By Jackie Reeve
Jackie Reeve is a writer covering all things bedding. She has also reported on towels, rugs, and chicken coops (with help from her 20 backyard pets).
Every time I test bed blankets and throws, all of my family seems to appear out of thin air to participate. They all have specific tastes—my husband likes a tassle-free wool or cashmere, my daughter wants the softest and lightest fleece, and my dog goes for anything he can discreetly nibble without getting in trouble.
But they are all unified when it comes to the Garnet Hill Plush-Loft blankets, which are fluffy-soft polyester plush on one side and smooth quilted cotton sateen on the other. These blankets are hands-down the family favorite.
Our pick
This fluffy, quilted plush throw is super-warm, can take a beating, and is the favorite of our picks with kids and pets.
Buying Options
The Plush-Loft blanket debuted in the fall of 2015, from a company that makes bedding that we test all the time at Wirecutter; Garnet Hill makes durable pillows and classic-looking sheets and towels, but its blankets are consistently some of the best that we test.
Since the Plush-Loft’s launch, “it has always ranked in our top three blankets,” a Garnet Hill representative told us. The Plush-Loft was designed to have a weight somewhere between that of a lofty comforter and a more-traditional blanket, which it achieves because it has a layer of polyester (thin but dense, to help trap air) sandwiched between a shell of smooth cotton sateen on one side and polyester plush (like a stuffed animal) on the other.
I started testing the bed-size Plush-Loft blanket in early 2018, and I’ve bought several more since. So have many other Wirecutter staffers, including one senior editor who bought the Plush-Loft for her two sons to get through Maine winters.
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The bed blankets work as a comforter alternative in cold weather or layered under a comforter on a very cold night. The throw size is the most magnificent treat for snuggling on the couch for a family movie.
These are the heftiest and warmest blankets we recommend, so if you don’t like a heavy blanket, or if you’re a hot sleeper, these probably aren’t for you. They wash well, and our test samples have pilled just a little in five years of use, with minimal color fading.
How to keep your blanket looking its best
Because the plush fur side is polyester, a warm or cold wash is best to preserve this blanket for as long as possible. My family’s blankets have seen us through more than one stomach bug or winter illness, though, and I’ve thrown them in hot washes a few times to disinfect them. So far they’ve been fine.
One Wirecutter senior editor uses this throw to cover the rug in her living room where her young daughter plays. “She dragged three sticky lollipops across it,” she told us. “So happy I could just throw it in the wash.”
The company provides a one-year warranty for any defects, and it has a return policy of about 90 days.
The original version of this post was part of our 2020 “52 Things We Love” series, an ode to Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time. Read the entire series.. The current version was edited by Rachelle Bergstein and Catherine Kast.
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Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since 2015. Previously she was a school librarian, and she’s been a quilter for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. She moderates Wirecutter’s staff book club and makes her bed every morning.
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