duvet that doesn't need a cover

[pincie44]

Hey Mums, I have been working on producing a duvet that doesn't need a cover. It has a microfibre filling and Egyptian cotton outer and you just put the whole thing in the washing machine, dry it (either hang it up or tumble it), and then put it straight back on the bed.

I am so passionate about my product that I am now blind to any problems. Does anyone have any obvious things that they think could be a drawback please?

And also, are there any bloggers that you follow that you think would be good for me to approach for getting it out there? I am a mum, but with grown up boys so a bit out of touch with the younger generation.

Thanks everyone - any advice gratefully received.

I can definitely see the positives for the summer. In the winter we don't heat the house overnight and usually sleep with the window slightly open, so we need warm bedding. In the summer, however, I'd love to wash the whole duvet and dry it outside. I think it would be lovely and fresh. We only use 100% cotton covers and they need ironing, so it would be great to have something that could be dried outside and put straight back onto the bed.

Incidentally on a recent thread about changing beds/airing I was surprised to see that most people have 2 sets of bedlinen and put a new one on when they take the old one off. I strip the bed, put it all in the wash, and put it back on the bed in the evening. An idea like the OP's would work for me but perhaps it's less relevant if you alternate sets.

optimist - I thought that too, she struggles ot change a cover, but is fine maniplating a wet duvet in and out of a machine?

They were called eiderdowns when i was a kid too!

Talking of mothers - we have synthetic duvets because dh is allergic to feathers, but I much prefer the feel and comfort of a feather duvet and my parents would never have anything but feather duvets, so there is one whole sector of the market that is not going to bite just on th eprinciple they are synthetic.

Is changing a duvet cover really such a hassle? I find it quite easy, and don't get all the duvet cover anx on here.

We have a king size and also have to put the duvet cover in the machine on its own - a duvet (however thin) would never fit.

We do tend towards a neutral, plain duvet cover though so a plain cover would work for us. And we use the 9 tog (definitely not the 9+4) in winter with an electric blanket. We use synthetic because we're both mildly allergic to feathers.

But I'm afraid I'm very sceptical about the drying time. A king size duvet cover - plain cotton - alone takes more than 2-3 hours to dry, and I don't believe a plain cotton cover with filling - even thin, synthetic filling - could take less time to dry, sorry. And there's no way even a single duvet would fit over our radiators!!! How is your friend drying it on the radiators??!

Op I absolutely applaud your spirit, lots of people have ideas, not many actually develop them. Who knows what brilliant products there might have been?

You've received lots of negative feedback here, I hope you aren't disheartened by it, but rather take it as any professional product developer would - an opportunity to better your product.

Tog ratings however, are not subjective. You can't say it's 6 tog but 'still warm'. That's like setting your oven to 50 degrees and saying it's hot enough to roast a chicken. It just isn't, as the temperature/warmth is an accurate measure.
It may well be warm enough for you and for some others, but it would be worth surveying your target customer to find out what tog they use, if your product isn't anywhere near that tog people simply won't buy it, as they would be cold - even if you wouldn't be. So then you need to further develop the product to meet a tog rating of eg 12, whilst still packing up small enough to fit in a standard washing machine and dry within a couple of hours. As you say, perhaps unqlo style heat tech may be an answer

Hey everyone, thanks for all feedback. CurlsLDN yes it will all be taken positively.

The weight seems to be a recurring theme but it really isnt heavy. There's absolutely no struggling going on in my mothers bedroom

One thing learned is that people will really need to see it to understand it, I think.

But this has been great feedback for me, thank you all..and more are welcome x

But the issue is not that we don't understand it, rather that everyone accepts it may be an ok weight at 6tog single size, but everyone is questioning how scaling up to 10-12tog double/king size will affect the weight/drying time

What temperature can they be washed at? I like to do bedding on 60 degrees at least.

I'm also sceptical about the drying times. My daughter's grobags take a couple of hours at least due to being 100% cotton covers and they are only 2.5 tog!!

I wouldn't have two single duvets on my bed and I don't see how a king size would fit in my washing machine. I have an 8kg washing machine and even my super thin summer weight wool duvet wouldn't fit in with enough space to get a proper wash. It tool a lot of persuading to get my DH to try the wool duvet because it was so thin, he really wouldn't go for anything thinner. I'm really struggling to see how a winter weight king size would fit in anyone's washing machine. Perhaps you need to put up some pictures of your product.

I think this sounds very interesting and I'd definitely consider buying it if you can make it work. Our duvet is a really low tog and I use it year round and just chuck a blanket over the top of it's really cold, so a 6 tog duvet sounds fine to me.

Can wash at 60, to kill off dust mites and things.

And single size only available so very much aimed at juniors and seniors. And for those on the continent who don't tend to have/use double/king size.

So many interesting comments here which will all be taken in to consideration. One that's been most interesting is the "don't like synthetic" view. Is it just because of the feel or because you like natural?

There is big markets for both and mine comes into the hypoallergenic arena so there's a big demand for that but I am interested in the natural only view.

May develop one..

WHy do juniors and seniors use singles?

My grandparents def both have king size bed small duvets. My children slept in our bed as babies and toddlers so super king sizes.

I think you just need to find your market OP. My mother would have bought these from you when we were kids, my sibling had SEN and wet the bed almost daily. To not have changed a duvet cover would have been handy and I had really bad dust allergy's. My best environment was wooden floors and washable bedding.

DS wets the bed at lot so he often sleeps without a duvet cover as I often run out of time and realise at bedtime that the last clean cover is still damp in the washing machine, so a nice soft, quick drying duvet to sleep under would br preferable to one that is designed to have a cover (let me know if you want a tester ).

I probably wouldn't buy them for the older children as they like their themed bedding...but from an environmental point of view this doesn't always sit well with me as we often get rid of (to the charity shop) perfectly decent bedding just because they have grown out of it...so perhaps a duvet that lasts longer would be an idea? I don't know weather the environmental saving of not buying duvet covers would be knocked out by the extra resources that would be needed to wash and dry your duvet?

I would consider using a king size one of these in the summer...a whole summer off from having to change the duvet cover, yes please (I am all for speed and time saving...)! my washing machine is not big but currently fits a 4.5 tog king duvet.

Where else have you done market research or posted? I wonder about posting somewhere slightly more crunchy for views?

Would a king size one fit in my 8kg washing machine? If not then it's no good for me.

Not all 8kg drums are built the same. I have an 8kg drum and so does my mum but one is shallower than the other despite being around the same height. More stuff fits in the deeper one even though they are both the 'same' size. I think they are tested by stacking folded t-shirts inside the drum so the drum size doesn't bear a whole lot of resemblance to how much you can get inside in the real world.

I can see the point of this, I think it would be useful for children and also for couples who have a double or bigger bed but use two single duvets for whatever reason. in summer obviously.
However I think I am actually even lazier! For DD currently (in a cot) I just bought a 4 tog single duvet and cut it in half to make two cot duvets. They are just wadding filling so really like thick padded comforters as others have said. I really don't see the point of a duvet cover for her so she just has the bare quilt! It usually ends up on the floor anyway. I can wash it in the machine like this.
I guess once she's older and has a bed it would look nicer to have a proper cover on it so I'd definitely be interested in something like this then.

You don't have to sell it to everyone to make a reasonable success of it. Like you say it is a question of how many people fall into the category that would want it. I think lighter duvets for kids is definitely a good market. Plus kids often don't need such high togs as they are smaller. Sell them in a double pack then you've always got a spare for the middle of the night changes. Good luck!

You don't have to sell it to everyone absolutely, not everyone needs to 'get ' it for it to be a success. I was talking to a lady the other day who sells something very obscure and she makes a very good life/living out of it, it really is not a mass market thing but the customers that she does have form an orderly queue on her waiting list.

I'd love something like this. I'd like to be able to wash my duvet more often
if it genuinely does dry as quickly as you say

I love this idea. We are quite old and find changing the cover on our king size duvet takes a good deal longer than a couple of minutes. Our duvet is feather and down and we like the way it settles around us - could yours do the same ? I only like to sleep in cotton sheets, so the proposed cover of yours sounds fine. We have a large washing machine which probably could cope. We also have a tumble dryer but don't use it unless we have to : depending on the cost, and on how long they take to dry, we might consider buying two.

We do think about getting two single duvets to overcome these problems but you get used to having easy access to each other.

Rather than the washing/drying, the issue for me would be what's it like to sleep under?

I can't bear synthetic duvets and we have always had down or feather/down mixed. It just feels different on your body.

crystalchef - thanks for your comments. I haven't posted anywhere else actually but have had 13 testers 'on the case', ranging from a 7 year old up to an 87 year old. Boys and girls, cold houses and hot houses. And good news is, my testers have all placed orders.
Re testing - I have a second range already in development and will have 16 prototypes so would be very happy for your DS to be a tester, if he would like.
jennyonaplate - I have just found a very special filling that feels like down, that folds up to absolutely nothing so this is what I will be looking to use for the kingsize. That will all be tested over the next year - but yes, it will go in your washing machine.
moggle - yes, it is not for everyone but I think there is still a big enough market for me and you are also right in saying children have lighter duvets. It is recommended that they sleep, summer and winter, in duvets with between 5-9 tog. So mine fits that.
StealthPolarBear - yes it genuinely does dry quickly. The filling cannot hold water, so if you spin it high, it basically comes out dry so you are only waiting for the 2 outer layers of cotton to dry. And those layers are not laying together (like when you dry a duvet cover), they are lifted apart by the filling so the air circulates better.
Footle - my original ones do settle around you but the one I am working on, that feels like down, does it better, so that would be the one for you. That is still in development. The filling in my original ones is used by the US military in their sleeping bags, so has been tested under very harsh conditions (both the user and the washer!) so I need to test the new filling as, as yet, I don't have much data on its long term performance.
GrumpyOldBag - all I can say is that all my testers have liked it. I, personally, have had all types of duvet and don't have a strong preference for filling. But when I go to my holiday home, there is an old feather duvet of ours and now I won't use it. I don't like its weight anymore. And there is a lovely feeling of freshness to mine now which we have come to love. Is it that the synthetic feels claggy? If that's the case, then this won't happen with mine as the filling is a technical filling, like they use in mountain wear and sleeping bags (expensive ones!), so the moisture is let out and it regulate temperature. Phew...sorry for such detail (wink)

If it can dry on the bed, surely you would then get a condensation problem. Also, it just wouldn't dry in winter in my house!

You need higher tog duvets on bigger beds if you want to be warm. All the extra space means you need extra padding to keep the heat in. That's why wearable bedding for babies need to be low tog. I think making the king size version thinner would be a bad move.

This sounds great, I love things that challenge the old ways of doing things. If coats and jackets can be thinner but still very warm then why not bedding? it does seem crazy that an adult duvet needs to go off to the cleaners/launderette to be washed and takes up (for me anyway, in a small house) an annoying amount of space when being stored in the summer.

My allergies are still not great tbh and I put up with a duvet that cannot be washed as often as I would like...sounds good OP, I'd love to be a tester. I think the 'military grade' filling appeals too.

I would love to test one, being in the older age group and hate changing the covers!

I wouldn't want one, I like my feather duvet.

I am bemused by all the hate over changing duvet covers . It's hardly a difficult task for an able bodied person. It takes me about 15 seconds to do a king size one.
Do you people also hate getting dressed or putting your shoes on, or drawing the curtains, or anything else that takes moments to achieve?