As an example: What is the reasoning behind not using duvets on babies under one year?

Babies that young may suffocate because they are not yet able to free their breath from under a duvet which they may accidentally pull over their head. Additionally, duvets tend to be just too warm for a babyand cause overheating for the same reason, as the baby may not be able to free itself from a duvet.

That’s why duvets are suspected to be one of the causes of SIDS.

There are lots of other discerning questions which new mothers-to-be in particular would like to know, whilst searching for the right crib bedding product for their loved one:

Fabric quality and stitching

While there are number different fabrics for manufacturing baby bedding sets, 100% cotton is still very beneficial.

The upside of the more traditional baby bedding items constructed from cotton, is that you can more easily control your baby’s temperature by adding and removing layers to suit.

Washer and dryer care

Make sure that whatever material you choose to use is durable because you'll be washing it a lot.  The length of time it is required may be short but the amount of wear your baby bedding will get while it is in use is considerable.

Buy sufficient sets of baby bedding to support your washing routine. Go for materials that will suit the temperature of your house. Polyester blankets for example may prove to be too hot for your baby in a warm house and acrylic cellular blankets are best suited to a cold room.

As a general baby bedding guide, for a warm room of around 25 degrees C you will only require a single sheet and for every drop of 5 degrees C you will need to add a baby blanket. However every baby is different so never make an assumption, always make sure your baby is neither too hot nor too cold.

Thread counts

….and other fabric properties are important, see below.

Certainly, the cute patterns of baby crib bedding are primarily for the parents to enjoy because at first, the baby doesn’t know the difference. They like colors, though. But what does the baby actually “need”?

For example, there is no need to get a pillow for your baby. Just like duvets, they aren’t safe, your baby can suffocate and they can’t really lift their heads enough to use one. It is found that babies sleep better when flat.

Having been involved in the textile industry for over 30 years, it is obvious to me that the quality of any baby crib bedding absolutely comes down to nothing other than the quality of the fabricused in creating the various sections of any baby bedding set. 

Unfortunately, to my shock and horror I found little information regarding the quality of fabrics used in the hundreds of crib bedding sets available online.

Poor product information and poor quality images make it even more frustrating to choose the right infant bedding product for your baby.

As a proud and considerate parent, you’ll certainly want the best for your baby. Choosing the perfect infant bedding for the nursery is one of the first steps you’ll have to make on the long process of yourbaby’s life. That’s why you should look at more than just the bedding patterns.

All baby nursery beddings are designed tolook “nice” and “cute”… but you should take a serious look at the real properties of the fabric.

If you know your stuff or if you are getting the correct information then there are a few relatively simple characteristics that you can consider when choosing your baby's crib bedding set.

For example:

Woven versus Printed Patterns

Baby bedding sets made up of patterned woven fabrics are far better in qualitythan printed fabrics. They are more durable (the pattern being anintegral part of the fabric), to repeated washing, something that you will discover as mother-to-be, or already know if you are expecting again.

The durability of a printed pattern is very much dependent on the amount of ink and precise technique used to imprint the pattern, both of which are not very easy to identify by simply looking at the fabric – however easily recognizable after a few washes by the fading of the print on your baby bedding item.

Embroidered Versus Printed Designs on Fabrics

Embroidered designs generally are far more beautiful, they are also much more durable.

Patchwork – Real or Printed

True patchwork is far superior to printed patchwork designs and is always more expensive. True patchwork shows different textures as well as different colors and patterns.

Premium Fabrics Versus Standard Grade Fabrics

Again this is an important factor behind the durability of your baby bedding set. Some of the factors to consider here are:

Thread Count – The higher the thread count of your crib bedding set the softer and more durable it will be. In general a thread count of 175 to 200 is best for baby bedding fabric. If higher then it can mean too soft a fabric which can be unsafe for your baby.

Pre-washed– Pre-washed fabrics are washed and dried before being incorporated into baby bedding sets, thereby minimizing subsequent shrinkage and color loss. Pre-washed fabrics are more costly to make.

And finally:

Brushed– Brushed fabrics are “sanded” before being incorporated into a piece to achieve a very soft feel to the fabric. Printed fabrics cannotgenerally be brushed, as the process would wear away some of the printed pattern.

Over the years, I have realized that the textile industry as a whole is guilty of using lower quality fabrics, in order to reduce their manufacturing overheads. However, they do not pass on that saving toyou and me. This is also common practice with many baby bedding manufacturers.

They take us as "mugs" and think we can get fooled by pretty patterns, so that they can get away by passing low quality baby bedding items to us parents.

Safe Versus Dangerous Material

Well,fortunately I can tell you that at least there is a very simple way of being able to identify the safety of your baby bedding set, and that is the Oeko-Tex Standard Certified Seal, which reads “Confidence in Textiles”, and speaks an international language of health and safety for fabrics.

Baby bedding products with Oeko-Tex certification means:

Only the safest, highest quality, most ecology-friendly textile material used in constructing your infant bedding items.

Oeko-Tex tests products for the following:
 
Allergenic and carcinogenic substances. Pesticides, heavy metals, and formaldehyde (all dangerous substances which can be harmful to your baby).

The testing program comprises more than 100 individual tests meant to simulate how potentially dangerous substances could be swallowed, inhaled, or transmitted through skin contact with your baby bedding products.

For us as parents, baby bedding products of superior natural quality should always be the first priority as we consider the best for our baby.

By thinking proactively and being alert, it is possible to find babybedding sets satisfying Oeko-Tex or comparative international quality-guidelines in order to provide safe, healthy crib bedding items for your baby.

A number of manufacturers have been working closely during the past few years with the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, and ASTM (The American Society for Testing and Materials). Many important policies have been passed during this time.

It is important that you as our valued shopper and customer do question the safety standards and ethics of all baby bedding manufacturers before you purchase. Learn what has been established in the way of a standard for infant's bedding. Learn what issues are on the table now, and what issues are being examined further. Investigate which companies have been active in this important milestone, and which have not.