Duvet, Quilt or Doona?

Different names for the same thing

  People have given it different names over the ages, but the item itself is almost the same all around the globe – a soft, flat bag filled with some light, warm filling that we use to cover ourselves in bed.

Duvet, Doona, Quilt, Continental Quilt, Edredon, Cotton Blanket – and quite likely many other names – are used for this wonderful thing comforting us at night.

Below is some information we found on internet about these names…

A duvet (from the French duvet “down”) or doona is a type of bedding a soft flat bag traditionally filled with down or feathers, or a combination of both and used on a bed as a blanket. Duvets originally came out of rural Europe and were made from the down feathers of the Eider duck, which is well known for its usefulness as an insulator.

Duvets reduce the complexity of making a bed, as it is a single covering instead of the combination of sheets, blankets, and quilts or other bed covers, which is traditional in many parts of the world. The cover for the duvet is called a “duvet cover” or a “quilt cover“.

In Australia a duvet is called a “Doona“, from a trademarked brand name derived from the Old Norse “dunn” meaning “down feathers”. In Danish and Norwegian a duvet is actually called a dyne, which is pronounced similarly to “doona“. Though still registered to the Tontine company, the name “Doona” has become a generic term for a duvet or down quilt.

Before “Doona” came into regular use, the term “continental quilt” was the standard name used across Australia and some regions of Australia still use this term today. A duvet is also sometimes called a quilt, following British tradition.

Duvets are still commonly used in Europe (especially in northern Europe and Scandinavia where it is the most common form of bed covering), and have become popular throughout the world in the late twentieth century.

In Spain and Latin America a duvet is known as edredon, and in Russia a duvet is called their word for a “cotton blanket“. It is the most common form of bed covering in Russia and a brightly coloured thin blanket slightly similar in appearance to a patchwork quilt is often used for top and bottom fabric.

 

Decorative blankets

In the US, confusion often occurs as the word “duvet” may refer to a comforter cover rather than the down blanket itself.

However, comforters are blankets that go on top of the traditional sheets and blankets and are primarily decorative, while duvets are used alone.

Another type of decorative blanket that goes on top of the bed is a bedspread – it is larger than a comforter and has a flap to cover the pillows.

And the last but not the least is a comfortspread – a bedspread with an attached valance. A bed valance (as opposed to a curtain valance), also known as a bed skirt, is a curtain of fabric that hangs down beyond the end of the bedspread. Traditionally meant to keep cool breezes from cooling the bed from beneath, their modern use is to conceal the space beneath the bed, which may be used for storage.