Silk Duvets buyers' guide
- 1- Avoid offers that appear to be too good to be true
- 2- Choosing grade A, long silk fibres
- 3- It should be produced by hand without overstitching
- 4- Check for the presence of a zip fastener
- 5- Ensure the absence of toxic products
- 6- Beware of ‘washable’ duvets
- 7- The advantage of the fastenings
- 8- The quality of the casing
1- Avoid offers that appear to be too good to be true
Some retailers of silk duvets take advantage of western consumers’ lack of knowledge about silk duvets to sell almost anything as a silk duvet. However, a silk duvet is more than a duvet filled with silk. All the properties of a silk duvet depend on the choice of the finest raw materials and a long and careful manufacturing process. The good news is that a quality duvet will provide you not only with incomparable comfort, but will also last for much longer.
2- Choosing grade A, long silk fibres
Grade A is the best quality silk. It requires the selection of the best quality cocoons that unwind in a long, regular thread. A silk duvet with a grade A filling is much more hard-wearing and is more evenly filled.
3- It should be produced by hand without overstitching
Overstitching is favoured by some less than scrupulous retailers. In reality, it holds poor quality fillings in place and creates thermal bridges. A good silk duvet should, therefore, be handmade without overstitching. The traditional manufacturing process involves pulling and crossing the long silk fibres over multiple thicknesses so that the filling remains fluffy and in place for a long time. This long manual process is the only way to produce a breathable filling that offers the best thermal regulation. As you can see in the photo, our silk duvets are basted to strengthen the casing and the filling without the need for overstitching. Warning: Overstitched duvets may be filled with poor quality silk or even with silk waste that may contain harmful particles.
4- Check for the presence of a zip fastener
As we have seen, the manufacturing process and the quality of the silk are of prime importance. The best way of knowing what you are buying is to check for yourself. Thus, a ten centimetre zip fastener will allow you to open the duvet and see the filling on one side.
5- Ensure the absence of toxic products
It is important to ensure that the supplier has a current safety certificate. Oeko Tex, the international body, regularly checks our supplier and issues an Oeko Tex 100 Standard certificate. This is not a quality certificate or an ecological label as sometimes stated. It certifies that our products are free from substances that can be harmful to your health and damage skin.
6- Beware of ‘washable’ duvets
There are more and more silk duvets that claim to be ‘washable at 30°C’ coming onto the market. Once again, buyers should beware this deceptive phrase because after two washes in water, a silk duvet will have lost most of its thermal and health-giving properties. Silk is actually a fibre that absorbs humidity naturally. This property discourages the growth of bacteria and dust mites and enables the fibre to better regulate temperature. In addition, when washed at 30°C, the fibre fills with water and the detergent blocks the micro-cavities on the surface of the fibres. This is overcome by using very closely spaced overstitching that, as we saw above, is unsuitable for silk duvets. Although the filling within may be damaged, the duvet still looks acceptable after washing. However, it is clear that that type of duvet does not have a zip fastener to check on damage to the silk filling.
7- The advantage of the fastenings
Our silk duvets are fitted with fastenings at the sides and corners. For example, you can make a summer duvet into a really warm winter duvet by fastening it to an autumn duvet. And if despite the heat of our winter duvet you are still cold, you can also combine it with an additional duvet to be even warmer.
8- The quality of the casing
The casings of our silk duvets are 250 TC. The TC (Thread Count) is a unit of measurement of the density of fabrics by number of threads per square inch. The higher the number, the better the quality. If the thread count is low, there is a greater risk of tearing and the silk filling is less well protected.
For further information:
Our comparison of silk duvets vs down duvets
How to choose the right silk duvet weight?
