Duvets & Pillows
For help selecting a duvet or a pillow click here
DUVET & PILLOW BUYING GUIDE
TOGS - a tog rating is a measurement of the warmth of a duvet; the higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet. The amount of warmth the duvet will give depends on how much air it traps. Some fillings trap more air than others, making the duvet much lighter yet giving the same amount of warmth, and different filling last for different lengths of time (SEE FILLINGS BELOW). Please choose from the wide selection of tog or warmth ratings we offer below:
3 Tog - for very warm summer weather
4.5 Tog - for average summer weather and even through the spring and autumn in well-insulated bedrooms
9.0 Tog - for spring-autumn weather and even through the winter in well-insulated bedrooms
10.5 Tog - if you are looking for one quilt to use all year round or for spring/autumn/winter use
12.0 Tog - for use in winter if fairly-well insulated bedrooms
13.5 Tog - for use in winter in colder bedrooms
15.0 Tog - the warmest quilt you are likely to need in the coldest of temperatures
Summer quilts can be used through the year by people in very warm bedrooms or who really do not like to have a lot of warm bedding; winter quilts can be used through the year by people with very cold bedrooms or who really feel the cold!
We were one of the first companies to introduce an 'All-Seasons' duvet into the UK market; this duvet is made up of 2 separate layers, one to use in the summer and the other in spring/autumn. You can then button the one on top of the other with the button attachment provided, to create a third, very snug option for the winter:
4.5 Tog + 9.0 Tog = 13.5 Tog
4.5 Tog + 10.5 Tog = 15.0 Tog
FILLINGS
100% natural fillings generally perform better than man-made fillings, providing greater comfort and longer life. However, we specially engineer our man-man products to ensure that they have an excellent performance compared with the cheaper alternatives.
Natural fillings
- Trap more air in relation to their weight than do most man-made fillings, so giving you warmth without weight in a duvet.
- Have a built-in resiliency which enables them to mould around your body or bounce back into shape and they also last longer.
- Carry moisture away from your skin, allowing your skin to 'breathe', and keeping you dry and comfortable.
- Give duvets a more body-hugging drape to insulate more efficiently, to keep you warmer.
- Our natural fillings are all 100% NEW meaning that they have not been re-cycled and therefore are more fluffy, resilient, and long-lasting.
New White Curled, Duck, or Goose Feather - available in our pillows, this resilient, hard-wearing filling consists of 100% small feathers and gives good firm support in a pillow - a good way of enjoying the benefits of a natural product at a very keen price.
New White Duck or Goose Feather & Down - this filling consists of 85% small, fluffy feathers and 15% of down - the softest and lightest part of the plumage. Our Duck or Goose Feather & Down duvets can last as long as 15 years with proper care (SEE CARE & WASHABILITY BELOW), and the pillows provide comfort and medium-firm support.
New White Duck Down & Feather - available in our pillows, this filling consists of 51% down 49% feather, so providing a good level of comfort and medium-firm support in a pillow.
New White Duck Down - available in our pillows, this filling consists of 90% down 10% tiny feathers to provide a wonderfully soft pillow.
New White Goose Down - we offer our Goose Down fillings in 3 increasingly luxurious qualities:
Luxury New White Goose Down - this filling consists of 90% large fluffy down clusters and only 10% tiny feathers. Some down fillings on the market consists of as little as 60% down and 40% feather, so a 90% down filling is at the luxury-end of the market. Down traps more air than does Feather & Down or man made fillings, giving duvets which are lighter. They are also softer and more luxurious, and last much longer - our Luxury New White Goose Down duvets can last as long as 35-40 years with proper care! The matching pillow is plump and soft, giving a very good level of comfort and medium-firm support.
Superior New White Hungarian Goose Down - this filling also consists of 90% down 10% feather, but the down clusters are even larger, so giving a quilt that is even lighter and more luxurious. With proper care this duvet can last for 40 years or more! The matching pillow is plump and soft for excellent comfort and medium-firm support.
A1 Premium New White Hungarian Goose Down - this is the ultimate in luxury - a filling which consists of 100% down and clusters so large that the duvet is unbelievably soft and light. The matching pillow is plump and soft for the ultimate in comfort and medium-firm support.
Goose down lasts so long that it represents the best possible value for money; how many other products could you buy that you would use for a third of the day, every day, for 40 years?! And then, when you consider the fabulous comfort and the wonderfully good night's sleep it will give you, it is without compare.
Down-Surround Pillows - some people like the support they get from a feather or feather & down pillow but prefer the feel of down; we can therefore offer you a selection of down-surround pillows in which a central layer of feathers for support is surrounded by down for comfort, so giving you the best of both worlds!
Man-Made Fillings
Our luxurious polyester microfibre filling has been specially treated enabling our duvets to retain their loft for longer than do cheaper alternatives and last from 7-10 years. The microfiber is extremely soft, so allowing the duvets to drape more easily. In our pillows we use a springy clusterfibre which has the superior resiliency required in a pillow for medium-to-firm support.
CASINGS
All our duvets and pillows, including those with man-made fillings, have pure cotton casings which
- Are very tightly woven to keep the feathers and down in. They also help to keep dust mites OUT (SEE ALLERGIES BELOW).
- Allow the skin to 'breathe' for maximum comfort;
- Are highly durable with piped edges for added strength;
- Are machine washable (SEE CARE & WASHABILITY BELOW).
Our New White Feather & Down and Luxury Goose Down products have a 230-thread-count cotton casing;
Our Superior New White Hungarian Goose Down products have a 280-thread-count casing with an attractive woven (squared) pattern;
Our A1 Premium New White Goose Down products have a silky-smooth 300-thread-count casing.
CONSTRUCTION
To prevent our fillings moving around, all our duvets are made using a square pocketed construction. The filling is held securely in individual squares so ensuring that you have overall warmth and no cold spots.
WASHABILITY
The need for washing can be minimised or even eliminated by following a few easy steps:
1. Always use a pillow protector and change the pillowcases and duvet cover regularly to keep the casing clean.
2. Air the products by regularly giving them a shake, leaving the duvet folded back after you get out of bed, preferably near an open window. Do avoid exposing natural products to damp air, however, as they have a natural ability to absorb moisture. Occasionally hanging them out of an open window or on the washing line on a dry day is also excellent treatment which will keep the products fresh and long-lasting.
3. If you spill a cup of tea or coffee, you can simply sponge-clean the area affected and then hang the product in front of a fan heater to dry completely.
4. Experts do however recommend that the bedding of allergy-sufferers be washed regularly (SEE ALLERGIES BELOW).
Natural quilts wash extremely well; the feathers and down come from waterfowl and are washed a number of times before they are dried and used in the manufacture of duvets and pillows. They do require careful drying, so we recommend professional laundering or, if you wish to wash them yourselves, we recommend the following steps:
1. The item will need to be washed and dried in large commercial machines such as you would find in a launderette.
2. Always wash and dry them on a low to medium heat setting.
3. Wash with a non-biological detergent.
4. Spin-dry before tumble-drying.
5. Always tumble-dry; not even hanging the item on the washing line on the hottest day of the year will guarantee quick and effective drying. Between cycles, give the item a good shake to prevent the filling drying in clumps. When it feels dry in the centre, dry it for another 5 minutes to make absolutely sure. More care needs to be taken in the case of pillow where the filling is more dense and will take longer to dry.
ALLERGIES
Medical experts state that the HOUSE DUST MITE is the main cause of allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema, and allergic rhinitis. The house dust mite thrives in every home, particularly where central heating, double-glazing, and other insulating features combine to produce damp, humid conditions. However, because good-quality, natural products have very tightly woven casings to keep the fillings in, these casings also help to keep dust mites and their residues out. We use the same high-quality casings on our man-made products for the same benefit.
It is highly unlikely that the feathers and down in a good-quality product, which have been thoroughly washed, will cause any allergic reaction.
Experts do recommend that the bedding of allergy-sufferers be washed regularly to remove dust mites and their debris.
GUARANTEES
Such is our confidence in the quality of our products that we offer a 10-year guarantee on our Feather and Down and Goose Down duvets, and a 15-year guarantee on our Hungarian Goose down duvets. This is a guarantee of the quality of the materials and the workmanship, and does not cover accidental damage or damage caused by misuse.
GREEN ISSUES
100% natural duvets and pillows are biodegradeable. Feathers and down are by-products of food-producing industries, as are wool and leather.
For help selecting a duvet or a pillow click here