Expert Advice about Bed Linen, Pillows, Duvets, Towels & Robes
thebestbedlinenintheworld.com prides itself on knowing all that there is to know about Bed Linen, Pillows, Duvets, Towels & Robes - and we want to share with you the benefit of our experiences.
You will notice that we don't give you the option of buying every single product out there, and in fact offer a small selection of products. This is because we are experts in our business area and know that the products we offer on our website are the best quality products available.
Below is our expert advice on bed linen, pillows, duvets, towels and robes that we hope prove to be useful to you.
Feather and Down
Down is a fluffy undercoat of the bird that traps warm air next to the birds skin and has higher insulation properties that feathers. In other words to achieve the tog rating in a duvet it takes less down than feathers. Therefore the down duvet would feel lighter on you than the feather duvet.
The duvet is made up of cassettes which have inner walls to prevent the movement of the fill. Each cassette is individually filled to ensure parity of fill over the duvet. Baffling are specially sewn in cloth walls to eradicate cold spots where there is stitching and no fill.
Allergies
In all but the most rare circumstances people are not allergic to feathers and down, it is most likely the dust and dirt in the down. All our natural duvets contain fillings that have been washed and sterilised and steam purified to the European Feather & Down Associations highest standards making them hypoallergenic. This also helps the down keep its loft and stay fluffy, as it is not weighed down by dirt. The filling is then encased in 100% cambric cotton, which is impermeable to dust mites giving you an allergy free luxurious nights rest.
Thread-counts
400T means 400 Threads per square inch. The yarn used is a 60’s yarn. 60’s is the measurement of the thickness of the yarn. You can go as high as 120’s for super fine yarns for example.
The higher the thread count usually the better the hand-feel of the cloth. However, with high thread-counts you get increased creasing and the fabric becomes less durable. We supply 400 Thread-count because it gives the perfect mixture of durability and soft hand-feel. By using 60’s yarn the fabric retains a lovely weight and reduces creasing.
TOG ratings
Duvets are warm because they trap heat radiating from the body. Tog is simply a measure of how efficiently the duvet retains body heat. The higher the tog, the more heat retained. A customer’s choice of duvet should be governed entirely by bedroom temperature and how warm the customer likes to be. Older people and children need a higher tog rated duvet than adults because they lose heat more easily.
Tog is the unit of measure of thermal insulation.
Duvets can be bought in the following togs - Summer Use 4.5 tog 6.0 tog 7.5 tog 9.0 tog 10.5 tog 13.5 tog 15.0 tog Winter Use.
Washing
All our bed linens are washable at 90 degrees and can be tumble dried. For best results iron whilst slightly damp.
All 100% cotton will crease, however once it is on the bed and being slept in the creases will fall out overnight similar to a shirt.
Towels and Bath Robes: Wash once before use, this removes the factory finish from the bleaching process and makes the towels as absorbent as they are intended to be.
Duvets: The Microfibre duvets can be machine washed and line dried however we recommend Dry Clean Only on the natural fill duvets.
SHRINKAGE : Our cotton is finished in such a way that we expect only 2-3% shrinkage, we have already built in extra cm’s in the sizes to allow for this. The duvet covers and pillowcases may seem slightly large at first but will shrink down to perfect size after the first wash then never shrink again.
PERCALE
Percale is any fabric with a thread-count over 180/sq inch. Our fabric is 300/sq inch so it easily falls into this category.
MERCERIZED
When a fabric is mercerized it helps reduce shrinkage and creates and much smoother finish on the surface of the fabric giving it that luxurious hand-feel and increased whiteness.
