Must Known about Bed linen

Basics - Bedding / Quilt Cover / Doona Cover / Duvet Cover

In Australia, people call a duvet or down quilt often as a ¡°Doona¡±, which is a generalized trademark (registered to the Tontine Group in the past). In 1970s, IKEA popularize the "Doona Cover" through its marketing campains. (Resource: Wikipedia 2009)

Every bed requires bedding which includes quilts, sheets, pillows and blankets in most cases. The decorative accessories can be used for a better look and feel, such as doona or quilt covers, pillow cases or shams, valances, bedspreads and cushion covers. It is very important to determine what size bed linens fit your bed and mattress before your start shopping. Click here to verify your needs with the standard bedding sizes.

At the bare minimum your bed needs to be dressed with a set of bedding:
A Standard sheet set includes a fitted sheet and / or a flat sheet, and two standard pillowcases.
A Standard quilt cover set includes a doona / quilt cover and two standard pillow cases.

You'll find a huge selection of sheet sets for single beds, king single beds, double beds, queen beds and king beds on www.QuiltCoverShop.com.au. When shopping for fitted sheets, consider the pocket depth and elasticity. To find pocket depth, measure from the highest point on the mattress, including the mattress protector and any additional bedding you may use under your sheets, to the bottom edge of the mattress. Fitted sheets should also have elastic all the way around the sheet.

Basics - Bedding Size Reference

You should determine what size of bed your beddings will fit in before your shopping. Beddings size varies depending on the beds size used in different countries. It mainly includes the following common sizes:

• single size
• king single size
• double size
• queen size
• king size
• super king size

Here lists the dimension specification of these sizes for your reference. Click for the detailed size specification.

Choose Quality Bed linens - Textile Materials

Good quality bedspreads and doona or quilts, are made with a number of high qaulity fibres. They mainly includes percale, sateen, Egyptian cotton, silk, matelasse, cotton chintz, chenille, or even velvet as these fabrics tend to have a tight weave and thick threads that increase the durability and opulence of the cover.
Australians are increasingly favouring pure cotton, says Myer Bedlinen Category Buyer, Rebecca Fanelli, but that¡¯s not to suggest that poly-cotton sheets don¡¯t have their place. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for easy care and affordability, a blend could be the way to go,¡± she says. Synthetic fabric sheets is also used in some lower-end products today. Although synthetic fibres like modal, lyocell and polyester have strength and durability, they aren't the most ¡°breathable¡± fabrics.

• Sateen

Sateen, not to be confused with the material satin, is a type of weave, with a satin-like finish, often found in bed sheets. Sateen is usually applied to cotton, or sometimes rayon. Better qualities are mercerized to give a higher sheen. Some are only calendered to produce the sheen but this disappears with washing and is not considered genuine sateen. Sateen may be bleached, dyed, or printed. It is difficult to make good bound buttonholes on it as it has a tendency to slip at the seams.

Sateen produces the sheen and softer feel through the use of a different structure in the weaving process. The sateen structure is four over, one under, placing the most threads on the surface, making it extremely soft, though slightly less durable than other weaves. Standard, non-sateen, weaves use a one over, one under structure. Satin also uses this structure, however, instead of using cotton, different materials are used (e.g., silk, polyester, etc).

• Egyptian Cotton

The term Egyptian cotton is usually applied to the extra long staple cotton produced in Egypt and used by luxury and upmarket brands worldwide. In fact, the cotton species which produces extra long staple "Egyptian" cotton is the native American species Gossypium barbadense which was introduced by Mohammad Ali Pasha in the 19th century. During the cotton famine caused by the American Civil War, Egyptian-grown cotton was promoted and received much investment, becoming a preferred alternate source for British textile mills. Indian surat cotton could only be used for coarse counts and would not spin on the existing machinery. Most of what is labeled "Egyptian cotton" today, however, also includes long staple cotton, the product of the other native American species Gossypium hirsutum. The ancient Egyptians made their clothing from linen, a product of the flax plant.

• Percale

Percale is a closely woven plain-weave fabric often used for bed linens.

The term describes the weave of the fabric, not its content, so percale can be a 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester, 100% cotton, or a blend of other fabrics in any ratio. A percale weave has a thread count of about 200 or higher, and is noticeably tighter than the standard type of weave used for bed-sheets. It has medium weight, is firm and smooth with no gloss, and warps and washes very well. It is made from both carded and combed yarns. Percale fabrics are made in both solid colors and printed patterns. The finish of the fabric is independent of its weave, so it can be either printed or unprinted. Percale was originally imported from India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, then manufactured in France. The word may originate from the Persian parg¨¡lah, 'rag', although the Oxford English Dictionary (Dec. 2005) has traced it only as far as 18th-century French.

• Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is not specific type of cotton. It refers to a group of cotton products that are made from non genetically modified plants. They grow without the application of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides. The organic production additionally promotes and enhances biodiversity and biological cycles on the earth. Cotton growers who make the transition to biologically based growing practices expect to not only offer a healthier and cleaner product, but to also benefit the planet in many fields, such as protection of surface and groundwater quality,reduction of risk insect and disease control and yield soils with better organic matter content.

Choose Quality Bed linens - Judge thread count

Thread count, indicated commonly in the number of threads per square inch or per square centimeters in some countries, reflects the quality of a sheet. Generally, sheets that have higher thread counts (around 300 and above) have a durable, lustrous, and soft fabric that gets softer over time. They are also less prone to shrinkage than lower thread count sheets (ie. thread counts less than 120). Low thread count sheets, though less expensive, have a rougher feel and are more likely to wear through.
It is important to see that thread count is the number of threads counted along two sides (up and across), added together.It is used especially in regard to cotton linens such as bed sheets, and has been known to be used in the classification of towels. Thread count is often used as a measure of fabric quality, so that "standard" cotton thread counts are around 150 while good-quality sheets start at 180.

Choose Quality Bed linens - Brand

Good Brands alwasy give you a peace-of-mind feel. Shoping good brands of bedding sets requires you to know their names first. From time to time, we offer a various range of brands, such as Sheridan, Laura Ashley, Logan & Mason, Kas, Home Innovations, Jiggle Giggle, Chauleur and more.

Color Fading and Dying

Every bedlinen product can lose their color - color fading due to the native of textile fibre and dying reactions. Similarly, the size of bed linens can be shrinked after being washed. The higher quality bedlines are, the less color fades and size shrinks. In general, embrodery bedlinens can be less color fading than printed bedlinens. The extra-thick dye used for printed sheets can make fabrics feel a bit rough at first, however, they do tend to soften up after only a few washings. Take your sheets out of the dryer immediately to avoid wrinkling and ensure your sheets look as nice as possible.

Select Bedding for the Kids

Make sure the bedding you choose fits your childrens' bedroom decor and style. Imagine the warmth and security your child will feel when snuggled up in bed with their favourite character quilt cover or fleece throw. The thrill of drifting off to sleep with their favourite character nightlight on and character adorning the walls in removable stickers. In fact, when you consider how much time your special 'little person' spends in their bedroom while growing up, you can imagine how a cleverly decorated bedroom can help them to feel special and encourage nice dreams at bedtime. If your little one is begging to have a princess themed room, then a canopy or decorative netting is a great way to finish off the effect.

TIPS for the First Use and Usual Maintenance

You are strongly suggested to wash bedding products before their first use. Washing will reduce possible dirt and bacteria that may remain in fibre during production and freight.

The first wash can usually fade the color of the bed linens in an acceptable manner (usually the first color fading may be approximately 5%). For this reason, when you wash the set, do NOT mix with any other textile items in your washing machine. General Care Instructions:

1. Wash in cold water (< 30 degree).
2. Preferably hand wash in cold water.
3. Do NOT Bleach.
4. Do NOT Tumble Dry.
5. Cool iron if required.