What weight duvet you need
A cotton duvet's warmth comes from its fill weight, its construction decides whether that fill stays where it is, and its size decides whether it reaches the edge of the mattress. Five questions give all three, including the overhang most people leave out.
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Why these five questions
The warmth of a cotton duvet comes almost entirely from how much fill it holds, so the first questions are about the room and the people in it, and the last two set the size and how it will be washed.
Cotton has a ceiling. In a cold enough room, no single cotton duvet is warm enough in winter without being too heavy in summer, and the check says so when your answers reach it.
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The questions, and what each one sets
1. How warm is your bedroom on a winter night?
- Cold, under about 60°F (16°C). A cold bedroom asks more of a cotton duvet than it can comfortably give all year.
- Cool, about 60 to 67°F (16 to 19°C). A cool bedroom is where a mid-weight cotton duvet does its best work year round.
- Warm, above about 67°F (19°C). A warm bedroom calls for a light cotton fill that will not trap heat.
2. Do you want one duvet all year, or to change it with the seasons?
- One all year. Keeping one duvet all year means choosing the weight for the season that matters most to you.
- Swap by season. Swapping by season lets each duvet be the right weight for its months, at the cost of storing the other.
3. If you share the bed, do you both run at about the same temperature?
- I sleep alone. Sleeping alone means the weight only has to suit you.
- Yes, about the same. Sharing at the same temperature means one weight can suit you both.
- No, one of us runs warmer. Sharing with someone who runs warmer is a case for two weights rather than a compromise between them.
4. What size is the bed?
- Twin. For a twin, the duvet needs width beyond the mattress on both sides, or it lifts off as you turn.
- Full or double. For a full, size up if your mattress is deep, because duvet sizes assume a thin one.
- Queen. For a queen, a duvet labelled full/queen is often too narrow once the mattress depth is counted.
- King or California king. For a king, check the width against the mattress plus both sides of its depth, since king duvets vary widely.
5. Where would you wash it?
- A large front-loading machine at home. A large front-loader can take most cotton duvets, which keeps washing simple.
- A standard machine at home. A standard machine may be too small for a queen or king duvet, which is worth knowing before choosing the weight.
- A laundromat. A laundromat's large machines make any size practical to wash.
The five answers
A light cotton duvet, for a warm bedroom
Readers whose bedroom stays warm, for whom less fill is the whole point.
A mid-weight cotton duvet, for a cool bedroom all year
Readers with a cool bedroom who want one duvet for every season.
A summer and a winter cotton duvet, swapped with the seasons
Readers who will change duvets with the seasons, which lets each one be the right weight for its months.
Two cotton duvets of different weights, for partners who run hot and cold
Couples where one sleeps warmer than the other, for whom one shared weight suits neither.
At your room temperature, no single cotton duvet works all year
Readers with a cold bedroom who want one duvet for every season. Cotton cannot be warm enough in winter without being too heavy in summer, and this says so.