Duvet advice and buying guide

Not sure what to choose? No problem! Use our duvet guide below. We present you with a series of choices based on which we can easily make a selection for you. At each step, we provide a brief explanation and advice, so you can easily make your own decision afterwards.

Wonderfully cool sleep in the summer and comfortably warm in the winter?

In our assortment, you will find duvets for every season and every climate. The summers in the Netherlands have become increasingly warmer in recent years, as have the summer nights. A nice and cool summer duvet is a relief for those warm summer nights. Our summer duvets are highly suitable for these temperatures due to the open fiber structure and low filling weight. This ensures good airflow and thus pleasant temperature regulation. If you have a well-insulated house, chances are you can keep a lot of heat and cold outside, in which case an all-year duvet (for the colder sleeper) or a spring and autumn duvet (for the warmer sleeper) can be a good choice. You can then use this duvet all year round, especially when your bedroom temperature is constant.

We also have a wide range of winter duvets for the cold winter nights. A winter duvet is also a good solution if you are a cold sleeper or have a very cold bedroom. Would you prefer a duvet that keeps you comfortably warm or nicely cool all year round during every season? Then choose a 4-seasons duvet or a 4-seasons partner duvet. This duvet consists of 2 parts (a summer duvet and a spring-autumn duvet) and gives you the maximum freedom to have the right duvet for every night all year round. With a 4-seasons partner duvet, you choose maximum sleeping comfort for you and your partner. With the 4-seasons partner duvets, you and your partner put together your own duvet. You simply connect the duvets using buttons and/or zippers. This way, you both still sleep under one and the same duvet, but one slightly warmer and the other slightly cooler.

In summary, we have listed the most important steps below that are needed to make a good choice for the duvet that best meets your needs. Afterwards, we provide a brief explanation and advice for each step, so that you can easily make a choice yourself. Let's begin:

Step 1. For which season are you looking for a duvet?

Are you looking for a duvet for the warm months? Then choose a nice, thin, and light summer duvet. Are you instead looking for a nice thick and warm duvet for the colder months? Then choose a winter duvet, for example. With an all-year duvet, you choose a duvet that is particularly suitable for the spring and autumn. With a 4-seasons duvet, you choose a duvet that is suitable for all seasons. Each type of duvet has its own warmth class:

Winter duvet - Warmth class 1

When the temperature of your bedroom drops below 14°C on average in the winter months, this wonderfully warm winter duvet offers exactly the solution to warm you up in your cold bedroom. Naturally also suitable for very cold sleepers.

All-year duvet - Warmth class 2

If your bedroom temperature always fluctuates between 15°C and 20°C, you can also choose an All-year duvet, which you can use the entire year. This duvet consists of one part where the filling and filling weight are perfectly matched. The warmth class 2 duvet as an all-year duvet is recommended if you are a cold sleeper.

Spring and autumn duvet - Warmth class 3

As soon as your bedroom temperature stays between 16°C and 21°C on average, this lovely 'transitional' duvet is a great solution. This one is slightly lighter than the All-year duvet, but nowadays houses are so well insulated that the spring and autumn duvet can also be used all year round. The warmth class 3 duvet is also highly suitable as an all-year duvet if you are a warm sleeper.

Summer duvet - Warmth class 4

If the temperature of your bedroom exceeds 21°C, it is certainly not an unnecessary luxury to lie under a cool summer duvet during warm summer nights. The filling, filling weight, and filling material in a good summer duvet are matched in such a way that it does not get too warm and has good moisture absorption, preventing a clammy and restless night.

Table for warmth classes

4-seasons duvet / 4-seasons partner duvet - Warmth class 4+3=1

If your bedroom temperature fluctuates greatly or if you want a duvet that is suitable for both warm summer nights and cold winter nights, we highly recommend a 4-seasons duvet. A 4-seasons duvet actually consists of two parts: a summer duvet (warmth class 4) and a spring and autumn duvet (warmth class 3). By simply joining these two duvets together, they form a wonderfully warm winter duvet (warmth class 1). Do you have a completely different need in terms of warmth class than your partner? No problem. Then choose the 4-seasons partner duvet. This consists of four parts instead of two and offers you the possibility to choose which duvet parts you want to use separately from your partner.

Comparison: 4-Seasons duvet vs. Single duvet

Step 2. Are you looking for a light or a heavy duvet?

Every type of filling has its own specific characteristics. This also applies to the perceived weight that the duvet brings. For convenience, we use 3 weight classes:

• Light duvets. These are the down, tencel, silk, and synthetic duvets
• Medium-weight duvets. These are our bamboo and cotton duvets
• Heavy duvets. This includes our wool, camel hair, and cashmere duvets

Step 3. Are you a cold sleeper or a warm sleeper?

If you get cold quickly, the insulation value of the duvet is very important. The higher the insulation value, the better the duvet can retain your body heat. Duvets filled with down, tencel, wool, and cashmere are highly recommended in this case. However, if you easily get too warm, the ventilation value of the duvet is the deciding factor. Unfortunately, down drops out in that case. Heat accumulation (the heat has difficulty escaping from under the blankets) is something we often hear when sleeping under down. If you like a light duvet, you choose tencel or silk. If you prefer the feeling of being 'tucked in', then a wool or bamboo duvet is a better choice for you.

Step 4. Determine the filling of your duvet

When you choose a duvet, the same applies to everyone: it should not be too warm in the summer and comfortably warm in the winter. This is exactly where it gets tricky, because not everyone experiences this so-called warmth in the same way. For this reason, we have created our duvet filling scorecard, in which we have listed the characteristics per type of duvet filling for you and assigned a score. Not only have we looked at properties such as suppleness, heat insulation, moisture absorption and release, and washability, but we also considered perceived weight, anti-allergy, comfort, and resilience to be important to include in this overview.

Wool duvet

If you choose a wool duvet, you are assured of a wonderfully insulating and ventilating duvet with excellent moisture absorption. When the wool absorbs moisture, it releases heat at the same time. This creates a balanced heat insulation, which is exactly why you never sleep too warm under a wool duvet. In addition, a wool duvet is very resilient. The crimp (frizz) of the wool creates a lot of air in the duvet, which guarantees a perfect sleeping climate. A wool duvet is the heaviest duvet in our collection. Many find 'the feeling of being tucked in' particularly pleasant and one of the main reasons for choosing wool. We exclusively sell wool duvets of the best quality; Texel virgin wool duvets, Merino wool duvets, lambswool duvets, and some washable wool duvets. If you want to experience the feeling of pure wellness, choose our TencelWool duvet or a luxurious cashmere duvet. Made from the noble wool of the cashmere goat, it offers excellent heat-insulating properties at a low weight.

Down duvet

Another duvet that is wonderfully insulating and ventilating with very good moisture absorption is the down duvet. This is also very light and super airy. It is good to know that the goose down duvet with a lower filling weight has a higher insulation capacity than the duck down duvet. A common misconception is that a goose down duvet would be of better quality than a duck down duvet. Goose down has a slightly better insulating effect because the down clusters of the goose are generally larger than those of a duck. The fill power and volume of a goose down duvet are therefore greater. This means that a goose down duvet is generally lighter than a duck down duvet.

Silk duvet

Our silk duvets have an excellent ventilating effect and very good moisture absorption capacity. The temperature differences of the body are easily absorbed by a silk duvet, so no heat accumulation (heat builds up and cannot escape) can occur, as is often the case with down. A pleasant heat balance is established. So you never sleep too warmly under a silk duvet. Another particularly nice property of a silk duvet is that silk does not attract or release dust. A 100% silk duvet is therefore anti-allergenic. In our assortment, you will find the wild silk duvet, the more affordable variant, and the mulberry silk duvet, for when you want to go for the absolute best.

Tencel duvet

A Tencel duvet is made of 100% natural and biodegradable material. The Tencel fiber is made from wood (Eucalyptus tree) sourced from specially managed, sustainable forests. With a Tencel duvet, you are choosing sustainable and healthy sleep! An important characteristic of Tencel is that due to the high moisture absorption capacity of the Tencel fiber, you do not notice perspiration. When it comes to hygiene and bacterial growth, the inherent and natural properties of Tencel provide a variety of benefits for the skin and give bacteria no chance to grow. Tencel combines the most sought-after properties of all duvet types, making it a true all-rounder. A Tencel duvet is not only sustainable and silky soft but also light, easy to maintain, highly moisture-absorbing, and anti-allergenic.

Cashmere duvet

A cashmere wool duvet is an absolute indulgence. Cashmere or Kashmir is a type of wool sourced from the Kashmir goat. Cashmere is the most noble hair type and therefore a very expensive natural fiber. Kashmir wool is a fine, very soft, and supple fiber. Due to the fine fibers, duvets filled with Kashmir wool have very good heat-insulating properties at a very low weight. A cashmere wool duvet is therefore lighter than regular wool duvets. Because of the softness of the cashmere fiber, a cashmere duvet drapes wonderfully around you.

Bamboo duvet

Bamboo is a 100% natural fiber that grows incredibly fast and is cultivated in a sustainable manner. Bamboo is also antibacterial, anti-fungal, and highly washable. In addition, bamboo has an excellent moisture-regulating effect, making it highly suitable as a duvet filling. The ventilating and insulating effect of a bamboo duvet is better than that of a cotton duvet. Furthermore, a bamboo duvet is also slightly lighter than a cotton duvet.

Cotton duvet

Like bamboo, cotton is a 100% natural fiber. In addition to its good insulating and ventilating effect, another major advantage of a cotton duvet is that it is highly washable. Moreover, a cotton duvet is also tumble-dryer safe. That is very convenient. A cotton duvet is somewhat heavier in weight than, for example, a down or synthetic duvet, but noticeably lighter than a wool duvet.

Synthetic duvet

A buying motive for a synthetic duvet is primarily the price, but the perceived weight (similar to a down duvet) of the duvet also plays an important role. Also, for people who are sensitive to natural filling types and/or want to be able to wash their duvet frequently, a synthetic duvet can offer a solution.

Which Duvet suits you?

Organic duvet

Of course, we also offer duvets made of organic material. All our organic duvets carry an ecological quality mark, such as Greenline, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and/or the Fairtrade Mark.

Toddler and preschooler duvet

Naturally, you can also come to Weids Living & Sleeping for your toddler and preschooler duvets. The toddler duvets have a size of 100 x 135 cm and the preschooler duvets have a size of 120 x 150 cm. We exclusively sell children's duvets filled with a natural fiber. This is, of course, for the good ventilating/breathable properties. You can choose between a wool children's duvet, bamboo children's duvet, and cotton children's duvet.

 

Step 5. Choose the right size for your duvet

Your perfect duvet is almost ready, now just the dimensions. In the Netherlands, we have standard duvet lengths of 200 cm and 220 cm, and standard widths of 140 cm (single), 200 cm (double), 240 cm, and 260 cm (king-size / lits-jumeaux).

To choose the right dimensions, you can look at the advice table below. Regarding length, the general rule of thumb is that people with a height up to 1.80 m can use a duvet length of both 200 cm and 220 cm. For people taller than 1.80 m, we strongly recommend a duvet with a length of 220 cm. If we take the length of your mattress as a benchmark, mattresses with a length of 200 cm need a duvet of 200 cm or 220 cm long. For mattresses of 210 and 220 cm, we recommend duvets with a length of 220 cm.

Tip: If you are going to buy new duvet covers now or in the near future, we advise a duvet with a length of 220 cm. The duvet will then drape nicely and generously over your shoulders, ensuring optimal sleeping comfort.

Duvet size advice table

In general, it can be stated that the duvet should be about 50 cm wider than the mattress and about 20 cm longer than your body height. The sizes mentioned below are always approximate sizes, as a minimal deviation of max. 10% in sizing is normal.

If you still have doubts about the correct length or width of your duvet, please call or email us. Generally, we advise you to choose a larger size, but always keep in mind whether the duvet will still fit in your duvet cover.

Custom-made duvet

We can also have some of our duvets custom-made for you. We would like to receive a message by email at klantenservice@weidswonenenslapen.nl requesting a quote for a custom-made duvet. Please mention in this message which brand and/or type it concerns. The delivery times for custom-made duvets are naturally somewhat longer.

Foreign duvet sizes

You may have noticed that different countries use different sizes for duvets. For example, in Germany it is customary to use the filled ticking as the measurement, while in the Netherlands we assume the unfilled ticking. This means that for a 1-person duvet, the German size could be 135 x 200 cm, but because filling the ticking takes away some of the width, the ticking bulges somewhat. You can assume in this case that the duvet falls into the 140 cm wide category.

The ticking (casing)

The ticking is the cover of the duvet without the filling, so basically the casing. A good ticking must meet two important conditions: 1. it must not let any filling through and 2. it must let enough air through for ventilation, insulation, and the effective removal of perspiration moisture. A high-quality ticking also determines whether the duvet drapes smoothly and nicely soft around your body. This quality is indicated by the NM value or by the thread count.

Most duvets have a ticking made of 100% cotton. The qualitatively better and therefore more expensive alternatives are made of percale cotton or sateen cotton, due to the weaving method. During weaving, a so-called plain weave is used, where one weft thread is woven over one warp thread. The yarn can be woven extremely tightly together with this weaving technique, creating a very fine quality fabric that feels wonderfully soft and supple. Percale, by the way, is just as soft and supple as sateen, but sateen also has that typical satin gloss.

NM value

The NM value is mainly used for down duvets and stands for the number of meters of yarn at a weight of 1 gram. The finer the yarn, the higher the NM value, and the higher the NM value, the softer and more supple the ticking. This not only ensures that the duvet feels incredibly pleasant when you hold it, but also ensures that it drapes wonderfully snugly around you without feeling stiff or rustling.

With this NM value in mind, we advise you to choose a duvet with a 100% percale cotton or a 100% sateen cotton ticking. Especially when you realize that a high-quality duvet lasts at least 10 years and you spend a lot of time together every day, since we humans sleep for an average of a third of the day.

Thread count

The thread count indicates the density of the fabric. By counting the number of threads per square inch of fabric, we can measure the quality of the fabric. Both the lengthwise threads (the warp) and the widthwise threads (the weft) are counted here. The most common thread count in standard cotton is 150.

The thread count is a good indication of the quality of the fabric, and the quality of fabric is highly decisive for producing the most beautiful fabrics. Fabrics with a high thread count feel softer, are lightweight, and are of durable quality. The finest cotton varieties have a longer fiber, which allows thinner threads to be spun. In turn, the thin threads can be woven more closely together, resulting in a higher thread count per inch.

Model of the duvet (Stitching)

Nothing is as annoying as a duvet where the filling shifts. To prevent this, all our duvets are stitched lengthwise or widthwise in the ticking, and the majority are even stitched lengthwise and widthwise. This ensures that the filling is, as it were, locked in its own compartment and can no longer shift. Naturally, every stitching method has its advantages. The most common ones with us are:

1. Trapezium stitched (in channels). Often stitched lengthwise to ensure the duvet drapes beautifully and smoothly around you.
2. Carré stitched (square blocks). This method ensures a beautiful, even distribution of the filling. Cassette stitched (square blocks with interior baffle walls, also known as karostep). With this method, raised edges are created to prevent cold bridges.
3. Point stitched, also known as decorative stitched.

Good to know

At Weids Living & Sleeping, you buy a duvet of the very best quality. The lifespan of our high-quality duvets largely depends on maintenance. In principle, a duvet requires little maintenance, but it is good to realize that maintenance largely determines how long it will last. High-quality duvets can easily have a lifespan of at least 10 years. Guarantee periods and/or guarantee conditions are stated with the duvets themselves, as these can vary by manufacturer.

Washing instructions and maintenance of a duvet

Duvet Maintenance

It is therefore best to 'open' the duvet every day to air everything out, with an open window for good ventilation. For down duvets, it is also advisable to fluff them up by hand. Do not use carpet beaters or a vacuum cleaner for this, as that can damage the filling. Furthermore, most duvets can be cleaned; always follow the instructions on the wash label for this. It is of great importance that you rinse the duvet well, do not wring it, and let it dry. Duvet filling needs a little time to regain its volume. In addition, do not wash the duvet too often; airing it outside in misty or slightly damp weather is often sufficient.

Washing a duvet?

A good night's sleep begins with a clean and fresh duvet. Whether you sleep under luxury down, breathable tencel, or warm camel hair, every material requires a specific approach. By washing and airing your duvet the right way, you significantly extend its lifespan and maintain the optimal insulation value.

Duvet washing step-by-step plan

For more information, look at the ‘Maintenance and Cleaning’ page.