A big strawberry pattern can be a small blanket. That is worth remembering when you're looking at a close-up photograph, where you can see every bit of the design but not necessarily how much of your sofa it will cover.
The Fruit Salad collection, made by Ampersand Design Studio with Happy Habitat, comes in two noticeably different sizes. The full Apple throw and Strawberry throw are approximately 50 by 60 inches. The smaller Banana blanket and Strawberry blanket are approximately 30 by 40 inches. We'd settle that part before falling too far for a particular fruit.
See the size in your own room
Take a tape measure to the spot you have in mind. You can lay out a rectangle on the floor, or mark the edges with pieces of paper. Fifty by sixty inches is much easier to understand when it's next to your chair than when it's a line under a photo.
If you want a throw to fall over both sides of a seat, measure that distance. If it will spend most of its time folded over a chair back, try folding a blanket you already own to a similar size. The open rectangle and the folded strip give quite different amounts of pattern to a room.
A smaller blanket may be exactly what you want for a little accent or a particular space. Just choose it for those dimensions. The names “baby blanket” and “throw” are useful categories, but they aren't substitutes for the measurements.
Which colors do you want to live with?
The Apple throw brings together green, pink, black and ivory. The Banana blanket uses yellow, turquoise and black. The Strawberry designs have their own fruit-led palettes, so put the photos beside the colors already in your room and see what catches your eye.
You don't have to repeat every color. We like the idea of picking up one from a print on the wall or a chair you already have, then letting the rest of the throw do its own thing. In a room with several patterns, folding it can make the design a smaller accent. Spread out, it has more room to be the thing you notice.
Size and feel are separate questions
The maker calls these a “summer-weight” style, with a finer, more delicate knit than the original Happy Habitat throws. That describes the knit within its range, rather than giving a temperature rating. Think about the texture you enjoy as well as how much fabric you need.
The smaller blankets are made from 100% recycled materials. If you need the exact fiber blend for a full-size throw, ask us about that piece. It's useful information to have before choosing, especially when you have a particular fabric preference.
Our wool blanket has its own material story. The merino and knitting-gauge guide explains that feel more closely, and the knitted-gift guide includes the blanket alongside our scarves.
For the ordinary business of washing it
The Fruit Salad care instructions are machine wash cold and dry on low heat. Keep the label with your particular blanket and follow it when laundry day comes around. If you're giving one as a gift, passing that information along saves the recipient a search later.
Once the size and care suit you, you can return to the enjoyable decision: apples, strawberries or bananas. And if you're planning the whole corner of a room, including a place for the dog, our dog-bed measuring guide works through the floor space separately.
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