Hi all,
so I thought I'd update that I just received my package from swaddle designs & I'm impressed by the blanket quality. I ordered three different ultimate design blankets, along with one additional organic cotton one, and they are all super soft. They also come with easy-to-follow swaddling instructions sewn to the edge of the blankets.
Anyway, I'm certain that these blankets are what I was looking for and I'm content with my purchase. Thank you wallawala for referring me to the eswaddle website -- I'd definitely recommend them if anyone else is interested in these blankets. They have some pretty good deals-of-the-day, and their service was fast and trustworthy. All the blankets that I received are in excellent brand new condition.
Huge A&A fan here -- we swaddled DD for 9 months (yep. Nine), and tried lots of different blankets. They get softer (and softer and softer) with each washing, stains come out easily, and they're BIG, which was key to a good swaddle for us.
The carters flannel were just too small, even when she was little. And they never got soft enough for me, even after multiple washings. They make great burp cloths, though. Stains come out, and they're bigger than a diaper, so you can really protect your clothes from spitup. They also made good handkerchiefs when DD had colds later on (softer than kleenex, easy to wash).
Miracle blanket -- worked great, but it was pretty complicated.
The Halo swaddleme blankets in fleece were a close second for us to the Aden & Anais. Talk about idiot proof! And warm on the very cold nights (and our house is COLD, so that was important to us). So I have those, too. But the A&A were my faves.