Did your mind go to disco? Get down, get down, get down. Fair enough, however, with the chills of January swirling all around us, the kind of down we need to discuss is goose and duck down. Dancing can make you warm; down keeps you warm when the music stops.
There are several ways to enjoy the benefits of down. You could choose a down-filled blanket or a duvet to add warmth to your bed. Down-filled blankets are very popular for three reasons; one- light-weight warmth for chilly nights, two- a down blanket is machine washable, and three- price as it is much cheaper to produce a down blanket than it is a duvet. Down blankets are available in a variety of colour choices, to make your bed a bit more colourful, or not.
A down-filled duvet is constructed in one of two ways. The first is box-stitched where two pieces of cotton are stitched into pockets, usually about 12” or 30cm square. Each pocket has down in it. The other construction type is baffle box. A baffle box is three-dimensional, top, bottom and sides, to allow the down to fully fluff inside the baffle box. Unlike box-stitched, where the down is flattened as it gets close to the stitching, the baffle box allows down to be right up against the side, next to the adjoining baffle. Price plays into this choice as it is definitely more expensive to make and fill a baffle box duvet over a box-stitch version. On the other hand, a baffle box duvet is warmer. Both should be sent to the dry cleaners rather than the washer.
And then there are pillows, lovely, fluffy, soft down pillows. Your head just sinks into the white cloud of down-filled cotton. Down is perfect for back or front sleepers as a down pillow cradles your head without pulling your neck into an awkward position. A down and feather combination pillow is the answer for side sleepers. The down layers are top and bottom (like bread on a sandwich) with feathers in the center, fully enclosed in a cotton core. This core is what gives side sleepers neck support. (Don’t panic if you have allergies as there are alternatives for you but that’s another article.)
The Winter White Sale is a retail tradition, started in 1878 when Philadelphia department store owner, John Wanamaker decided that January needed something to kick start sales after the holiday season. In those years, all linens such as sheets and towels were white. The Winter White Sale featured these household necessities at reduced prices so housewives could start ‘fresh’ for the new year. It’s a tradition that continues in linen stores everywhere in the month of January.
If a down-filled sleep is on your ‘must-have’ list, the Winter White Sales are the best time to find your perfect sleeping solution. And then, well rested, you can get down, get down, get down, and dance!
Did you know? Fitted sheets were patented in 1957, in the US. Seems like they’ve been around a lot longer!
Cathy