Frequently asked questions

Eiderdown is the breast down the female common eider (Somateria mollissima) plucks from herself to line her nest. It is the only down in the world gathered without harming a bird: the down is collected from the nest after the ducklings have hatched and left. Because each nest yields only a few grams, and because it can be gathered once a year, it is the rarest bedding fill there is.

Goose and duck down clusters are symmetrical and slide over one another, which is why a goose down comforter shifts and needs baffles to hold it in place. Eiderdown clusters have barbules that hook together, so the fill clings to itself and stays where you put it. That structure also traps more air for its weight, which is why a lighter eiderdown fill can match a heavier goose down one for warmth.

Yes. Raw nest down arrives mixed with grass, seaweed and shell. It is dried, machine cleaned, hand sorted and washed. No bleach or optical brightener is used, so the finished down keeps its natural tan color rather than being whitened.

Icelandic eiderdown is regulated under Icelandic law no. 52/2005. Every finished article is weighed, inspected and sealed by a licensed assessor before it can be sold, and the numbered certificate that ships with your piece records the fill weight, the assessor and the certificate number. It is the document you would need for a warranty claim, a resale or an insurance valuation, so keep it with the piece.

No. The eider is a protected wild bird in Iceland. Nests are visited only after the ducklings have left, and the birds are never handled, plucked or farmed. Farmers protect the colonies through the nesting season, which is part of why the colonies keep returning.

A single nest yields roughly 15 to 20 grams of raw down, and only about 60 percent of that survives cleaning. A queen comforter needs the yield of dozens of nests, gathered by hand over a few weeks each June, then cleaned, sorted, weighed and certified. The price reflects a supply that cannot be scaled.

Washed and certified down is low in dust and the shells we use are woven tightly enough to keep fill in and dust mites out. If you react to feathers rather than to dust, speak to us before ordering and we will talk you through the options rather than guess on your behalf.

US sizes, cut wider than the mattress so the piece drapes rather than sits on top: Twin 68 x 88 in, Twin XL 68 x 90 in, Full 80 x 90 in, Queen 90 x 94 in, King 106 x 94 in and Cali King 104 x 98 in. Custom dimensions are made to order at no surcharge.

Weight is about your bedroom, not the season, because down adapts to the sleeper. Light suits warm rooms and hot sleepers. Medium is the year round choice for most homes and the one most couples settle on. Warm is for unheated or north facing rooms and anyone who sleeps cold. In a Queen those weights are 1060 g, 1215 g and 1315 g of pure down.

Size up one step if you share the bed with someone who pulls, if your mattress is deep, if you use a topper, or if the bed has no footboard. Every dimension we publish is the finished piece after filling, measured flat.

Tightly woven cotton, down proof so nothing works its way through, and breathable so the fill can do its job. The shell is stitched to hold the fill in place without cold spots along the seams.

Air it rather than wash it. Down needs washing far less often than people expect: shake it out weekly, air it near an open window a few times a year, and use a duvet cover so the cover takes the laundry instead. When a full clean is genuinely needed, use a specialist down cleaner, not a domestic machine.

Decades with reasonable care, which is why we back the eiderdown pieces with a ten year warranty and offer refilling rather than replacement. If loft drops after many years, the piece can usually be topped up and re-sealed rather than thrown away.

Pillow sizes are standard across the trade, so a case cut for a Standard pillow fits any Standard pillow: Standard 20 x 26 in, Queen 20 x 30 in, King 20 x 36 in, Euro square 26 x 26 in and Body 20 x 54 in. Sizes are measured flat and unfilled loft varies, so allow a little ease when choosing a case.

Standard suits Twin, Twin XL and Full beds, Queen suits a Queen, and King suits King and Cali King. Euro squares are shams and back cushions rather than sleeping pillows.

Down pillows are soft and self supporting rather than firm. They compress under the head and spring back, which suits back and side sleepers who want the pillow to shape to them. If you want a pillow that holds a fixed height, down on its own is not the right fill.

Shake it out each morning to redistribute the fill, air it regularly, and always use a pillow protector under the case. Never fold or compress a down pillow for storage, and let it recover its loft for a day if it has been packed.

A good down pillow outlives a synthetic one by years. Rather than replacing it, ask us about refilling: the shell is usually sound long after the loft has softened.

A comforter is cut to the mattress and finished to be seen. A duvet is an insert made to be used inside a cover, and it is sized to the bed it covers rather than to the mattress it sits on, which is why a UK Double duvet is square.

Single 135 x 200 cm (53 x 79 in), Double 200 x 200 cm (79 x 79 in), King 225 x 220 cm (89 x 87 in), King X 240 x 220 cm (94 x 87 in), Super King 260 x 220 cm (102 x 87 in) and Emperor 290 x 235 cm (114 x 93 in).

Yes, and it is the single best thing you can do for the life of the piece. The cover takes the wear and the laundry, and the insert stays clean underneath it.

Covers are cut to the finished insert rather than the mattress, so a Queen cover fits a Queen insert with no bunching at the corners. Not every set is made in every size; the sizes offered for a particular cover are listed with the cover itself.

Not comfortably. The two systems are sized on different logic, and mixing them leaves either bunching or bare corners. Match the cover to the insert you own, and ask us if you are between systems.

It adds a layer of give between you and the mattress. A firm mattress feels softer without losing support, and an older mattress feels evener. It does not fix a sagging mattress, and it is not a substitute for one.

The same US sizes as the comforters, cut to the mattress rather than over it: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King and Cali King. Custom dimensions are made to order at no surcharge.

It can. A topper adds height, so if your fitted sheet is already snug, measure the mattress depth plus the topper before ordering more linen, and size up if you are close to the limit.

Yes, on any flat mattress. On an adjustable base, check that the topper is secured so it does not travel when the base articulates.

Shake it out when you change the bed, rotate it end to end every few months so wear spreads evenly, and use a protector. Air it rather than wash it.

Cotton, woven for softness and breathability rather than for a headline thread count. The finish is pre washed, so the linen feels relaxed from the first night rather than after a season of laundering.

Covers are cut to the finished insert: Twin 68 x 88 in, Twin XL 68 x 90 in, Full 80 x 90 in, Queen 90 x 94 in, King 106 x 94 in and Cali King 104 x 98 in. Check the sizes listed with each set, since not every design is made in every size.

Machine wash warm with like colors, avoid bleach and fabric softener, and tumble dry low. Softener coats cotton fibers and makes them less absorbent over time; the fabric softens naturally with washing instead.

Wash inside out, avoid direct sun drying and skip bleach, and the color will hold. The prints are chosen to age well rather than to look brightest on the first day.

It depends on the set. Each product page lists exactly what is included, whether that is shams, pillowcases or the cover on its own.

A wearable version of what we put in our bedding: an outer shell filled with the same nest-gathered Icelandic eiderdown. It is made to order, filled and weighed by hand, and inspected before it leaves us, exactly as a comforter is.

Because of the way the clusters behave. Goose and duck down clusters are smooth and slide past one another, so a jacket needs baffles to stop the fill drifting to the hem. Eiderdown clusters hook together, hold their place and trap more still air for their weight. That is why an eiderdown layer can be lighter and thinner than a goose down one and still hold the same warmth.

No. Eiderdown is never plucked from a bird. The female eider lines her nest with down from her own breast, and the down is collected by licensed farmers after the ducklings have hatched and left the nest. The same down, gathered the same way, goes into the jacket as into our comforters.

Yes. Every eiderdown piece we ship, garments included, is inspected and sealed by a licensed assessor, and the certificate names the farm the down came from. It is issued against your finished piece, which is why we cannot make it before the jacket exists. You can read more on our certifications page.

It is built as a real winter layer rather than a mid-season one, and it works over a shirt in the cold and under a shell in wind or wet. Because eiderdown breathes as your body temperature changes, most people find it comfortable across a much wider range than a synthetic jacket of the same loft. If you want a straight answer for the winters where you live, tell us and we will give you one.

Take your usual size for a jacket you will wear over a shirt or a fine knit; size up if you want to layer a heavy sweater underneath. Sizes are on the product page, and because each jacket is made to order we would rather talk it through first than have you guess. Write to us with your chest measurement and your usual size and we will tell you which one to order.

In snow and light rain, yes. In sustained rain, wear a shell over it. Down of any kind loses loft when it is soaked through, and eiderdown is no exception. If it does get wet, hang it somewhere warm and airy and let it dry fully before you fold or store it.

Air it rather than wash it. Hang it after wear, shake it out to redistribute the fill, and spot clean marks with a damp cloth. When it eventually needs more than that, use a specialist down cleaner rather than a domestic machine or a dry cleaner's solvents, both of which strip the natural oils that keep the clusters lofting. Store it hanging or loosely folded, never compressed in a stuff sack for months.

It compresses well for its warmth, which is much of the point of eiderdown. Pack it loosely rather than crushing it, give it a shake when you arrive, and it will regain its loft within an hour or so.

Allow three to four weeks for processing and then five to seven business days for shipping, the same as our other eiderdown pieces. The processing time covers filling, weighing and the assessor's inspection, which cannot be rushed. Shipping is complimentary worldwide, tracked and insured.

It follows the same terms as our other eiderdown pieces, because it is made and certified for you. Once the government certificate has been issued, the order cannot be returned or refunded as a matter of course. If you contact us within two days of certification, we will refund the order minus the certification fee and the payment processing fee. Talk to us before you order and we will make sure the size and the weight are right.

Write to us at [email protected] with a photograph. We would far rather repair a piece than replace it, and a garment filled with down this rare is worth mending.

Eiderdown is made to order: allow three to four weeks for processing, then five to seven business days for shipping. The processing time covers filling, weighing and the assessor's inspection, which cannot be rushed because the certificate is issued against the finished piece.

Non eiderdown items, including duvet covers, bed linen and cotton sets, are dispatched in one to two business days. Delivery after dispatch runs three to seven business days in the United States, five to ten in Canada, and five to twelve across the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Worldwide, to the destinations listed in our shipping policy, which covers the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India and more. If your country is not listed, write to us before ordering.

Standard shipping is complimentary worldwide, with no surcharge added at checkout. Named day delivery is offered at checkout where it is available.

Possibly, depending on where you are. US orders are shipped without sales tax at checkout but may attract local duty. EU, UK, Australian and Canadian orders may attract VAT or GST, duty and a handling fee on delivery, charged by the carrier rather than by us.

Yes. Every order ships tracked and insured, and the tracking number is emailed as soon as the piece leaves us. You can follow it on the carrier's own site.

Only within a narrow window, because each piece is made and certified for you. Once the government certificate has been issued, the order cannot be returned or refunded as a matter of course. If you contact us within two days of certification, we will refund the order minus the certification fee and the payment processing fee, which are already spent by that point. After those two days the piece is yours, and we would rather help you get it right than sell you something you regret, so talk to us before you order.

Thirty days from delivery for US and other regions, and fourteen days for UK and EU customers under their statutory right to cancel. Items must be unused and in resalable condition unless they arrived damaged or faulty.

Email [email protected] before you send anything back and we will issue a returns number. Returns that arrive without one are difficult to trace and slow to refund.

We do, if the item is faulty, damaged or not what you ordered. For a change of mind or the wrong size chosen, return shipping is yours. There is no restocking fee either way.

Refunds are issued within fourteen days of the return reaching us and passing inspection, back to the original payment method. You will get an email confirming it has been sent; how quickly it lands depends on your bank.

Email us within seven days of delivery with photographs of the item and the packaging. Damage in transit is covered, and we will replace or refund the piece rather than put you through a claim with the carrier.

Yes, before the piece enters production. Eiderdown moves into filling quickly, so write the same day if you can. Once the assessor has certified a piece, the terms above apply.

Yes, at no surcharge. Send your measurements, or the measurements of a piece you already own, and we will quote before anything is cut.

For non eiderdown items, yes, within thirty days and in unused condition. For eiderdown, an exchange is a new made to order piece, so the same certification terms apply.