Duvet
Together with pillows, duvets belong to the bedding group . They consist of a soft, textile cover that can be filled with down or a mixture of down and feathers .
Concept and delimitation
"Duvet" [dyvɛ] comes from French and means " down ". Etymologically, duvet means down feather. Together with the pillow, a duvet belongs to the bedding group . What is called a "down comforter" or "feather bed" in Germany is a "duvet" in Switzerland.
In contrast to a bed cover, with natural fibers such as cotton , sheep's wool , cashmere or yak wool , silk or other materials such as fibers made of bamboo , corn or Aloe Vera or synthetic fibers can be filled, a duvet with a mixture of down and Feathers filled.
Unlike the American Comforter (duvet and duvet cover in one), the duvet is protected with an easily removable, washable duvet cover ( bed linen ).
filling
Duvets are usually filled with down and feathers from geese and ducks . The fine ramifications of the down and feathers with their millions of air chambers ensure a high level of insulation .
The advantages of down are its insulating properties , its high breathability , filling power and its low weight. They are also a renewable raw material and biodegradable . The extreme mountaineer Ueli Steck said: "Down is the best insulation there is".
People have been using this natural product for thousands of years. The ancient Romans already valued the by-product of keeping feathered animals and used it to fill their bedding. The properties of down have so far not been achieved by synthetic materials .
Down and feathers
The down grows mainly on the chest, but also below the feathers of water birds . They consist of a tiny, fine core and branch out in a star shape in all directions. The soft legs of the down have no hooks and are therefore flexible in all directions. Down is a three-dimensional, fluffy structure without a quill pen .
The feathers form the outer, upper dress of the birds . They have a completely different structure than down. Feathers consist of an elastic keel and firm, fine feather boxes that fit smoothly into one another by means of the finest hooks. Feathers are two-dimensional and slightly curved.
In contrast to feathers , which are often used to fill pillows , down is mainly used in duvets, where, thanks to its structure, it ensures an optimal heat and moisture balance. The larger the down and the higher its filling power , the higher the quality of the duvet.
Qualities and declaration of down and feathers
The size of the down , along with its fill power, is its most important quality feature . Large flaky down is more voluminous and also more durable. Adult geese and ducks provide the best qualities. The percentage denotes the proportion of the weight of down resp. Feathers in one filling quality. Example: “90% new, pure goose down” means that the filling is made up of 90% down and 10% feathers by weight. However, percentages by weight are not percentages by volume : Because down is lighter than feathers, the same amount by weight results in a larger fill volume for the down. The higher the percentage, resp. the proportion of down, the higher the filling quality of the duvet.
A transparent product description informs the consumer about the down and feather category as well as the type description: "New" means that the duvet contains no regenerated down and feathers (no recycled, so-called "couch" goods). “Pure” means that the proportion of the other animal species (eg the duck) must not exceed 10%.
The declaration of down and feather-filled bedding is standardized. According to the European standard DIN EN 12934, a down content of 100% can be declared if the down content (compared to the feathers) is at least 90.5% ( weight percentage ). This also includes immature down and down feathers. (max. 5% so-called down fly).
In the case of the Swiss standard (VSB standard 2.0), on the other hand, the down fluff must not be counted among the down flakes. After taking the test tolerance into account, the down flakes content for a 100% filling is 91% and is thus above the European standard. This makes the Swiss standard one of the strictest standards in the world.
Animal welfare
The geese and ducks are generally bred for their meat , not for their down and feathers. The down and feathers fall off (similar to animal hides or leather) as a by-product of meat production .
The down and feather industry has long been criticized for not doing enough for the animal welfare of the geese and ducks. In particular the so-called Mauser resp. Live plucking fell into disrepute. This technique of fighting during the moulting , which is safe for the animals - if used in accordance with the law - was so exhausted in industrial poultry farms that it was no longer possible to take into account the geese's moulting progress. In addition to disregarding the legal regulations, this also led to unnecessary suffering for the animals. The market share of down made from live-plucked down is now well below 3%.
The industry has reacted to the criticism in recent years: Independent certificates make it easier to determine whether animals are being kept appropriately. The relevant international independent standards are the Downpass , the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) or the Global Traceable Down Standard (TDS). These guarantee that the down and feathers used as filling material are ethically obtained and come from strictly controlled and traceable supply chains.
Shell
The quality of a duvet depends on the one hand on its filling quality, but on the other hand also on its cover. Simply put, it makes no sense to put a high-quality filling quality (with a high proportion of down and good filling power) into a casing that is unable to bring out the properties of the filling.
Covers made of cotton have proven to be ideal , as they have several properties that are suitable as a cover for down and feather products. On the one hand, it is soft and skin-friendly. Its structure enables the yarn fineness required to be used to weave soft and supple fabrics . Despite its fineness, it has high strength and low elasticity. Cotton creates a pleasantly dry sleeping environment and does not charge the body electrostatically when you sleep (in contrast to synthetic bedding) if you move around frequently.
When manufacturing covers for down and feather pillows, you have to pay attention to different things: down density , breathability , feel and appearance. The weaving process is decisive here. The properties of the fabric produced are defined by the selection of the yarn , the type of weave (see fabric : → weave ) and the specific settings on the weaving machine .
Only down-proof woven fabrics are used for down and feather products . In the woven fabric there are three basic types of bonds: the plain weave , the twill weave and satin weave ( satin weave ).
The following table provides information on the most commonly used fabrics for down and feather products:
| tissue | weave | Weight g / m² | commitment |
| Fine batiste | canvas | Approx. 80 | This super fine fabric can only be used for duvets with exquisite, very large fluffy down. |
| batiste | canvas | Approx. 90 | This fine fabric can only be used for duvets with large fluffy down. |
| Cambric | canvas | Approx. 110 | The fabric is mainly used in duvets. |
| Percale | canvas | Approx. 110 | The fabric is used for duvets and soft pillows. |
| fustian | canvas | Approx. 140 | The hard-wearing fabric is mainly used for pillows with feathers. |
| Sarcenet | twill | Approx. 175 | The fabric is mainly used for pillows with feathers or downy feathers. |
| satin | Atlas | Approx. 125 | Due to its special weave, the fabric has a silky sheen and a particularly soft feel. |
Thread count and Nm value
Another quality feature of a cover fabric is the fineness of the textile. This is specified in the "Thread Count" or "Nm" value. While the English bedding industry prefers the specification of the "thread count" (literally: number of threads), the term Nm value stands for " number metric " and was prescribed in Germany from 1942 to 1969 as a measure of yarn count.
In principle, higher values do not necessarily guarantee better quality. A good cotton fabric is about the balance between down density , breathability and softness.
Quality of duvets
Duvets make beds easier because they can be used without sheets or other blankets . In Switzerland , the term "Nordic sleep" is also used for sleeping with a duvet (without a sheet or blanket).
A good duvet is important because it has a strong influence on the quality of sleep by balancing moisture and temperature well and improving the sleeping climate. It ensures that the sleeping person neither freezes nor sweats, but can relax in a dry and temperature-regulating climate.
Good down duvets have large flaky down with a high proportion of down and better filling power. These isolate and air-condition better than small flakes. They offer better sleeping comfort and have a longer lifespan.
The higher the quality of the down filling, the lower the filling weight of the duvet can be. Because not only the filling quantity, but above all the size of the flakes and their filling power determine the amount of enclosed air and thus the degree of heat and moisture exchange .
A duvet has a significant influence on the climate between the mattress and the blanket (so-called sleeping cave). The body releases at least one liter of moisture through the skin at night. A large part of it ends up in the duvet. If this is not sufficiently breathable and temperature-regulating, moisture and warmth can build up under the duvet while sleeping. This is not only unpleasant, but also unhealthy for the human organism in the long run . Sleep is restless and the body cannot recover.
Sizes of duvets
The size is designed so that a duvet fits into a duvet cover of the same declared size. A duvet of size 160x210 will therefore always fit into bed linen of size 160x210, no matter how thick it is. Since these are textile products, tolerances in length and width of 5–10% are common.
In Switzerland , the size of 160 x 210 cm has prevailed for single duvets. Otherwise, the main sizes in the various countries go from 155 x 220 cm ( China ), over 150 x 210 cm ( Japan ) to 135 x 220 cm ( Germany ) or 140 x 200 cm ( France ).
Types of duvets
In the case of duvets, there are basically two so-called types of construction: cassette and plaid.
Cassette duvet : The down filling of a cassette duvet is blown into the envelope with long tubes. Between the two sides of the cover there are strips of fabric called bars. The bars can be 2 to 10 cm high. These webs are not continuously sewn so that the tubes can be inserted into the corresponding cassettes in order to fill them. Cassette duvets were mainly used in the past for very warm and very voluminous fillings with a higher proportion of feathers.
Karoduvet: A Karoduvet, on the other hand, is a completely different design. First the fine and light cotton cover is filled with the valuable down quality. This so-called balloon filled with down is then stretched onto a quilted frame. The high-quality down content is carefully and evenly distributed over the entire duvet by hand through the cotton cover.
Then the frame with the clamped duvet is fixed on the quilting machine, which quilts larger or smaller squares into the duvet according to a precisely defined program. The duvet is divided into many smaller squares so that the down is distributed evenly. With the Karoduvet, both sides of the cover are quilted (sewn) directly onto one another. This way, the down stays in its checks and doesn't slip, even if you always shake the duvet in the same direction.
In the case of the balloon blanket or upper blanket , formerly referred to as plumeau , resp. In the upper bed, the down filling is in an undivided ticking. There are no so-called cassettes or chambers. The classic duvet has noticeably lost importance in the face of modern duvets.
Degrees of warmth
Most European manufacturers use a four- or five-point scale for better orientation with regard to heat output.
- 1 heat point: ideal for the warm season , on water beds, or for people with a very low need for warmth
- 2 heat points: For warmer seasons or for people with a lower need for heat
- 3 warmth points: Classic all-year-round duvet, also ideal for the transitional period or for people with an average need for warmth
- 4 warmth points: duvet for the cold season , cool bedrooms or for people with a greater need for warmth
- 5 warmth points: Duvet for very cold winters , unheated bedrooms or people with a great need for warmth
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ PONS Dictionary: duvet - French-German translation | PONS. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
- ^ Friedrich Diez: Etymological Dictionary of Romance Languages: Part Two . BoD - Books on Demand, 2020, ISBN 978-3-8460-5124-5 ( google.ch [accessed on May 24, 2020]).
- ^ About Down & Feather. Retrieved May 18, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Textiles, Natural & Synthetic Fills Testing - Down & Feather - IDFL. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
- ^ Association of the German Down and Feather Industry eV: Disposal. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers: Technical Information No. 11 - Extreme athletes also rely on down . In: Verband Schweizer Bettwarenfabriken (Ed.): Specialist information . No. 11 . Zurich 2013.
- ↑ Technical information | Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers (VSB). Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Beuth publishing DIN: DIN EN 12934: 1999-12 Feathers and down - Identification of the composition of finished feathers and down as the sole filling material; German version EN 12934: 1999. In: www.beuth.de. DIN, accessed December 1999 .
- ↑ Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers (VSB): VSB Standard No. 2.0 for down and feathers and bedding filled with them (duvets and pillows). In: VSB standard 2.0. Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers VSB, December 2013, accessed on June 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Where and by whom was it determined what moulting and what is live plucking? - textination. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
- ↑ Downpass - home page. Retrieved May 24, 2020 .
- ↑ iaq7r: Home. In: Responsible Down Standard. Retrieved May 24, 2020 (American English).
- ^ NSF International. Retrieved May 24, 2020 .
- ↑ German Animal Welfare Association: Feathers and Down. In: https://www.tierschutzbund.de/aktion/mitmachen/konsertipps/federn-und-daunen/ . German Animal Welfare Association, accessed on May 28, 2020 .
- ↑ DIN EN 12132-1: 1998-10: DIN EN 12132-1: 1998-10 Down and feathers - Method for testing the down-tightness of fabrics - Part 1: Simulated cushion stress; German version EN 12132-1: 1998. In: https://www.beuth.de/de . Beuth publishing DIN, October 1998, accessed on May 28, 2020 .
- ↑ stoff4you: Textile Dictionary - Downproof. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Thomas Meyer zur Capellen: Lexicon of fabrics: technology - bindings - trade names . dfv Mediengruppe Fachbuch, 2016, ISBN 978-3-86641-503-4 ( google.ch [accessed on May 28, 2020]).
- ↑ Observer: Bedding: Pillows to kiss. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .
- ^ Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers (VSB): This is how price differences arise for down duvets. In: Fachinformation Nr. 2. Verband Schweizer Bettwarenfabriken, 2014, accessed on May 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Technical information | Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers (VSB). Retrieved May 18, 2020 .
- ↑ ARD: World in Numbers - Sweating. In: W for knowledge. ARD, May 12, 2020, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers: Technical Information No. 14. In: https://www.vsb-info.ch/files/190222_vsb_fachinformation_de_web.pdf . VSB - Association of Swiss Bedding Manufacturers, 2019, accessed on May 20, 2020 .
- ↑ Down comforter test - for a warm, restful sleep - comparison of the best down comforters 2020. Retrieved on May 28, 2020 (German).