Follow this essential information on what type of bedding inners you need to turn your bed into the ultimate place for rest and relaxation.

Just as the birds spend time meticulously lining their nests with soft down feathers and other insulating bits and pieces, so we should ensure our beds offer us maximum warmth and comfort.

Down and feather inners

Down is the very light, soft fluff found closest to a bird’s skin which helps to moderate its body temperature, insulating it from the cold air. On the other hand, feathers are heavier, and do not have the same insulating properties as down. Moreover, feather quills tend to push through fabric casing. This is why those in the know opt for inners with a high percentage of down in their inners.

A pure down duvet inner is one of the best investments you can make to improve your sleep experience.

The higher the down content is in a duvet inner, the lighter, more insulating and longer lasting it will be. A pure down duvet inner is one of the best investments you can make to improve your sleeping experience. On the other hand, the higher feather content the lower your insulation and the heavier your duvet will be. 

At Falucca Linen, we have decided to only manufacture pure down duvet inners to ensure you experience the highest quality sleep.

Spot duvet inner quality

Make sure you read the label. It might refer to an inner as a “down” inner when the percentage of down is actually very low in comparison to the feather fill. Look for inners with a down percentage of at least 70% if you truly want to enjoy the benefits of down.

High quality down inners are made using 100% cotton, down-proof fabric and all the seams will have double-edged stitching. Box-stitched inners have become very popular and ensure that the filling remains evenly distributed across the duvet.

What is tog?

Tog is how we measure the “thermal resistance” of a material and is widely used as an indicator of the warmth of down duvet inners. A summer inner should have a tog of between 3 and 4.5, an autumn inner should be around 10, and winter inners can have a tog as high as 20, but these are not appropriate for our Southern Africa climate.

During winter in South Africa, a summer and autumn down inner clipped together is a perfect weight and the two duvet weights on their own give you all the choices you need for a comfortable night’s sleep the year round.

Find the right pillow

Just like Goldilocks was searching for the bed that was neither too hard nor to soft, so you should be basing your search of the perfect pillow on a similar maxim.

Chamber pillows are a great option as they are layered pillows with three different compartments. The outer compartments are filled with pure down and the centre compartment with feathers. The outer layers of down give a luxurious feel and the inner spine of feather offers support when you are sleeping on it. The amount of fill in the centre compartment creates the different pillow densities.

Get a decent pillow protector

A pillow protectors is a small but essential detail that prevents your pillow from yellowing and offers good overall hygiene, ultimately prolonging the life of your pillow. Make sure it’s also made from natural fibre and not polyester, as you would lose the benefits of your natural pillow by placing it inside a synthetic protector. We recommend going for quilted 100% cotton outer and fill pillow protectors.

Falucca Fine Linen offers a collection of pure down inners in goose and duck down with chamber pillow options in soft, medium and firm.

All down is ethically sourced from Europe. It is a byproduct of the meat industry and is not plucked from live birds. High quality down inners are also a sustainable option as they are long-lasting and not likely to end up in a landfill. According to the  International Down and Feather Laboratory and Institute, down and feather fill has the lowest carbon footprint of any fill material, both synthetic and natural.