Down bedding, specifically down comforters are the platinum standards in sleep luxury. They combine silky soft down enveloped with crisp cotton keeping you in a cloud of comfort. Down comforters come in many styles and sizes and with all the technical attributes can sometimes be a difficult product to buy.
The main ingredient of a down comforter is the down filling. Down can come from ducks or geese and be grey or white. Many consumers confuse down and feathers together but they are really different. Down provides softness and warmth - great for comforters and blankets. Feathers provide support - great for feather beds, pillow forms and some types of pillows.
Bed Sheet Sizes
The first step in buying down bedding is to know what size you need and from there the other details can be settled down (fill type, fill power, weight, fabric choice). You would think its pretty straight forward to buy the right size comforter for your bed. After all if you have a queen size bed then you would buy the queen size down comforter - right? Well that's kind of true although you may wish to upgrade the size and get a bigger size comforter to provide better bed coverage and prevent nightly tug of war with a sleeping partner.
The main issue to know about regarding sizes is to make sure that if you are using a duvet cover on the down comforter then the size of the comforter should be preferably a bit larger than the duvet but could range plus or minus two inches for maximum fit. Most duvets are made of cotton and they will shrink - so if your duvet is 92 x 92 and your comforter is 90 x 90 that is okay. Duvets are washed just like your sheet set - so the frequent washings will keep your duvet decreasing in size by a couple inches the first few times.
You will want to take great care and know your comforter and duvet measurements assuming you are using a duvet. Duvets are optional and about 25% of consumers cover their down comforters with easy care machine washable duvet cover protectors. The benefit of the duvet is that you can remove it from the duvet and wash and dry it on demand just like your sheet sets. Most down comforters covered with a duvet are washed about once a year with some occasional setting out in the sun on dry, low humidity days.
Because we recommend larger size comforters for comfort we would suggest the following size chart for consideration:
Twin Bed - Upgrade to a Twin XL like 68 x 90 or 68 x 92
Full Bed - Upgrade to a Full/Queen like 90 x 90 up to 90 x 98
Queen Bed - Upgrade to an Oversized King like 108 x 98
King Bed - Upgrade to a Super King like 116 x 198
A comforter is a key part of your bed, so make sure you get one that you absolutely love. After all, it is going to be with you night in and night out.