Podcast manchesterstyle
Interview with Anthea Valavanis about Doonas and Quilts

In out latest series on textiles in the home, we spoke to Anthea Valavanis, the product content coordinator at Manchester Warehouse about the different types of doonas and quilts on the market. For more information on doonas and quilts visit:

manchesterwarehouse.com.au/bed...d/quilts-doonas

What is the difference between summer, winter and all seasons doonas?

In terms of wool or feather, you can buy a product that's an all season quilt. In wool, you're getting a total weight of 550 GSM, but it is broken up as a 350gsm side and a 200gsm side, so the product itself is totally 550 but it has two pieces.

One side is a lighter weight which is 200GSM which is ideal for summer and the other piece is a medium weight so it is 350GSM, so that's great for autumn and spring. And then combined they make a great product for winter.

In the wool doonas there are zips in the corners so they don’t move and slip inside your quilt colour. And in feather you have a similar concept with one fill different to the other fill and they're clipped together. Initially that's a bigger outlay in terms of the costs to acquire as opposed to buying this same product that doesn’t have the two pieces, it’s just the 550GSM total weight. But what you're getting is an all year round purchase as opposed to something that would be too heavy for you in summer.

A winter doona would be just like what I’ve mentioned, but you would just be buying the doona in wool or the feather as a single piece. We do have our everyday quilt ranges, but in the peak of summer, you wouldn’t use it, it’d be still too heavy. You might leave it on your bed all year round, but you’d be sleeping with your sheets.

There are also people who want the 550 weight for winter and then a summer option so that would be a cotton quilt or a bamboo quilt. Cotton quilts and bamboo quilts are generally 350 gsm. That's equivalent to medium thickness when we just talked about in all year round. So it’s probably good for all months except in winter you would need to add on something, it would not be heavy enough.

How are bamboo doonas for, warmth and versatility?

Bamboo is the latest in our doona range, as it is a hypoallergenic product and bamboo is a sustainable fibre. It has the properties of cotton, but cotton is not a great fibre for the environment because of the pesticide use and water use in production. It’s dry clean only as opposed to washable which is a minus.

Read more about the sustainability of bamboo fibre here: thegreenhubonline.com/2017/11/...up%20of%20trees.

Where does cotton kind of sit in the spectrum with warmth and durability and washability?

Cotton is in line with bamboo, it’s a summer weight product. It can be machine washed which is the difference between it a bamboo, they are both natural and breathable. One thing to point out for bamboo and cotton is it won't give you that loft that you see on those plush beds, it’s more that pancake type thickness.

Tell us a bit about goose down and duck down?

Goose down is the higher-end product and it is warmer than duck down. When you are looking at the composition of feather and down, the feather is the crunchier outer layers of the doona, so that is what gives you the loft. Whereas down is the underside of the wings and that's what keeps the birds warm, that's what's keeping you warm in your product. Down alone doesn’t have a loft in it which is why they add the feather. Goose is more premium than duck and in goose you will get an all season option, so the two pieces together, as opposed to the duck which is more an entry point for someone who wants that look and feel, but without the price.