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Frequently Used Terms:
Comforter:
A fiber filled or quilted bed covering that does not cover the pillows or hang down to the floor like a bedspread. It just covers the sides and end of your mattress. A bed skirt (dust ruffle) which coordinates to the comforter may be used to cover the box spring. Shams and decorators pillows are often used to accessories. A comforter is smaller than a bedspread but larger than a coverlet.
Bed Skirt or Dust Ruffle:
The Bed Skirt or Dust Ruffle are tailored or ruffled fabric that will cover your box spring on three sides. They are used to give your bed that finished look.
Pillow Shams:
Pillow Shams fit over your pillow. They are usually either have a ruffled trim or more of a tailored look. They are used to accessories.
Bedspread:
A decorative bed covering that covers the entire bed and reaches the floor on both sides and the foot of the bed.
Coverlet:
Generally, it is an ornamental cloth cover for a bed.
Down Comforter:
A fabric shell filled with goose or duck down
Duvet:
French word for comforter
Duvet Cover:
A cover to put your comforter into to protect your comforter from dust, and dirt. It also will helpkeep the wear of your comforter to a minimum. It allows you to redecorate and change the theme of your bedroom without purchasing a new comforter.
Silk:
The only natural fiber that comes in a filament form, reeled from a cocoon.
Valance:
A drapery treatment, made of fabric, typically no longer that 20" in many different styles.
Cotton:
Cotton fabric is a cooler fabric to sleep on and is softer than a polyester/cotton blend counter part. It allows the fabric to breathe giving you a great night’s sleep.
Combed Cotton:
Cotton which has had all short fibers and impurities removed from long cotton fibers.
Sateen Cotton:
A soft and luxurious fabric weave that provides an extra soft, satin-like sheen by smoothing the yarn. Usually made of a higher that average thread count fabric for extra softness and durability.
Egyptian Cotton:
A fine, lustrous, long staple cotton grown in Egypt, along the Nile River Valley. This long staple cotton is more expensive than the commonly available cottons. It is
considered to the best cotton in the world. It uses the strongest and longest fibers providing the softest feel possible.
Supima Cotton:
Soft, superior grade extra long staple durable cotton produced in the Southwest desert region of the United States. Considered comparable in quality to Egyptian cotton.
Percale:
A fine, smooth cloth with a thread count of 180 and above. Percale is a softer and stronger cloth that gives you a smooth feel to the touch.
Damask:
A firm, glossy jacquard-patterned fabric, similar to brocade, but flatter and reversible. It can be made from linen, cotton, rayon or silk, or a combination of fabrics.
Polyester:
Polyester or a polyester/cotton blend is used in many of the linens on the market today. It gives vibrant colors and tends to need less attention because it doesn’t wrinkle or shrink as easy as its cotton counterpart.
Thread Count:
The actual number of threads used per inch in a woven cloth. Thread count is used to gauge the quality of fabric. It is the amount of threads within a square inch that are crosswise and lengthwise in an inch of fabric. The more threads per square inch the higher the thread count. A higher the thread count offers a softer, stronger feel and a great night of sleep. The better sheets will have a higher thread count.
Down:
Nature's best insulating material. It is the soft clusters found under the feathers of a goose or duck. Down also has the ability to breathe and forms a blanket of warmth and comfort while lifting away perspiration. You feel none of the clamminess that often occurs with synthetics. An ounce of down will keep you warmer than any synthetic fiber and is a natural choice for luxurious comfort.
Feathers:
Plumage from a goose or duck. Although light weight, feathers are heavier than down with quills that provide a resilient spring. Fill power is the measure of the quality of down, not feathers. There is no fill power associated with feathers.
Fill Power:
The standard measurement of down quality. Measurements and Fill Power is determined by placing an ounce of down in a container. This is done to measure the volume it acquires. The volume is calculated in cubic inches.
Hypoallergenic:
Indicates that a product is generally allergy free and has little chance of causing an allergic reaction.
Matelasse:
Soft double cloth or compound fabric with a quilted surface. Often used for coverlets.
Jacquard:
A fabric with an intricate, complex type of weave.
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