Bloomsbury Mill vs ClevaMama Cellular Blanket: The Organic Two-Pack Costs Less Than the Single

COMPARISON · NURSERY & SLEEP

A cellular blanket is the most boring thing on a newborn list and one of the few you will use every single night. It goes over the Moses basket, into the pram, across the car seat on the way home from hospital and, eventually, into the cot. Most families end up owning three or four, because one is always in the wash.

That is exactly why this comparison matters more than its price tag suggests. Bloomsbury Mill sells a two-pack of 100% organic cotton cellular blankets at 75 x 95cm for around £12.49. ClevaMama sells a single 100% cotton cellular blanket at 70 x 90cm for £13.49. On paper they are near-identical blankets: same open cell weave, same 40-degree wash, almost the same size. The difference is that one price buys you two blankets in certified organic cotton and the other buys you one in conventional cotton.

So is there any reason to buy the single? There is, and it comes down to where you shop, how quickly you need it and how much you care about pure white over earthy tones. We compared the published specs, current UK prices and stock, and the feedback we hear from parents in our community about how these blankets wash, fold and wear over the first year. We also cover the part nobody prints on the label: how to actually tuck a 90cm blanket into a basket that is barely 75cm long without breaking safe sleep advice.

If you are building a newborn list, this is a small decision that is easy to get right once and then stop thinking about.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: Bloomsbury Mill Organic Cotton Cellular Baby Blankets (2 Pack) · 8.5/10 - two GOTS organic blankets for roughly £6.25 each, in a size that lasts from basket to cot
• Best Single Spare: ClevaMama Crib/Moses Basket Cellular Blanket · 7.5/10 - a plain, fuss-free cotton blanket from a baby specialist retailer when you only need one more

Quick comparison

	Bloomsbury Mill (2 Pack)	ClevaMama Crib/Moses
Rating
Price	From £12.49 for two	£13.49 for one
Price per blanket	About £6.25	£13.49
Size	75 x 95cm	70 x 90cm
Fabric	100% organic cotton, GOTS certified	100% cotton
Washing	Machine wash, low tumble dry	Machine wash at 40°C
Colours	Earthy palette (grey, oat, sage, blush and more)	White, pink
Best for	Building your core blanket stock	Topping up with one plain spare

How we picked the two

We started from the blankets families most often add to their Nests and narrowed it to products that are genuinely comparable: true cellular weave (not waffle or muslin), cotton only, sized for a Moses basket through to a cot, and in stock with a UK retailer we can link to. We then compared published fabric and size specs, current prices, care instructions and what parents tell us about how each one holds up after weeks of washing. We left out fleece, knitted and quilted blankets, which are a different job entirely and are not what safe sleep guidance has in mind for young babies.

What to look for in a cellular blanket

A real cellular weave. The small open "cells" trap a layer of air for warmth while letting heat escape, which is why cellular cotton is the default recommendation for newborn sleep. Thick fleece and quilted blankets hold far more heat and are best kept for supervised play, not sleep.

Size versus your bed. A standard Moses basket mattress is roughly 28 x 74cm, a crib a little bigger, and a cot bed around 70 x 140cm. A 70 x 90cm or 75 x 95cm blanket fits a cot comfortably but needs folding for a basket. Remember that a blanket folded in half counts as two layers.

How you tuck it. Place your baby feet to foot, with their feet touching the end of the basket or cot, and tuck the blanket firmly under the mattress so it comes no higher than their shoulders. Their head should always stay uncovered. Several thin layers you can add or remove beat one thick one, and a room of around 16 to 20°C is the usual target.

Fabric and washing. Pure cotton breathes well and survives hot washes. Organic certification matters to some families for skin sensitivity and sourcing reasons. Either way, wash before first use and expect a little shrinkage on the first hot cycle.

How many you need. Three to four is a comfortable number: one in use, one in the pram or car, one in the wash and a spare for the inevitable night-time leak.

1. Bloomsbury Mill Organic Cotton Cellular Baby Blankets (2 Pack) / 10 · Best for building your blanket stock

Bloomsbury Mill is a UK baby textiles brand built around one idea: simple cotton basics in calm, earthy colours. Its cellular blankets come as a pair, each 75 x 95cm, woven from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton. They are machine washable and can go in the tumble dryer on low, which matters more than any other spec once you are doing a load of baby washing every day.

The headline is value. At around £12.49 for the pair in grey, you are paying roughly £6.25 per blanket for organic cotton, which undercuts most single conventional cotton blankets on the high street. The colour range (grey, oat, sage, blush, cream and more) is also the reason many parents pick them: they look at home in a neutral nursery and do not scream "hospital blanket".

What parents love

• Two for the price of one. One parent told us: 'I bought one pack for the basket and one for the pram and stopped worrying about laundry day.' Having a spare ready the moment there is a leak is the real win.
• Soft from day one. We hear repeatedly from parents that the organic cotton feels soft straight out of the packet and gets softer with washing rather than going rough.
• Colours that match the nursery. A parent shared that the shade they worried about turned out to be 'the exact shade I wanted'. The muted tones also hide the odd mark better than pure white.
• Size that grows with them. At 75 x 95cm it folds neatly for a basket in the early weeks and opens out to cover a cot mattress properly later on.

What to know before you buy

• Folding for a Moses basket. At 95cm long it needs folding for a basket, which turns one blanket into two layers. Fine in winter, often too warm in summer.
• Colour and stock vary. Some colours sell out and prices differ by shade, from about £12.49 up to £14.99. Pick the colour that is in stock rather than waiting.
• No pure white option every time. If you like to boil-wash everything white, the earthy palette is less forgiving of very hot washes over time.

Best for

• First-time parents building a newborn list from scratch
• Families who want organic cotton without paying a premium
• Neutral or Scandi-style nurseries
• Anyone who wants one blanket for the basket and one for the pram

2. ClevaMama Crib/Moses Basket Cellular Blanket / 10 · Best for a single plain spare

ClevaMama is an Irish baby brand set up by two sisters in 2003, best known for practical sleep and bath products. Its Crib/Moses Basket Cellular Blanket is about as straightforward as baby bedding gets: a single 70 x 90cm blanket in 100% cotton, with no ribbons, trims or decorations, machine washable at 40°C and quick to dry.

At £13.49 for one blanket it is clearly the dearer option per blanket. Where it earns its place is simplicity. It is sold through a baby specialist retailer alongside Moses baskets and cribs, it comes in classic white or pink, and the slightly smaller 70 x 90cm size means a little less bulk when folded into a basket or crib.

What parents love

• Nothing to snag. No ribbon edging or appliqué, so there are no loose bits for little fingers or the washing machine to pull at.
• Classic white. Parents we hear from regularly like a white blanket they can wash hot and see is clean, especially for the newborn weeks.
• Slightly smaller footprint. At 70 x 90cm there is a little less fabric to fold and tuck in a basket or crib.
• Easy add-on. One parent put it best: 'I just needed one more for the crib, so I added it to the basket order and that was that.'

What to know before you buy

• Twice the price per blanket. At £13.49 for one, you pay more than double the Bloomsbury Mill per-blanket price, and it is not organic.
• Limited colours. White or pink only, and stock levels on individual colours can run low.
• Still needs folding for a basket. It is smaller, but not basket-sized, so the two-layer rule still applies.

Best for

• Topping up an existing set with one more spare
• Parents who prefer plain white bedding they can wash hot
• Adding a blanket to a Moses basket or crib order from the same retailer
• Grandparents keeping a spare for overnight stays

What about Aden + Anais or Purflo?

Muslin swaddle blankets and branded sleep sets come up a lot when parents ask about newborn bedding, but they do a different job. A large muslin is lighter and great for swaddling or a summer pram cover; it is not a like-for-like swap for a cellular cotton layer in a cot. If you plan to use a baby sleeping bag instead of blankets, you do not need cellular blankets for the bed at all, though most families still keep one or two for the pram and car seat.

How to choose

Pick the Bloomsbury Mill two-pack if you are starting from zero. You get two organic cotton blankets for less than the price of one conventional single, a size that works from basket to cot, and colours that sit quietly in a modern nursery. Buy two packs and you are set for the whole first year.

Pick the ClevaMama single if you already have a couple of blankets and just want one more plain white spare, or you are ordering a Moses basket or crib from the same retailer and want everything in one delivery. It is a perfectly good blanket; it is just poorer value per blanket.

Whichever you choose, the safety basics matter more than the brand: feet to foot, tucked firmly no higher than the shoulders, head uncovered, and count a folded blanket as two layers.

Add it to your Nest

Blankets are one of the easiest things for friends and family to buy, and one of the most useful. Add your favourite to your free BubsNest registry and let the people who love you cover the basics.