Mattresses Uncovered

The two main spring systems used in mattress construction are open coil and pocket sprung. Below we have provided some information describing both options to enable you to make an informed decision.

Open Coil Mattresses

An open coil spring system is made by inter-twining coils of high tensile steel which are linked together by a tighter coil of steel running either horizontally or vertically. The 'spring unit' then often surronded by a steel rod to hold the diameter firm.

The term 'gauge' refers to the diameter of the spring and how tightly it is coiled. The tighter the coil, the firmer the feel of the mattress. 15 gauge is quite soft with 12.5 gauge being fairly firm in feel. This frame is then placed within the base of the mattress frame and secured with stitching. The frame is filled with a variety of fillings which will differ according to the manufacturer and the quality of the mattress. These fillings range from natural fibres such as pure wool and lambswool, mohair, silk, cashmere and even latex, to man made fibres such as reflex foam and memory foam and supersoft white fibres which all have their own brand names like 'superluxe' and 'ultraluxe'.

The mattress is finally overlaid with more layers of fillings placed on top of the spring unit to create a comfortable sleeping surface, again the choice of layers depends on the manufacturer and the luxuriousness that is being achieved.

These fillings are secured using either a stitching method called 'micro-quilting' or 'panel quilting' which holds the fillings in place running a stitch across the surface of the mattress in a pattern creating a flat surface, or by 'hand tufting', which involves pinning the fillings at specific points on the surface of the mattress with a long stitch that runs from the surface down through the inside of the mattress to the core of the spring unit, they look like buttons pressed onto the mattress and create a wavy surface.

Micro Quilting Hand Tufting

Pocket Sprung

A pocket sprung system is created by turning high tensile steel into individual springs which are then wrapped into their own singular covers. These are then either placed into the base of the mattress by a machine in rows, or on more expensive models they are placed by hand into the base and secured by a stitch which is also done by hand, this is called 'hand nesting' and is a very labour intensive process. The mattress is then filled and layered with a variety of fillings in very much the same way as the open coil mattresses. The fillings again range from natural fibres such as pure wool and lambswool, mohair, silk, cashmere and even latex, to man made fibres such as reflex foam and memory foam and supersoft white fibres which all have their own brand names like 'superluxe' and 'ultraluxe'. the most luxurious mattresses will have silk, cashmere, pure lambswool and/or memory foam and latex.

You will find that the majority of the pocket sprung mattresses on the market are hand tufted. The exception to the rule is mattresses that are topped with memory foam or latex, these will be micro-quilted as a hand tuft may prevent the memory foam and latex from doing what they are designed to do.
One of the key things to look for with a pocket sprung mattress is the presence of a hand side stitch.

This is a very labour intensive process that involves physically putting a 5" needle in by hand through the side of the mattress wall, the needle is fed around the pocket springs at least two rows deep and then pulled back out through the mattress wall at the same point it went in. This 'stitch' will pull the springs back towards the wall of the mattress providing edge to edge support.Hand side stitching runs around the complete wall of the mattress and the number of rows of stitching increases according to the quality and cost of the mattress.

Click here to see our Pocket Sprung range of divans and here to see our range of mattresses.