Harsh Winter for 2011-2012 Predicted; Elegant Linens Adds New Cashmere Luxury Blankets and Signature Down Duvets to Keep Clients Covered

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) December 14, 2011

Elegant Linens wants to help winter-ready the luxury bedroom with the following information on what to look for from down, wool and cashmere luxury bedding products. The world of down, wool and cashmere may appear daunting, given the varieties in which they come. Elegant Linens will help simplify the quest for superior luxury bedding that is both functionally warm and deliciously comfortable.

When it comes to down, terms like fill power, loft, baffle-box construction and channel construction can be useful to know. Most people know that down refers to the downy under-feathers of flighted friends such as geese and ducks. Down is instrumental for insulation of these animals, and people have long understood the value of down when it comes to insulating themselves.

Fill power is a quality measurement that refers to the down’s ability to fill cubic space, which correlates positively to its insulating ability. If the down tested has a high fill power, it will have higher insulating quality, which means that less of it will be needed to provide a certain level of warmth. Applying this concept to luxury bedding, a higher fill power duvet will be lighter and provide more warmth than one of lower fill power, which will need more overall down fill to provide the same amount of warmth. Also, as fill power tests the resiliency of the down to regain its overall shape after compression, a higher fill power product will maintain is fluffy appearance better than products with lower fill power.

Loft is used in many cases interchangeably with the term fill power. Loft ranges from 500 to 800, generally, with 800 holding the highest degree of warmth with the lightest weight. Elegant Linens carries their own private label down items in both 550 and 700 loft to provide their customers with the best of both worlds. In colder climates, for one to have a winter-ready bed, one would want a higher fill power, or loft, duvet.

To make matters slightly more complicated, one can have fill that is not the same as the overall loft of the item. For instance, a duvet can have 550 fill with a 700 loft. If a similar item had 700 fill with a 700 loft, the latter item will be lighter weight. If one wants a slightly heavier duvet, a lower fill content with high loft would provide more weight with similar insulating ability. If one wants a down duvet that is both light and warm, the higher number combinations of both the fill itself and the fill power, or loft, available will do best. Elegant Linens carries down duvets with both 550 and 700 fill at 700 loft to provide their clients with great, winter-ready options.

When buying down products, one also wants to be aware of the casing material. Down can escape from loosely-woven casings with relative ease, so one wants to have a quality casing to ensure the down stays within the object. Typically, luxury bedding down duvets, like those that Elegant Linens carries, will have casings with high-thread-count Egyptian cotton. Elegant Linens’ down duvets have 300+ thread count luxury cotton casings that have been tested by Oeko-Tex, an independent international company that tests the content and quality of textiles. Whether pillows, duvets or actual down beds, check the casing!

Another aspect of down products, specifically as it pertains to duvets, is the type of construction of the duvet baffle box or channel construction. Both of these terms refer to the way the down is stitched into the duvet and, therefore, held in place. In channel construction, the down is hemmed into channels, or long rows, to promote a more even distribution of the down filling. The preferred construction now, however, is baffle box construction. As one might expect, in baffle box construction, the down is stitched into box shapes; however, these boxes also have vertical interior walls, which allow the down to fluff up, maximizing the potential for warmth. Both channel construction and baffle box construction aim to prevent the down from clumping into certain areas in the duvets, which would increase the likelihood of having hot spots or cold zones.

Of course, once one has invested in a down item, the final covering is also important. Luxury bedding retailers like Elegant Linens carry myriad choices for down duvet covers, sheeting and pillowcases to add the final touches of comfort to the luxury bed. Also, for a winter-ready bed, blankets such as wool or cashmere can top the bed with an additional layer of luxurious warmth and comfort. Down, Egyptian cotton, llama, alpaca, yak, camel, mohair, and cashgora (cashmere and Angora blend) blankets are also available from many luxury bedding houses.

Wool is one of nature’s best insulating fabrics, and top luxury wool is often Merino. Wool is fabulous at wicking away excess moisture and has great breathability. Many luxury wool blankets are not only incredibly soft, but they may also be woven in combination with lambswool or cashmere to produce an incredibly warm and delightful effect. Luxury wool blankets have gram measurements ranging between 300 and 700 generally, the highest number indicating the thickest and warmest available.

Cashmere is, of course, a premier luxury fabric, also brought to people straight from nature, in this case, goats! Cashmere, when cared for properly, is one of the most long-lasting, warm and luxurious fibers available on the planet. Cashmere may also be blended with other luxury fabrics to produce easier-care blankets that are still incredibly soft and warm. Always check with the retailer that they are sourcing their cashmere from reputable places. Cashmere, like Egyptian cotton, may be misrepresented. One can usually trust that you get what you pay for. However, be diligent when purchasing any winter-ready luxury bedding item. A little preliminary research can prevent many future headaches!

To see more examples of the different types of winter-ready luxury blankets (http://www.elegantlinenspc.com/Bedding-Blankets.htm) or to learn more detailed information about all of our comfortably warm luxury down bedding (http://www.elegantlinenspc.com/down-duvets-duvet.htm), please visit Elegant Linens at http://www.ElegantLinensPC.com or call 1-800-735-5541.

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Egyptian Cotton Sheets : Truth & Lies About World’s Finest Luxury Linens

When it comes to Luxury Linens  the first thought that pops up in everyone’s mind  is “high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets”.

That’s for a good reason as Egyptian cotton is indeed world’s finest cotton quality available.  There are some truly unique technical specs that set Egyptian cotton apart from other natural fibers:

- The humid conditions and rich soil in Egypt along the Nile River banks create the perfect conditions to grow long cotton fibers (also known as staples).

 - The staples of Egyptian cotton can range from 1 1/2 inches to 2 1/4 inches. Their long length is about twice the size of other cotton fibers.

 - The length of the fiber makes it possible to spin the finest yarns without sacrificing the strength of the yarn itself.

 - The strength of the fiber makes fabrics more durable and resistant to stress.

 - Its ability to absorb liquids gives Egyptian cotton sheets deeper, brighter and more resistant colors.

 - The yarns are smooth and lustrous and the softness of the woven fabric feels like nothing else, crafted in world’s finest luxury linens.

 - Egyptian cotton is hand picked which guarantees the highest levels of purity. In addition, hand picking puts no stress on the fibers – as opposed to mechanical picking – leaving the fibers straight and intact.

 - The particular care in terms of the cultivation process, and the hand harvesting, ensures that the cotton is perfectly clean at every stage of the growth cycle. The cotton is gathered by hand at 5 specific stages of its life in order to select only fully ripe seeds. This meticulousness yields a perfect quality yarn: its long and ripe fibers  give  exceptionally soft and silky luxury linens with a truly outstanding quality.

 All these factors have resulted in Egyptian cotton being by far the best cotton in the world. Fabrics made of Egyptian Cotton are softer, finer,  last longer than any other cotton in the world and are crafted into exquisite luxury linens.

If all this is true for sure about Egyptian cotton sheets, there is also a dark side of misleading information  (a.k.a. lies) that should be properly taken into account before making any luxury linens purchasing decision:

-  “Made in Egypt” bed linens does not mean Egyptian cotton sheets. On the contrary most of the Egyptian made bedding products are not likely to be made of Egyptian cotton at all since premium Egyptian cotton fibers are available in scarce quantity and grown in small lots for export use only.

- Egyptian cotton, due to its high cost, is often mixed and woven with lower cotton qualities that somehow undermine all of its fabulous characteristics. More often Egyptian cotton is only used in a very small percentage not clearly specified on products label. Only true 100% Egyptian cotton sheets would deliver those great benefits making really outstanding luxury linens. 

-  Egyptian cotton is not directly related to very high thread count as  1000TC and above. It is true on one hand that only very fine gauge yarn such as Extra long staple Egyptian cotton fibers can be tightly woven into high thread count luxury linens fabrics. Still on the other hand such densely woven fabrics may result in heavy and thick bed sheets while a lighter and more breathable texture could be more comfortable. Usually 300TC and 400TC Egyptian cotton sheets are finer and softer than many other super high thread count luxury linens.

-  It can be misleading to evaluate Egyptian Cotton luxury linens just by touching and feeling a sample cloth of fabric in a store as there are many other cotton qualities that can be nice and soft as well (such as Pima).  Egyptian cotton though deploys most of its great characteristics in the long run after year of use and endless washings. It even gets smoother and softer with time while the other linens just get ripped off and must be thrown away.

-  Egyptian cotton luxury linens  are expensive.  It costs money to achieve the greatest quality and that’s what a higher price tag stands for.

In the end luxury linens shall be considered as any other investment in durable assets.  The R.O.I. will outstrip the initial cost with spectacular comfort for years to come.

Egyptian cotton sheets are luxury linens perfection!

Jay C. Conti
Belvivere Italian Linens CEO & Co-Founder
Manufacturer of Luxury Linens for Bed, Bath & Table > The only real Factory Direct source online
http://www.belvivere.com
a.k.a. “The Luxury Linens Expert”
http://luxury-linens.com


Article from articlesbase.com

What To Consider When Buying Luxury Bed Linen Sets to Get Quality Cheaper

As have talked about before home improvements are mostly thought of a new kitchen or a new bathroom. Many people still don’t immediately think of bed linen and bedding and that is a shame. However, you can completely change the look and feel of your bedroom by changing your bedding and bed linen at very minimal cost.

Easy care bed linen was very popular in the past and this was not surprising considering the amount of hard work that went into doing the household laundry. Many years ago washing the bed linen and other items could take all week. Fortunately quality and ease have taken over now a days, and consumers are now finally able to break the mold to find bedding that helps to complete their bedroom. There are hundreds upon hundreds of choices out there of all different colors and designs.

Choices are wonderful, but may be wondering how can it be narrowed down. There are three main areas that are components of great bed sheets. They can be broken down to the material, the thread count and the hand. To get sheets that are cool, soft and of good solid quality you should strongly consider 100 % cotton. Polyester sheets are not entirely bad, just harder to the feel, but don’t require so much ironing. Cotton is advantageous because it whisks moisture away, making the sheets feel more inviting to the touch. Egyptian cotton is a more expensive variation of the cotton family for bed linen, but produces softer and more durable bed sheets.

Thread count doesn’t get a whole of attention, but is very important in making a decision about bed linen. For high-quality sheets, a minimum of 200 thread count should be expected. The higher the quality the higher the thread count for great bed linen sets. As expected, the price usually also increases as thread count increases. A high thread count handles itself better through washing, increasing in softness and overall appearance better than lower thread counts. A low thread count tends to become stiffer and quickly fall out of favor. Typically most people tend to shop the 200-400 thread count level to maximize quality but minimize cost. There are plenty of options and varieties in this area, but don’t feel like you are required to stick in this range if you want a little extra, just avoid going under it if at all possible.

The third and final point is often intertwined with the other aspects of bed linen which refers to how it feels to the touch. This can be affected by what type of cotton, the thread count, carding and combing, the type of weaving and the dying process itself. Italian weavers are often looked at being particularly good hence why you tend to find prices be that much higher, so one can consider French being one of the next top ones, but a more reasonable price with lines produced like Le Vele bed sets.

There are then several materials to choose from such as flannel, silk, satin and linen. Some obvious aspects are flannel is great for cold winters whereas for sheer luxury, satin and silk is top notch. Silk is a fabulous material, but can be expensive to dry clean your sheets every week if want to properly take care of them. Another key thing to remember is that sheets can actually shrink by as much as 7 percent after the first washing, but obviously care instructions can limit such extremes.

There may be lots of choices out there, but the key is not be so overwhelmed. Narrowing it down to the 200-400 thread count range unless of course wanting even higher quality bed linen is the first step along with a spending budget. Have some patterns or ideas you would like to see for bed linen or start with a great bed linen company and work through their items. Even if they don’t have exactly what you are looking for, that might help you for the future to further narrow it down.

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We are the people who believe strongly in your decision that how your bed looks is very important. It helps to define who you are and after all people will indeed see it at some point. So we want to help you find those perfect pieces to complete you or that of your family. We continue to strive to find new hot bed linen sets and pieces as additional options. Go to: http://www.buybedlinenonline.com


Article from articlesbase.com

HandCraft’s new hospital/health care laundry plant is automated, energy efficient and cost effective. A Richmond, VA, based, family owned business, HandCraft is a regional leader in supplying off-site laundry and linen services to hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes.