We are now on the threshold of winter: temperatures are dropping, radiators are turned on and when we slip under the covers we begin to feel a little numb from the cold. The time has therefore come to take our quilt out of the closet, but if we still don’t have one or we want to replace the old blankets here is a brief guide with everything you need to choose the best possible quilt evaluating materials, weights, dimensions.
What is a quilt?
Before starting, given that there is often a lot of confusion between quilt and duvet, let’s be clear: what is a quilt?
A quilt is a padded bed cover that consists of three parts:
- An external fabric that can be of different materials, which can vary greatly in colour or design. Usually in cotton or polyester.
- Una fodera interna (o interfodera), solitamente in tinta unita, in tessuto morbido e anallergico.
- An internal lining (or interlining), usually in a solid colour, in soft and hypoallergenic fabric.
Dimensions
How big should a quilt be? Obviously the dimensions vary according to the bed size (single, queen size, double or king size), but they must be larger than length and width of the mattress, so that the edges of the bed are also covered. Our advice, since there are no standard sizes for quilts, is to always carefully check what is written on the label and calculate a greater width and length than those of your bed; for example, if a double mattress usually measures 160 x 190 cm, the quilts that we should find on the market will be 260 x 260 or 240 x 260 cm.
Materials
What makes the difference on quality and price is above all the padding material. Which can be the classic goose or duck or mixed down, but it can also be composed of fabrics with a lower environmental impact, or synthetic fabrics – once not recommended as they are not very breathable, but today microfibres feature significantly higher performances than those of a few years ago.
Obviously a down padding is the least economical choice, but it is not necessarily the best for our needs. For example we would head to other materials if we need a lightweight quilt.
Here is a list of commonly used quilt filling materials.
- Down: probably the warmest solution. In addition, it captures body moisture and is very light and soft.
- Feather: it is similar to the down, but formed by entire feathers also containing the central stem. It is heavier and has worse thermal insulating properties, is efficient in terms of heat insulation and is much less fluffy. In general, it is advisable to avoid quilts that indicate a feather percentage higher than 30%.
- Polyester fibre: it is a popular material especially for its low price and which has the advantages of lightness, antistatic effect and above all of being hypoallergenic. A very good (but rarer) alternative among synthetics is silicone granulate with interwoven fibre.
- Wool: it is one of the best known, appreciated and used natural materials to retain heat. There are numerous reasons to choose it: it absorbs humidity, is an excellent insulator and counteracts the proliferation of bacteria. Finally: it filters the excess heat, so it can also be used during the mid-season.
Grammage and heat point
Finally: how much should our quilt weigh? Let’s consider that there are two important characteristics to understand how much it will heat up: the weight and the heat point..
Grammage is measured in grams per square metre: the higher it is, the more sheltered we will be from the heat. To give some reference points we can say that the lightest quilts have a weight of around 100 grams, a mid-season one will be around 200 grams, while a winter one should weigh 300 grams per square meter.
The heat point, on the other hand, is the thermal coefficient that indicates the heat capacity and is reported on a scale from 1 to 5: a quilt between 1 and 2 will be very light or light, one with 3 heat points is for mid-season, 4 and 5 heat points are for winter quilts.
Target Point, Italian Ideas