11 best baby blankets to keep them snug as a bug in a rug

The White Company is renowned for its luxury bedroom and home goods, and its baby range is just as lovely as the rest. We loved this blanket for its neutral, soft and warm but breathable features. We liked that the patchwork design added detail with white intarsia stars and different textured knits. We used the blanket in our pram on a cooler day as well as on the sofa for supervised daytime naps.

Also available in baby pink, we think this would make a brilliant gift for new parents, and, although it’s fairly pricey, it is high quality enough to be kept and passed down. The blanket is made from 100 per cent soft cotton and can be machine washed to keep it at its best.

Luxury bedding brand, Bedfolk, recently launched its first Baby & Toddler Collection, a mini version of its existing range. We loved the premium quality feel of this blanket and wanted to grab the adult-sized version for ourselves! We liked the waffle-like design, and its three attractive colours (ink, rose and snow).

The blanket is made from 100 per cent long-staple Turkish cotton and is machine washable at 30C. While it is super-soft and warming, we also used it as an impromptu play mat while out with friends, and while nursing and as a burp cloth, safe in the knowledge that the natural material would be safe on our baby’s delicate skin.

Want a unique but sustainable blanket for your baby? Turtle Doves have saved 50,000 cashmere jumpers from going to landfill – the equivalent to 140 tonnes of jumpers, or 20 Olympic-sized pools! The cashmere is repurposed into 100 per cent recycled cashmere one-of-a-kind accessories, including this lovely blanket. We found it really cosy and warm, so perhaps one for the winter months to wrap up against the cold.

Customers can choose from pre-made colourways, and also pick a customised blanket as well, so they can give a really unique, but earth-friendly baby gift. Measuring approximately 95cm x 70cm, it’s possible to machine wash Turtle Doves’ blankets on a cold setting, meaning even the littlest of babies can be wrapped in luxury and not have to keep this blanket only for best.

While the teddy bear colourway that we tested is out of stock, it is still available in other colours such as pink and blue. Alternatively, you can sign up to be notified via email when it’s back.

When researching this article, we were drawn to this brand’s array of beautiful prints. We chose the little pink flowers design from Little Dutch, which has a beautiful pale pink tone and detailed flower accents. Also on offer are the sailors bay and flowers and butterflies colourways. The blanket is cool and smooth on one side, with its soft cotton pattern, whereas the other side is ready for snuggling with its thick teddy material.

This is definitely a blanket for cooler evenings, with its heavy tog of 3.7. However, we used it during the heatwave as an aesthetically-pleasing picnic blanket in the park, and as a buffer for a play area on some hard wooden floors. Luckily, it’s machine washable at 30C.

Slightly more expensive than some blankets on the market, this one from Avery Row feels very luxurious when wrapping our baby up in it. It’s 100 per cent merino wool and we think it would make a great gift for new parents – we know they’d thank you for it. Despite the wool, we can use the blanket all year round, thanks to its thermo-regulation properties. We even used it as a throw over our baby’s legs in the pram as the day turned to evening.

Choose from classic, trendy colours such as storm blue or cloud blue. We also like that Merino wool is irritation-free for even the most sensitive skin. A heads up – we were able to machine wash this blanket but we’d recommend a cool wash.

There’s no blending in with Scamp and Dude. The fearless brand designed this blanket to be used in the pram, in bed, for snuggling at home and also as a play mat, so you won’t be limited. We loved the bold design, the feel of the 100 per cent organic cotton and were able to use it in the summer heat as a soft throwover during nap times in the pram. We also loved how small it folded down for on-the-go.

At 80cm x 80cm, it may be a little smaller than some blankets on the list, but it worked well as a small playmat when visiting baby groups and would suit very young babies as a swaddle. For those who love to match, vests and baby grows are also available to complete the set.

While this blanket is sold out for the time being, you can sign up to be notified once it is back in stock.

Brand new to the market, Kabode bedding sets and quilts are made with organic cotton and breathable bamboo. We really loved the safari theme sets, but equally pleasing are the ankara, alphabet, rainbow and robot sets. Our child is a little young for a quilt at the moment, however the quilts are of great quality and size at 100cm x 120cm so we’re using it as a playmat for the time being, and will begin using the quilt as bedclothes once our baby transitions into a toddler bed. The range also includes fitted sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases and more, meaning that you can buy just once.

Very young babies love high-contrast colours as well as black and white patterns. The reason for this is that their sight is not fully developed at birth, so anything that helps attract their attention is a huge win developmentally speaking. And Etta Loves does it brilliantly.

Our blanket has a black and white terrazzo design on one side and is brightly coloured on the other. It’s also a good size, too: 100cm x 80cm, and is machine washable at 30C. It’s knitted but it doesn’t feel too warm, even during the warmer months, and can easily be folded twice to create another layer to keep our baby cosy.

In those early days, muslins are super essential items. If anyone ever asks us what advice we have for having a newborn, we always say: “More muslins than you think you’ll need”. These ones from Happiest Baby are available in a range of patterns: hearts, stripes, galaxy, and dots.

Created by Dr Harvey Karp who advocates for swaddling, these muslins are big enough to properly envelope a newborn without running out of fabric. Our baby may no longer be a newborn, but we found a lot of use using these muslins as a play mat in a public place. We love that these are super-soft and not scratchy or slightly rough as some muslins can be. Because of this, we were able to use them as a light cover during a contact nap during the heatwave. A must-have for new parents.

Created by brother-sister duo Bethan and Joe John, The British Blanket Company creates its quality, super-soft merino lambswool blankets which are woven in a small, traditional mill in Ireland. We love the range of colourways, suitable from the most neutral of nurseries to the most colourful. It’s machine washable on a wool setting, making it a practical choice too.

We found the blanket really soft, light and breathable – almost like a pashmina. The blanket is a versatile size, 126cm x 72cm, which should see our baby through to toddlerhood and is a luxurious option if you’re looking for a snuggly baby blanket that’s soft against your baby’s delicate skin.

This luxuriously soft 318 thread count cotton satin baby blanket has hand-illustrated magical scenes, created “to provide memorable memories for childhood”. We loved that the blanket has a “day to night” design with such beautiful details. It can be used as a warm blanket but can also be laid on the floor as a playmat to be examined by parents and children alike. We could easily make up stories about the characters and it put a different spin on storytime.

According to the brand, this reversible blanket is its most luxurious and bestselling heirloom piece – and we can see these being passed down for generations. Despite the detail, Forivor blankets are machine washable at 30C, but it is recommended this is done sparingly. The beautiful organic cotton quilted blankets start from £140 upwards and can be complemented with a branded suitcase and character cards.