What Is a Coverlet? A Workroom's Definition, and How It Differs From a Quilt

The short answer: what is a coverlet?

A coverlet is a lightweight, tailored bed cover with a short drop. It covers the top of the mattress and finishes past the mattress edge, where a bed skirt or the bed frame takes over. It does not fall to the floor; a cover that does is a bedspread.

We build coverlets flat-lined or quilted, whichever the designer specifies. There is no house default. Either way, it is a face fabric and a lining, with at most a thin interlining or low-loft batting between them. What makes it a coverlet is the weight and the drop, not the stitching.

Ready-made coverlets are often woven, such as matelassé or jacquard, with no fill at all. Same definition: thin, light, cut to a short drop.

Coverlet vs. quilt

A quilt is defined by its stitching: a top, a batting and a backing, stitched through in an allover pattern. A coverlet is defined by its weight and its drop.

The two overlap. A quilted coverlet is, technically, quilted, which is why retail sites use the words interchangeably. Our rule of thumb: if the fill has real loft, you have ordered a quilt or a comforter, and it will read that way on the bed.

• Build. Coverlet: face and lining, flat-lined or quilted, thin fill at most. Quilt: top, batting and backing, stitched through.
• Weight. Coverlet: light, with a crisp, flat profile. Quilt: set by the batting, from drapey to plush.
• Warmth. Coverlet: enough on its own in warm months, otherwise a layer. Quilt: warmer, and can be the main covering.
• Drop. Coverlet: short and tailored, 12 to 18 inches. Quilt: any size, often generous.

Care

Our coverlets are dry clean only. Tell your client up front, especially if they expect to launder bedding at home.

Construction choices to make up front

Flat or quilted. Flat suits embroidered linens, delicate silks and prints you do not want broken up by stitch lines. Quilting adds body and keeps the layers together. Channel quilting reads clean and modern but wants a stable fabric. A grid or diamond is the workhorse. Outline quilting follows a motif and takes the most labor.

Edge finish. A self welt gives a crisp, upholstered edge. Contrast binding or mitered banding frames the bed and can pick up a drapery or pillow fabric. A narrow flange softens the profile. For scalloped or shaped edges, approve a template before quilting starts.

Yardage. Quilting draws the panel in, so a quilted coverlet takes more fabric than a flat one. Plan the COM order for it, and treat the backing as a real fabric choice: it shows every time the cover is folded back.

How to size the drop

A coverlet's drop usually lands between 12 and 18 inches: enough to cover the mattress and just overlap the bed skirt or frame. Measure the actual mattress on site, not the label. A pillow-top queen and a low-profile queen need different pieces.

• Finished width: mattress width plus the drop on each side.
• Finished length: mattress length plus the drop at the foot.
• Pillow tuck: if the pillows go under the coverlet, add length for the tuck and note it on the work order.

Dressing the bed

The classic: sheets and blanket, the coverlet smoothed over the top, pillows tucked under the fold or stacked above it, and a bed skirt or the frame below the mattress line. If the frame is worth seeing, the coverlet lets you see it.

The layered version: the coverlet over the mattress and a duvet folded at the foot. The coverlet gives the tailored daytime look; the duvet is there for sleeping.

What to send your workroom

• Mattress width, length and depth, measured on site
• Bed skirt or exposed frame
• Pillows tucked under the coverlet, or dressed on top
• Face fabric (COM) and lining
• Flat-lined or quilted; if quilted, the pattern and scale
• Edge finish
• Room photos, if you have them

Bring your workroom in before the yardage is ordered. Fabric, quilting scale and edge detail all affect each other, and a short conversation up front can save a remake.

Valley Studio works to the trade for designers and architects, with workrooms in Los Angeles and New York and an office in San Francisco. See our custom coverlets, or send us the fabric and room photos and we will talk it through.

Related reading: What "C.O.M." Means, and How to Spec Fabric for a Custom Workroom · How to Hang Pinch Pleat Curtains: A Workroom Guide · Are Velvet Curtains Warm? A Workroom's Guide

FAQs

Is a coverlet the same as a bedspread?

No. A bedspread falls to the floor. A coverlet stops past the mattress edge and works with a bed skirt or frame below it.

Can a coverlet replace a quilt?

In warm climates and warm months, yes. In colder rooms it works best as a layer, with a blanket or duvet doing the warming.

Can I wash a coverlet?

Ours are dry clean only.