Quilt, comforter, duvet

Someone says there is some difference bettween quilt, comforter, duvet. I don’t know what it is. Can you help me, please?

If you are talking about things to keep you warm on your bed then quilt and duvet really mean the same thing these days. I’ve not heard of comforter and in Australia we call a duvet a “doona”. I’d only heard of duvet when I moved to the UK. The only other name I know is “eiderdown” which is what my mother called a duvet when I was young.

A quilt can also be a decorative art work (or something practical) as in a patchwork quilt. Making these quilts is one of my wife’s hobbies and she makes these for beds and also wall hangings.

Cheers,
Max

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In the US quilt, comforter and duvet can be used interchangeably, although a quilt could be a handmade item sewn together by patchwork (or something manufactured that looks as if it were handmade.)
A comforter can be a smaller size–for example, to be used on someone’s lap while watching television on a couch–but it can also be used for something that is used on a bed.
Duvet is used only for an item used on a bed.

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I got it! Thank you so muuuuch

An eiderdown isn’t actually the same as a duvet. Or at least not in British English. I think it may be the same as a quilt. Before the days of duvets, it was used as an extra layer on top of blankets. The covering is/was permanent and often a satin materal and so not designed to be washed or cleaned. And as the name says, filled with the down of an eider duck! I have one that belonged to my grandmother and use it in the winter over my summer duvet!

You’re spot on V75. That’s an accurate description of an eiderdown. My mother was English and it was used on top of the blankets as you say. The satin finish brings back memories.

A duvet is a (usually) down-filled quilt, often with a removable cover; the comforter.

Go to any department store in the US that sells beddings and you’ll see “comforter set” printed on all the packages of beddings that include matching bedsheets, pillow cases, and the top cover which is the “comforter” (also sold separately).

The comforter will have an open end for you to put the duvet inside, tie it at the four corners, and then zip or button the comforter closed. The comforter can be taken off and washed, and a winter or summer duvet can be swapped out.

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Aaah! The things you learn on LingQ. I have never really known what a comforter is! It’s what we Brits call a duvet cover! Well, there you go!

Eiderdowns are expensive feathers, ordinary featherbeds these days are stuffed with feathers of a lesser quality, I fear. So, if you have a real eiderdown duvet, hang on to it! :slight_smile: