Finding the best bedspreads

An attractive bedspread can be the magic ingredient used to give character to a bedroom. The whole mood of the room can be enhanced or ruined by your choice of bedspread. Both the fabric choice and the bedspread style should suit the décor of the room. There are many different types of beds; all demand their own special style of spread.

Choose fabrics with some weight and body. Spreads should not be so light that they slip off the bed or are troublesome to handle. A bedspread should be thick and heavy enough to hold its place on the bed without wrinkles or slipping about. If the fabric is light such as lace, gingham or chintz, it should be lined to give it more body. Choose a fabric that can be cleaned easily; if you intend to have a washable spread make sure that the fabric and lining are pre-shrunk.

Bedspreads look best when made full length to the floor. A spread that hangs mid way between mattress and floor, showing empty space under the bed is never attractive and will always annoy the onlooker by its air of untidiness. It looks as mournful and depressing as a flag at half-mast. A short coverlet should be teamed with a separate skirt such as that in a two-piece style. This skirt is known as the dust ruffle. Full length spreads and dust ruffles should fall to within 1 cm of the floor; corners on simple throwovers should be curved. These last two points saver wear and tear and keep spreads clean for a longer time than if they are allowed to come in contact with the floor.
Some beds demand more in the designing and construction of spreads than others. Beds with open footboards and corner posts need covers with splits in the corners to accommodate these features; beds without these features have covers which hang simply to the floor. Bed with paneled footboards, which reach almost to the floor need covers that reach to the floor from the sides only, and just long enough at the foot to tuck under the mattress.

The many variations of bedspread styles, whether tailored or frivolous, all stem from the same three basic styles:

The Simple Throwover

This is unfitted and made to cover all three sides of the bed. It can reach to the floor as a complete over or be the top part of a Two-piece Style.

The Fitted Spread

This is a more tailored style. It has a center section that fits the flat expanse of the bed exactly, with side and foot overhangs attached to it, falling to the floor. This skirt or overhang is joined or pleated at the corners giving it is a tailored fitted look. A shorter version of this style used with a dust ruffle becomes a Fitted Two-piece Style.

The Two-piece spread

This style has a top cover, which can be made as a Simple Throwover or as a Fitted Spread teamed with a dust ruffle. The dust ruffle is a skirt attached to a piece of calico or some other strong inexpensive fabric, which fits over the base of the bed under the mattress concealing the base completely. This is a most practical way of dressing a bed; when the top is removed the bed still looks neat and attractive. The dust ruffle may be a gathered or pleated flounce or perfectly plain and simple falling straight to the floor. The top cover should long enough to just cover the top of the dust ruffle.

Measurements needed for buying the right size bedspread

Measurements should be taken over a full made-up bed with all its usual bedclothes on, including pillow if the spread as intended to cover them. Pillows are left off if you intend to have a bolster at the head of the bed.

- Length from head to foot
- Width from side to side
- Side overhanging, from top edge to floor
- Foot overhanging, from foot edge to floor
- Depth of mattress
- Depth of base, from top edge of base floor