I’ve seen how not knowing the distinctions between a duvet, comforter and quilt caused discomfort for first-time shoppers. Since then, I’ve guided my clients in choosing the right type depending on the climate and sleep needs.
I’m comparing the features of duvet covers, comforters, and quilts so you’ll know when to use each of them.
Decoding Bedding Bliss: Difference Between a Duvet and Comforter and Quilt
Duvets are thin, removable shells that require protective covers, while comforters are fluffy, standalone bed covers, and quilts are decorative three-layered bedding covers.
Most duvets rely on feather or down fillings, comforters on various fiber fills, and quilts on variable decorative tops and batting insides to create differing levels of lightness, breathability, and insulation.
Understanding these distinctions in size, construction, appearance, and intended use will ensure you select the optimal bedding sheets to keep you warm, complement your decor, and fit your sleeping needs.
| Bedding Type | Main Features | Material Differences | Design Differences | Best Use |
| Duvets and duvet inserts | Thinner; shell insert needs cover; provides warmth | Fillings usually down or feathers | Usually uniform stitching and fabric | Cold weather; layering system |
| Comforters | Thick; can be used alone; self-contained | Fillings often use feathers, down, or synthetic materials | Often elaborate quilted stitching patterns | Standalone in the cold; an alternative to blankets |
| Quilts | Decorative top fabric; filling; backing | Top fabrics can vary; fillings typically batting | Wide variety of patchwork, applique, and geometrics. | Decor accent; light warmth retaining |
History and Overview of Duvets, Comforters, and Quilts
Before anything else, discover the unique history and use of these bed coverings. Soon, you’ll know everything you need to raise your bedding to a divine status. Aside from that, here’s a chart showing the relative popularity of duvets vs. comforters vs. quilts and other blankets.
What Are Duvet Covers and Duvet Inserts?
The word duvet is French for “down”— as in goose down. Though this type of bedding covering may have originated in China, the duvet was popular in Europe as far back as the 1700s. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s, when the Habitat shop opened in London, that duvet inserts finally made their way to America.
Pros
- Lightweight and breathable
- Easy-to-change covers
- Warmth can be customized for seasons
- Creates a luxurious layered bedding
- A wider variety of designs is available
Cons
- Requires purchasing separate covers
- Needs covering and protection
- Fill can shift and get lumpy
- Difficult to wash the inserts
- Can be a pricey initial investment
What Is a Comforter?
A comforter, as its name implies, is a plush and thick quilted blanket designed to provide warmth and comfort during colder weather. It contains a fluffy fill of feathers, down, or fibers to achieve a luxurious fullness. Its quilting and stitching ensure the fillings are evenly dispersed, contributing to its cozy and toasty insulation properties.
Pros
- Warm, thick and fluffy standalone bedding
- Simple, convenient, all-in-one covering
- Great for cold regions or cold sleepers
- Cost-effective standalone solution
- Solid colors are easy to maintain, even through machine washing
Cons
- Bulky and prone to sliding during sleep
- Unable to easily change the look with covers
- Fill may get compressed or shift over time
- Can overheat in warmer weather or climates
- Limited design options within the same piece
What Are Quilts?
The ancient art form of quilting involves stitching fabric and padding together, originally serving the practical function of creating a warm bed cover for winter. Before the Industrial Revolution, women made quilts by hand out of necessity. However, once manufacturing became widespread, quilts began being mass-produced.
Pros
- Gorgeous decorative statement piece
- Creative craftsmanship and textile artistry
- Meaningful personal, homemade touches
- Lightweight layer for light warmth retention
- Washable and durable with care
Cons
- Primarily decorative than functional
- Fillings are less warm than duvet inserts or alternative comforters
- Handmade ones are costly and time-consuming
- Requires more careful washing maintenance
- Impractical as a primary bed covering in the cold
People often use the terms duvet vs quilt vs comforter interchangeably, although they are two different types of bedding sheets with key differences.
Materials and Construction
When deciding whether to use comforters, duvets, or quilts, it helps to understand the materials and how these sheets could affect your bedding choices.
Duvet Cover
Much like a comforter, a duvet requires a bag filled with down, cotton, feathers, or synthetic fiber. Unlike a comforter blanket, you’re not supposed to use a duvet without a cover.
It’s like using a flat feather bed with box stitching that you can’t throw in the wash. Because the duvet can’t be washed, it must be kept as pristine as possible, which is where the cover comes into play.
Duvet Insert
Duvet inserts are commonly filled with down, cotton, TENCEL™, or synthetic fabrics. A standard duvet insert boasts a smooth texture and is not intended to be quilted or sewn, distinguishing them from comforters.
Unlike alternative comforters, duvet inserts often have a less “finished” appearance. For a hot sleeper, the hypoallergenic quality of TENCEL™ further enhances the appeal of these duvet inserts.
Comforter
Some of the fillers used in the top and bottom layers of comforters include feathers, cotton, down, or fiber. These filling materials give the comforter the luxurious fullness humans love to cuddle under when it is cold outside.
Though comforter sets use the same kind of stitching and filling as duvets, they are quite a bit thicker and stitched tighter than a duvet.
Quilt
The design of modern quilts hasn’t changed much since the dawn. Nowadays, quiltmakers still use scrap fabric for the front, cut into squares, cotton batting for filler, and a solid piece of fabric for the back of a lightweight quilt.
While quilts consist of top and bottom layers with a stitched over a layer of batting for warmth, they do lack a fluffy fill. Cotton is usually a single piece of fabric on top. A light cotton blanket is perfect for use during the summer, and it has the advantage of growing softer with every wash.
Main Purpose
Understanding the distinct purposes of quilts, comforters, duvet covers, and duvet inserts is essential for crafting a personalized and functional sleep environment.
Tailoring bedding choices to specific needs ensures optimal comfort, style, and functionality, enhancing the overall bedroom experience and promoting a restful night’s sleep.
Duvet Cover
A duvet is a bedding covering that keeps those in a bed warm and cozy compared to bed sheets. However, the real purpose of a cotton duvet is to cut down on the amount of bed linens used on beds.
Duvets act as insulators because of the material inside them. A stuffed duvet, combined with a separate cover, is supposed to replace a flat sheet, blanket, and a lighter weight quilt. Duvets can be great in the summer since they aren’t as heavy as comforters.
This type of bedding covering is also perfect for use as the top layer of linens instead of a bedspread. As you can imagine, a duvet can be a real time-saver when making a bed in the morning.
Duvet Insert
Duvet inserts serve as a versatile bedding component designed to slip into a cover, offering an easily changeable and customizable aesthetic for beds. The main purpose of duvet inserts is to provide warmth and insulation, and they often eliminate the need for a top sheet, offering a streamlined and practical bedding solution.
With various fill options like down, wool, or synthetic fabrics, duvet inserts cater to different preferences for weight and warmth. As a personal preference for a cold sleeper, you may appreciate the snuggly and cloudlike warmth of duvet inserts instead of a lighter weight quilt.
Comforter
Comforters, the all-encompassing layers of coziness for the bed, primarily function as thick, quilted blankets filled with synthetics or natural materials, such as feathers. Their main purpose is to offer insulation and warmth during colder temperatures, acting as a standalone bedding that doesn’t require an additional cover.
Comforters are also known for their decorative role, often adding a stylish touch to the bedroom while ensuring a comfortable and inviting sleep environment.
Quilt
Quite like a duvet insert, the primary purpose of quilts is to add a layer of warmth and comfort beds. Blankets typically lie between the flat sheet and the bedspread. Today, quilts are mostly decorative and usually use a motif.
Quilts, steeped in tradition and craftsmanship, primarily serve as functional and decorative bed coverings. The primary purpose of quilts is to provide warmth and visual appeal to beds, making them both practical and aesthetically pleasing additions to the bedroom.
Comfort and Warmth
Selecting duvets, comforters, and quilts with the right fill weight is crucial for achieving the desired balance of comfort and warmth. The fill weight, representing the fill’s weight per square meter, directly influences the duvet’s heft, softness, and overall coziness.
Opting for a higher fill power, typically accompanied by a lower fill weight, is recommended for warmer weather, with a fill weight of 450 GSM and above providing extra warmth for colder nights.
Duvet Cover
Duvet covers play a pivotal role in enhancing the comfort and warmth of a duvet. The exceptional quality of duvets for maintaining extra warmth is complemented by the versatility of duvet covers, allowing users to tailor their bedding for different seasons.
The ability to change covers provides a practical solution for staying cozy in colder months. There are options like plush cotton and warm materials while opting for lighter, breathable fabrics in warmer seasons.
Duvet Insert
Duvet inserts are instrumental in providing both comfort and warmth to beds. The fill inside a standard duvet insert consists of materials such as cotton, down, wool, or synthetic fibers. In effect, these duvet inserts offer insulation, ensuring a cozy sleep environment.
The adaptable nature of duvet inserts allows you to choose inserts with varying fill weights, catering to individual preferences for warmth and comfort throughout different seasons.
Comforter
Comforters are essential for optimal comfort and extra warmth in bedding. Typically filled with materials like down or synthetic fabrics, comforters offer insulation to keep users comfortably warm.
Their plush and quilted design enhances coziness, making them a versatile and reliable choice for a restful night’s sleep.
Quilt
Quilts are prized for their exceptional warmth and coziness, serving as both functional bed coverings and stylish additions to bedrooms. Comprising layers of fabric, batting, and backing, quilts are intricately stitched to ensure even distribution of warmth.
They also make great wraps for bundling up on the couch with a book or watching TV. Quilts are also excellent for baby blankets because they’re warm yet not too fluffy.
Design Features
Bedding designs can come in solid colors, patterns, and prints. One of the best things about a duvet insert is the ability to switch the coverings used. So, you can change your bedding style any time you want!
A comforter is composed of three layers, with a front, back, and a fill inside it. The quilting ensures that the filling stays evenly distributed. The layered look holds the parts of the comforter neatly in place.
Geometric, floral, and nature-inspired themes are popular designs among quilts. Also known as quilt stitch, designs use a baffle box construction that affects a design’s reinforcement. Consisting of three layers – a top layer, batting, and backing – quilts are meticulously stitched together, forming intricate patterns.
Durability
A duvet can last up to five years if cared for properly. The durability of a duvet comes from the fact that it is protected. Not to mention that this bed linen rests on top of you, so it doesn’t have to handle human weight.
Comforters are more durable, letting you use them for up to 15 years when maintained well. The length of time that a comforter remains usable depends on how often it is used, its baffle, and especially how it is cared for.
Handmade quilts are moderately durable, depending on the quality of their craftsmanship. You also never want to dry clean a lightweight quilt because the chemicals used in a dry cleaner could damage the batting.
Care Instructions
Depending on the brand and material, some may require a dry cleaner. What I love the most about cotton comforters is that they are ready to use without covers. It’s even way easier to care for them as I simply toss various duvet sizes into the washer with other bedding.
In contrast, duvets require more delicate care due to their flat feather bed with box stitching. Unlike comforters, they can’t be simply thrown into the washer with other beddings. Serving multiple roles as a top sheet, blankets, and quilts, duvets are a time-saving addition to beds.
Quilts, versatile in their use, require specific care to maintain longevity. I often follow the care instructions on the label, which involves delicate machine washing with mild detergent. I often use air drying or a low-heat setting in the dryer to preserve the fabric and stitching.
Cost
The price ranges are just as varied as the materials when considering the wide variety of materials used in making blankets. Also, a blanket’s price doesn’t indicate how long it will be usable. Usability has more to do with the material from which a blanket is made.
The price for a duvet ranges between $30 and $130. Prices depend on the duvet’s thread count, the type of duvet insert used, and the size of the bed where the duvet will be used. Note that the covers and inserts are sold separately.
A real goose-down comforter (my personal favorite) can cost between $80 and $600. Make sure to avoid purchasing alternative comforters if you want a real comforter and not a duvet. Meanwhile, you can find gorgeous handmade quilts ranging from $130 to $1300.
Who Should Use a Duvet?
The list of benefits to owning a bedding duvet includes being able to change the covers, saving time on making the bed in the morning, and customizing the duvet as often as you’d like. You would love owning a duvet if you want these benefits.
- A hot sleeper wanting a more lightweight layer and breathable cover to prevent overheating
- People who enjoy customizing their decor with changeable duvet covers
- Cold sleepers needing extra insulation and warmth
- Anyone desiring a fancy hotel-like look and feel instead of using bed sheets
- People with allergies benefit from easily washable duvet covers
Who Should Use a Comforter?
The primary use of a comforter is as a bedspread. A comforter’s stylish look and feel can make it an excellent choice to accent or inform your bedroom decor. Experience the pleasure of owning a comforter if you fit these situations.
- People wanting a thick, fluffy standalone bed covering
- Those who prefer not changing bedding with the seasons
- Anyone seeking comfort and warmth in a single integrated piece
- People benefiting from easily washable covers
- Cold weather regions needing heavier standalone bed covering
Who Should Use a Quilt?
Owning beautiful handmade quilts is like owning a piece of comfortable art. Truthfully, many quilts are worth hanging on walls as decoration. It’s good to keep a supply of bedding quilts around your home if you’re someone with these needs.
- Decorative, ornamental bed coverings
- Crafty types making their own aesthetic statement
- Those desiring lightweight accent pieces for walls or furniture
- People appreciating handmade craftwork and textile arts
- Anyone seeking sentimental bed coverings with personal meaning
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between a Quilt, a Duvet, and a Comforter?
A duvet is a lightweight, non-washable shell filled with down or feathers that needs a removable cover. A comforter is a washable quilted cover filled inside with down, feathers, or fiber. Quilts are decorative three-layer bedding covers with a top layer fabric, filling, and backing that are often hand-stitched.
What Is the Difference Between a Quilt Cover and a Duvet Cover?
A duvet cover is a protective removable shell used to envelop the insert of a duvet. In contrast, a quilted cover is simply another term for a duvet cover used in some countries. They serve the same purpose of shielding and changing up the design of the inner duvet.
Can I Use My Duvet as a Comforter?
No, a duvet should not be used on its own like a comforter. Because a duvet insert can’t be cleaned on its own, using it without the duvet cover risks soiling and damaging the fill inside. A comforter is meant to be used alone as a stand-alone bed covering.
Conclusion
Knowing details around size, construction, warmth, and intended use will prevent mistakes that diminish your sleep enjoyment or prematurely wear them out. Whether you prefer lightweight covers, ultra-soft fluffiness, or beautiful handiwork, selecting the right bedding type makes the difference in getting a good night’s rest.
