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Should You Worry About the Binding on Textile Products?

An innkeeper has a lot to think about when shopping for new quilts, or coverlets, or high-quality blankets.

For starters, there’s the visual attractiveness of the item, which is of paramount importance in the lodging industry. There’s also the quality—or lack thereof—with which the item been constructed.
How about the level of comfort a coverlet or quilt, for instance, will bring to a customer? The comfort of a guest room item is certainly something that’s worth thinking about long and hard.
And of course, there are the dual matters of price and value: Given its design, its construction, and the materials used to make it, is the product you’re interested in fairly priced?

If you’re an innkeeper or a B&B proprietor who has purchased your fair share of bedding supplies and bath accessories, those are probably all decisions that sound familiar. But when deciding whether or not to buy a certain pillow, say, or a set of throw rugs, have you ever given any sort of consideration to the product’s binding?

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On Quilts and Coverlets: Understanding the Difference

What’s the difference between a quilt and a coverlet?

That’s a query we encounter from time to time here at InnStyle, and it’s certainly a fair enough question. Let’s start with a general description of a quilt, which, traditionally speaking, is essentially a cover that can be used in many different ways.

What else?

A quilt has a layer of batting — or padding — which is placed between two layers of fabric and then stitched into a specific pattern or design to hold the layers in place. Batting (or padding) is a soft, bulky assembly of fibers that provides loft and a layer of insulation.

There are actually two different types of quilts. One type of quilt uses a single piece of fabric for the top layer. A piecework quilt, meanwhile, joins smaller sections of fabric together to create its top layer. The underside of a piecework quilt will generally be a one-piece (solid color) fabric.

Pieced quilts are made from fabrics that may have been used previously as clothing, upholstery, drapery, bedding, or any other fabric that’s no longer being worn or used in its original form. Some quilters will purchase bolts or yards of fabric, and then cut that fabric into smaller pieces to create a quilt of their own design. This style of quilt often makes an interesting cover for a bed, couch, throw or chair.

Coverlets can be a solid, a print, a stripe or one of many types of fabrics including Matelassé. Most Matelassé products are of a heavier cotton fabric (although some are made with a cotton/polyester fabric) which can give the appearance of padding, although they’re not filled with batting of any sort. This look is meant to mimic the style of hand-stitched quilts made in France.

Specialty jacquard looms or quilting machines are used to give a Matelassé fabric a unique appearance of intricate designs, raised patterns, indentations, and the padded look often associated with quilts.

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Quilts and Matelasse’ Coverings

Traditionally a quilt is a cover that is able to be used in a variety of ways. Quilts have a layer of batting or padding placed between two layers of fabric and then stitched into a specific pattern or design to hold the layers in place. Batting is a soft and bulky assembly of fibers that gives the quilt loft and creates a layer of insulation.

There are 2 different types of quilts. The first type is made with a single uniform piece of fabric for the top layer. This is different from the second type, a piecework quilt that joins smaller sections of fabric together to create the top layer. On each type of quilt, the underside will be a single piece of solid color fabric. Pieced quilts are often made from fabrics that may have been used previously in clothing, upholstery, former drapery, or bedding. Any fabric that is not being worn or used for its original purpose can be reused in this fashion. Some quilters will purchase bolts of fabric or yards of fabric and cut into smaller pieces to make a quilt of their own artistic design. This makes for an interesting and unique cover for a bed, couch, throw, or chair. Some quilts are made from a combination of antique fabrics, old clothing pieces, or upholstery fabric.

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