Have you ever been confused when you walk into a homeware store and find names like the quilt, duvet, comforter, coverlet, doona, duvet cover, quilt cover, etc?

Well, it's actually simpler than you think and I hope to explain the difference in this blog, so stay tuned. 

Firstly, what is a quilt?

Traditionally, quilts have got a wonderful long history behind them but let's not get into it at the moment.

A quilt is a multi-layered textile, composed of three layers. Two layers of fabric (cotton, polyester or wool) and a layer of filling (cotton, fibre or wool). All these layers are combined using the technique of quilting.

Before the invention of factory-made quilts, all the quilts were handcrafted and hand quilted with precision and care. Hand quilting is a soothing process and some people even compare it to meditation.

Anyway, that's what a quilt is in a nutshell. A quilt can be thin or thick depending on the type of filling. Some quilts are thin and can be used during the summer season. But if you live in a colder place, you may want to opt for a thicker one that will keep you nice and warm during the winter season.

Talking about quilts, it will be a disservice if I didn't plug in about the beautiful quilts that we make at Agasti.

Our products aren’t just another commoditised textile produced in a factory. On the contrary, they are delicately handcrafted with love and care, making every product unique and truly one of a kind.

Our quilts contain a total of three layers: two layers of hand-printed, soft cotton fabric, and a middle layer of hand fluffed, natural cotton. Other traditional Kantha quilts have thin surgical cotton as a filling.

We’ve chosen to use thick, open cotton, which gives you the much-desired cosiness and warmth. We make our quilts using an age-old technique called "hand block" printing. They are printed using that technique by master artisans, then entirely hand quilted by dedicated and caring women.

Months of hard work goes into making a high-quality quilt that adds character to your bedroom. We create our products in small batches and do not mass produce them, so you become the proud owner of a quilt or cushion that’s been crafted with love and care. You can watch a 3-minute video about our quilt making process here.

What is a duvet, doona, comforter?

Doona is the most commonly used phrase, at least in Australia. Which means "down feathers" in Danish.

Alternatively, a duvet is a term used in other countries, particularly in Europe. While the lingo may be different, whether it is a duvet, doona, comforter or a quilt, they all offer the same benefits.

They all have two layers of fabric and some sort of filling sandwiched in between.

Now in saying that, quilts usually use printed fabrics. So they look pretty and decorate your bedroom nicely. For example, all our quilts are hand printed with beautiful motifs of flora and fauna which you can check out here.

But duvet, doona, comforters are not printed. They are made of white or plain colours and they usually require a quilt cover or duvet cover to make them look pretty.

So, a duvet or quilt cover is a piece that goes over your duvet, doona or comforter. Think of it as a giant pillowcase.

What is a coverlet then?

A coverlet is something in between a quilt and a bed cover. As we have established already, a quilt contains a thick layer of filling. You may know a bedcover is a flat sheet and does not contain any filling. But a coverlet is a lightweight blanket.

A coverlet is meant to be a lightweight layer that can either be made into the bed, between the sheet and duvet, to act like a blanket, or folded at the foot of the bed for an extra layer of warmth or decoration. And since they weren’t quilted, they were called coverlets, not quilts.

Hope this clears up some confusion and you are ready to choose your bedding 🙂