What to Write on a Memorial Blanket

Less than you think. A name, the years, and one line you would say out loud. The rest belongs in the card.

Why short works

A blanket is read from across a room and for years, not once and closely like a sympathy card. Four lines of a poem printed small are skipped. One line printed large is read every time someone sits down. The photograph is already doing most of the talking.

There is a practical reason too. The words have to stay readable on fabric, so the space is limited on purpose. On our Memorial Photo design the main text holds 140 characters across 4 lines, with a separate signature line of 30. The Pet Memorial design holds 110 characters across 3 lines.

The three things to include

The name they were called. Not necessarily the one on the certificate. If everyone said Nana, or Pops, or Aunt Bee, that is the name that belongs on it.
The years. Just the years, such as 1941 - 2024. Full dates read like a headstone. Years read like a life.
One line. Something specific to them: a habit, a saying, a thing they always did. If it could be printed on anyone's blanket, keep looking.

Example lines

These are starting points. The best line is usually something they said, or something your family says about them. All of these fit the space.

For a mother

Held in every recipe, every holiday, every one of us.
Still the first person we want to tell.
She set the table for everyone. We are keeping it set.

For a father

Measure twice. We still do.
He showed up. Every game, every move, every time.
The porch light is still on, Dad.

For a grandparent

Sunday dinners, card games, and the last word on everything.
Everything we know about gardens, we know from her.
He told the same six stories. We would give anything to hear the seventh.

For a husband or wife

Fifty-one years, and not one of them long enough.
My whole life, and the best part of it.
Save me a seat.

For a friend

The one who always called back.
Thirty years of bad ideas and good company.

For a dog or a cat

Thirteen years of meeting me at the door.
The end of the bed is still yours.
Best boy. Worst at fetch. Missed every day.

Signing it

If the blanket is a gift, the signature line says who it is from without a card that will be lost: all your grandchildren, the Tuesday crew, your girls. If it is for your own home, leave it blank.

When their own words are better than yours

If you have a card, a letter, or a recipe in their handwriting, that can go on the blanket exactly as they wrote it, with no font and no retyping. A birthday card signed in their hand says more than any line written about them afterwards.

How a handwriting blanket is made

Verses, prayers, and quotations

A verse works when it was theirs: a line of scripture they marked, the first line of a hymn they sang, something they quoted at the table. Use one line of it, not the whole passage. If you are choosing a verse because a memorial is supposed to have one, a plain sentence in your own words will mean more.

What to leave off

How they died. The blanket is about the life.
Anything you would not say aloud in front of the family.
A long list of everyone they are survived by. That is what the signature line is for.
Phrases chosen because they sound like a memorial. If it is not how you talk, it will not sound like you.

Check the spelling twice

We print exactly what you type, including capital letters and punctuation, and we do not correct spelling, because on a memorial an autocorrect is worse than a typo. Read the name and the years out loud before you approve the design, and ask one other person in the family to look at the preview.

If you are giving it to someone else

Use the name the grieving person used, not the one you knew them by. Your coworker's mother is Mom on the blanket, or her first name, not Mrs. and a surname. When you are not sure, a name and the years with no line at all is always right.

See the words on the blanket before you decide

Type the line into the design and the preview shows it at its real size. It is free, and you can rewrite it as many times as you need.

Memorial Photo design Pet Memorial design