Welcome to the wonderful world of Wool!
Our Wool
We predominantly use Dorset wool which is classified as Downs Wool. It has a short staple length of 55 - 75mm. It is a coarse fibre of 28-32 micron. These two important specifications ensure the wool retains it's loft in our quilts and does not felt. This makes the finished product warmer, cosier and longer lasting.
All our wool is sourced through Fletcher Export International in Dubbo, NSW from regional growers to meet our specifications. All our wool is gently washed and gill carded into a continuous slither.
Our Covering
All of our products are covered in 100% cotton calico. We use this versatile fabric for a number of reasons. These include:
- Calico is NOT a polished fabric and therefore the finished product will not slide around the bed or in a doona cover.
- Not being polished means that your quilt will not crackle everytime you move around in bed.
- It is 100% softer then polished cotton and therefore allows the quilt to drape gently over your bed.
- Calico is long lasting.
Our Products
Mirinee Wool Quilts manufacture high quality Quilts (Doona's), underlays and pillows.
Quilts
Our quilts are made in three standard weights and all standard bed sizes including super and continental king sizes. Our standard weights are:
- Light Weight - this is the equivalent to one generous woollen blanket and is great for those chilly summer or early autumn nights.
- All Rounder - this is the equivalent to two generous woollen blankets. This is the most common weight we sell, equating to 90% of our sales.
- Thick - this is the equivalent to 3.5 - 4 woollen blankets. These are particularly warm.
Other thicker weights can be made to your specifications, we also make a 'yours and mine' where each side is a different weight. These are very popular where sleeping partners have different warmth requirements. These can be in any combination from one blanket weight on one side to whatever you require on the other.
Underlays
Our underlays are made on the same principle as our quilts with one major difference, we use a lot more wool per square metre.
Our underlays insulate your bed from drafts that may come up through your mattress or loss of generated body warmth down through your mattress. They add a huge degree of cosiness as well as warmth to your bed. They are particularly beneficial (speaking from experience) for anyone who suffers from aching hips. Because they are wool filled and wool breathes we use these underlays all year round on the beds.
Our customers have variously described sleeping on our underlays as ‘like sleeping on cloud nine’ ‘the cosiest sleep I’ve ever had’. Magnetic underlays and split underlays for hydraulic beds are also available on request.
Pillows
We have a pillow to suit everybody. Our standard range (73cm x 45cm) comes in four differing weights
Soft - for those who prefer a low squishy pillow that can be tucked around.
Medium - More support than the soft but still retains the flexibility to be tucked around your neck and face.
Standard - Firmer again offering more support.
Hard - For those who prefer a substantial pillow.
Extra Hard, Tri (or boomerang) pillows are also available in soft and medium. Neck travelling pillows are also periodically available. Continental pillows are available on request.
Required maintenance for the pillows is regularly airing, when you have the linen off the bed to be laundered take the pillows, plump them up, and peg them on the clothesline as well. Sun sanitises the covers and wind aids in keeping the loft in the filling.
Cushions
We can manufacture any size cushion insert you require. These are not carried as standard items but are made to order.
Our Construction
Our wool is weighed according to the article we are making. That wool is then exposed to the air for a period of time, this allows the wool to relax and expand. This ensures we get the maximum loft into our quilts at production time.
The wool is then broken into the required lengths and hand spread. All of our doonas and underlays have two layers of wool inserted in them. The first layer goes from side to side, with the second going from top to bottom. Our pillows are made on the same principle except they have five layers of wool in them with the wool being overlapped through the middle section of the pillow giving extra support where your head rests.
All of our external side seams are then securely lock stitched. The quilts and underlays are then diagonally diamond quilted, again using a secure lock stitch. The quilting goes all the way through the wool. This ensures that the wool cannot move out of its diamond area, therefore maintaining even and constant warmth for the life of the article.
Key Points:
Maintenance of Mirinee Wool Quilts
The best and cheapest maintenance you can give our products costs absolutely nothing, regular air. When you have the linen off the bed for laundering and it is a nice breezy sunny day just hang your products on the line. With the pillows give them a vigorous plump up first. The sun sanitizes and the breeze lofts the wool.
We recommend dry cleaning of our underlays and quilts. All of our products can be hand washed, but be aware that they become very heavy once they are wet. Do not launder quilts and underlays in a washing machine; you can use the spin cycle to remove excess water but do not use the wash cycle. Always dry in the open air, do not place in a clothes dryer.
Made to Measure service
At Mirinee Wool Quilts we can make up any bedding requests that do not fit the standard measurements. However, be aware that made to measure items may not fit standard bed linen available.
