I hesitated to buy this because of negative reviews, but I'm so glad I did.I think people have become used to polyester fleece and it's lightweight fluffiness that comes out of the dryer like a cloud.This is not that blanket.This throw is in a different class altogether. Yes, it comes in a zippered and snapped plastic storage bag. If you don't like plastic you can recycle it and store the blanket in another manner. The plastic odor others complained of disappeared after 30 minutes. The blanket was delivered on my porch on a 90 degree day so the odor was understandable.I was surprised by the silky texture upon first touch. It's certainly not heavy, as others said. Perhaps they didn't fully unfold it and were unknowingly holdng a double layer.The color was just as depicted. While the fringes aren't knotted, they are tightly twisted and tidy. I would think that knotting the fringes would add an awkward clumsiness to the drape of the blanket.The edges are finished perfectly and neatly with no hanging threads.I haven't washed it but when I do I'll use the gentle setting in cold water on a lower spin speed. I'll probably lay it out on a large sweater dryer or drape it over the shower rod and turn it over after a few hours to dry on both sides. If it sounds like too much trouble, this probably isn't the throw for you.I grew up with 2 sisters. We hand-washed our hosiery and sweaters in Woolite and used the washer just for the low spin cycle. After this we blocked them neatly on bath towels and turned them a few times til dry. This was common practicebefore the days of wash-and-wear clothing. Welcome to the good old days, lol.This may not be a quick washer-to-dryer item, but I feel it's worth a little extra trouble. It's a luxury throw blanket that I got for a steal on Prime Day. Thank you, Amazon!