Open Coil Mattresses
An open coil spring system is made by inter-twining coils of high tensile steel which are linked together by a tighter coil of steel running either horizontally or vertically. The 'spring unit' then often surronded by a steel rod to hold the diameter firm.
The term 'gauge' refers to the diameter of the spring and how tightly it is coiled. The tighter the coil, the firmer the feel of the mattress.
15 gauge is quite soft with 12.5 gauge being fairly firm in feel. This frame is then placed within the base of the mattress frame and secured with stitching.
The frame is filled with a variety of fillings which will differ according to the manufacturer and the quality of the mattress.
These fillings range from natural fibres such as pure wool and lambswool, mohair, silk, cashmere and even latex, to man made fibres such as reflex foam and memory foam and supersoft white fibres which all have their own brand names like 'superluxe' and 'ultraluxe'.
The mattress is finally overlaid with more layers of fillings placed on top of the spring unit to create a comfortable sleeping surface, again the choice of layers depends on the manufacturer and the luxuriousness that is being achieved.
These fillings are secured using either a stitching method called 'micro-quilting' or 'panel quilting' which holds the fillings in place running a stitch across the surface of the mattress in a pattern creating a flat surface, or by 'hand tufting', which involves pinning the fillings at specific points on the surface of the mattress with a long stitch that runs from the surface down through the inside of the mattress to the core of the spring unit, they look like buttons pressed onto the mattress and create a wavy surface.
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