Hand Side Stitching

Hand side stitching is a highly skilled and labour intensive process in which sides of the mattress are sewn in rows to hold the fillings in place. Our craftsmen, with many years of training and experience in the art, have perfected the skill. Our mattresses are side stitched right through the border and around three springs depth. This technique is only used on top quality mattresses, due to the long and specialist process that is required to make it. Don't be fooled by machined pre-stitched borders which create the look' of side stitching but give none of the support.

Using a long, sharp upholstery needle and a natural high tensile twine, our experienced craftsmen stitches the perimeter edge of springs, the fillings and the fabric border of the mattress together. This is a traditional process that can take hours to complete (6 hours for The Topsham), as it must be done by hand.

By creating a firm edge the mattress does not sag out the sides or droop, but stays contained in the perimeter and giving it a firmer and rigid support right up to the edge. So, side stitching can extend the sleeping surface of the mattress.

The higher the number of rows of stitches, the more support and durability of the mattress. Our unique mattresses can have two, three or even four rows of stitches.

Hand Tufting

Hand tufting is the process which secures all the fillings and the spring unit together through the depth of the mattress. Once the body of the mattress has been assembled the mattress is put into the mattress press. Long tufting needles are then driven through the mattress by hand, inserting cotton popins, which are then secured either side with wool felt tufts.

Tufting is the best method of ensuring the spring units and mattress layers remain in position and is necessary to prolong the durability of the mattress.

This is labour intensive process and is a method of separating the fibres of the natural fillings used in the layers of the mattress by hand. It is necessary to tease the natural fibres of our Dartmoor wool and silk when used carefully by hand, working through the strands to remove any impurities in order to achieve an even layer of soft and natural aeriated filling.

Zip covered mattresses

Our zip covered mattresses (The Appledore and The Widecombe) are internally hand stitched by our craftsmen with natural hemp. This time consuming hand stitching secures the edge of the mattress to the fillings and avoids the use of any spray adhesives or glues. The mattress is then hand tufted.