a sofa. Anything past 145 × 200 cm starts covering a full sofa or a double bed as a top layer, and at that size weight compounds fast — a blanket that is comfortable at 800 grams in throw size becomes genuinely heavy at bed size.
If you are buying to share, buy one size up and one weight band down. Two people under one blanket generate their own heat, and the extra fabric matters more than the extra grams.
What Weight Costs You in Care
Heavy wool takes longer to dry and cannot be hung wet — a soaked 830-gram blanket weighs several kilos, and its own weight will pull it out of shape on a line. Dense wool also needs less washing than people assume: airing it outdoors on a dry day handles most of what a wash would, and dense pure wool is naturally water-repellent without chemical treatment. The full routine is in our natural fibre care guide.
When a heavy blanket does need a full clean, our guide on how to wash a wool blanket covers when to air it, when to hand wash and when to leave it to a dry cleaner.
The full range is in the wool edit.
FAQ
How heavy should a wool blanket be?
For a throw that stays on your lap and travels, 600 to 800 grams is the useful range. Below 600 grams it slides off and adds little warmth on its own. Above 800 grams it presses rather than covers, which is excellent on a sofa and awkward to carry anywhere.
Is a heavier wool blanket warmer?
Not necessarily. Wool insulates by trapping still air, so a lofty, crimped wool can be warmer per gram than a dense one. Weight buys drape and contact — the blanket follows your shape and stays where you put it — rather than raw insulation.
What size wool throw do I need?
Around 120 by 150 cm covers one person in a chair. Around 130 by 180 cm covers one person lying on a sofa. Past 145 by 200 cm you are covering a full sofa or a double bed, and at that size the weight compounds quickly.
What is the difference between twill and plain weave in a blanket?
Plain weave is denser, stiffer and more wind-resistant, which suits a blanket that lies flat. Twill has a diagonal structure that drapes with your body and feels broken in immediately, which suits a blanket you wrap around your shoulders.
Does a cashmere blend make a wool blanket better?
It changes the first touch rather than the performance. A small percentage of cashmere softens the surface where your hands and face meet it, while the lambswool underneath still provides the structure and durability. It is a comfort decision, not a warmth one.
