Comforter & Bedding

Silk duvets have been all the buzz this winter. I have seen them all over the internet and in some of the better retail stores while out and about. There seems to be quite a bit of press and excitement about silk duvets, though very few people know how they work or even why they are better than their polyester or down counterparts.

We would like this article to dispel a few myths about silk duvets and perhaps help people better understand how they work and if they really want one.

There are many varieties of silk duvets, listed below are a few of the more popular variations.

1.100% Mulberry silk filled duvets. These are the “Rolls Royce” of silk duvets. Mulberry silk in it’s long fibre form is renowned for being the best for use in silk duvets and silk bedding products. Mulberry silk duvets generally have a little inspection zip stitched discretely somewhere into the duvet. This is there to allow the purchaser to inspect the silk. This is really a good idea, as without an inspection zip how would you know what kind of filling your “silk duvet” has.

2.Silk filled duvets with silk casings. Now there is a debate out there about the point of having a silk filled duvet covered in cotton. The purists argue that silk cased duvets are in fact superior to those cased in cotton. This is not actually correct. Many cotton covered silk duvets are very effective and even have certification in keeping dust mites to a minimum. One of the issues of silk cased silk duvets is the quality of the silk case. Many manufacturers use lesser silks for their casings to save money. This is great in the short term but in the long term the duvet will not have the longevity that cotton cased duvets enjoy.

3.Box stitched silk filled duvets. You may have noticed that your duvet is stitched into neat little boxes. This is to stop the down or polyester from bunching up inside your duvet. The boxes work well for these duvets and are all well and good however silk duvets work a little differently. There are two reasons silk duvets may be stitched into pockets. One (the most common reason) is that the silk used is short fibre cheap off cuts which are useless as a duvet filling. The second is the retailer just hasn’t grasped the concept of a silk duvet. Good silk duvets are made using long fibre mulberry silk. Because the fibers of silk are long there is no need to pocket stitch the duvet. Silk duvets should be tacked to stop the silk from moving about too much in the casing but never boxed stitched.

Silk duvets are probably the best duvets money can buy, as long as you know what to look for. We hope this article will help you make a choice which may lead to many years of fabulous sleep under your new silk duvet.