A
duvet (RP , GenAm , from the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
duvet "down", ) (or
continental quilt or
doona) is a type of
beddingBedding refers to the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for warmth and decorative effect. Bedding does not include the mattress, box spring and bed frame. Down materials are often used for warmth in bedding.-Bedding sizes:...
— a soft flat bag traditionally filled with
downThe down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding,...
or
featherFeathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates. They are among the outstanding characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups....
s, or a combination of both and used on a bed as a
blanketA blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket, because blankets are for...
. Duvets originated in rural
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and were made from the down feathers of the Eider duck, known for its usefulness as an insulator.
In
WestphaliaWestphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Detmold, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Minden and Münster and included in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia....
, an English travel-writer observed with surprise in 1749,
- "There is one thing very particular to them, that they do not cover themselves with bed-cloaths, but lay one feather-bed over, and another under.
A
duvet (RP , GenAm , from the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
duvet "down", ) (or
continental quilt or
doona) is a type of
beddingBedding refers to the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for warmth and decorative effect. Bedding does not include the mattress, box spring and bed frame. Down materials are often used for warmth in bedding.-Bedding sizes:...
— a soft flat bag traditionally filled with
downThe down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding,...
or
featherFeathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates. They are among the outstanding characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups....
s, or a combination of both and used on a bed as a
blanketA blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket, because blankets are for...
. Duvets originated in rural
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and were made from the down feathers of the Eider duck, known for its usefulness as an insulator.
History
In
WestphaliaWestphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Detmold, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Minden and Münster and included in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia....
, an English travel-writer observed with surprise in 1749,
- "There is one thing very particular to them, that they do not cover themselves with bed-cloaths, but lay one feather-bed over, and another under. This is comfortable enough in winter, but how they can bear their feather-beds over them in summer, as is generally practised, I cannot conceive." — Thomas Nugent, The Grand Tour 1749, vol II. p. 66
Duvets are still commonly used in Europe (especially in northern Europe where it is the most common form of bed covering), and have become popular throughout the world in the late 20th century.
Duvets reduce the complexity of making a bed, as it is a single covering instead of the combination of
bed sheetA bed sheet is a piece of cloth used to cover a mattress. It is this sheet that one typically lies on.In many areas of the world, a second flat bed sheet is laid on top of the sheet covering the mattress. This is known as a "top sheet" and when a top sheet is used, the sheet covering the mattress...
s,
blanketA blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket, because blankets are for...
s, and
quiltA quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to...
s or other bed covers, which is traditional in many parts of the world. The cover is called a "duvet cover" or a "quilt cover".
In modern times, a duvet is sometimes filled with
silkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
,
woolWool is a fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles. The wool is taken from animals in the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals including: goats, llamas, and rabbits may also be called wool...
,
cottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
, or artificial fibers (such as
polyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
batting or other artificial material); it is sometimes confused with a
comforterA comforter is a type of blanket. Comforters are intended to keep the user warm, especially during sleep, although they can also be used as mattress pads. Comforters are generally large and rectangular in shape, filled with natural or synthetic insulative material and encased in a shell/covering....
. Although comforters go on top of the traditional sheets and blankets, duvets are used by themselves.
In some European countries, any thick, warm blanket is subject to being called a duvet, as this has become a popular name for these kinds of blankets.
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, a duvet or down quilt is often called a "Doona", which is a
genericized trademarkA genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for a general class of product or service, rather than the specific meaning intended by the trademark's holder...
(registered to the
Tontine GroupTontine is an Australian manufacturer of pillows. The company began in 1870. From 1984–2001 it was owned by Pacific Dunlop. In 2001 it was sold to create a separate entity. The Tontine group is part of Pacific Brands. Until 2007 the company's manufacturing base was at East Brunswick, Victoria...
) which is derived from the equivalent common Scandinavian term
dyne and popularized by the retailer
IKEAIKEA is a privately-held, international home products retailer that sells flat pack furniture, accessories, and bathroom and kitchen items in their retail stores around the world...
in the 1970s. Originally the term
continental quilt was the standard name used across Australia, and some regions continue to use this term.
In
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
, duvets are known as
ralli quilts, and are mostly used in the southern province of
SindhSindh , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. Different cultural and ethnic groups also reside in Sindh including Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees who migrated to Pakistan from India upon independence as well as the people migrated from other provinces after...
.
In the US, confusion often occurs as the word "duvet" is sometimes used to refer to a comforter cover rather than the down blanket itself. For example, this is how the term is used by a large retailer:
"For those of you enjoying a down comforter, or even just looking for a change for your bedroom, a duvet could be the perfect answer. Since you will be placing your comforter inside the duvet, it is important that the appropriate size be selected." — Bed, Bath and Beyond, Sizing Up Your Bedroom .
The term "
Duvet dayA Duvet day is a formal allowance of time off given by some employers, most commonly in the United Kingdom and United States.It can be stipulated formally in a contract of employment and is considered part of the remunerations package along with Holiday allowance...
" is used in some countries to describe an allowance of one or more days a year when employees can simply phone in and say that they are not coming in to work, even though they have no leave booked and are not ill. The provision of this benefit became fashionable in the late 1990s with many larger companies in the UK.
Standard sizes
Modern manufacturing conventions have resulted in a large number of sizes and standards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedding#Bedding_sizes
Thermal Performance
Manufacturers usually rate the performance of their products according to their
togThe tog is a measure of thermal resistance, commonly used in the textile industry, and often seen quoted on, for example, duvets.The Shirley Institute in Britain developed the tog as an easy-to-follow alternative to the SI unit of m2K/W...
rating. This enables the purchaser to select a duvet appropriate to the season. The higher the tog rating the warmer the duvet.
A few manufacturers have marketed combined duvet sets consisting of two duvets; one of approximately 4.5 tog and one of approximately 9.5 tog. Used individually or combined, a tog rating could be made to suit all seasons.