If you’ve ever seen a mattress in a cartoon, you may have noticed they’re always drawn with a grid pattern of tiny buttons on the surface. In fact, these tiny divots are a defining feature on a “classic” mattress. Drawing a mattress without them is like drawing a zebra without stripes - it’s just missing something.
Case in Point: Spongebob Season 4 Episode 62a
What if we told you those tiny divots were actually a vital part of your mattress’s comfort and longevity? These tiny buttons, called tufts, aren’t just for decoration. Choosing a tufted mattress, especially a hand tufted mattress, ensures you can enjoy your sleep surface for years to come. We’re here to explain why.
What are mattress tufts?
Mattress tufts are the small divots in the surface of a mattress that show where the layers were bound together. Each divot is usually marked with a small “button” or knot of some sort, called a “rosette.” Tufts are symmetrically placed in a uniform pattern, usually a grid, which creates that traditional “feel” in a mattress surface.
Tufting, the verb, is the process of sewing the layers together to create these divots, or tufts. Tufting is traditionally used in mattress design to ensure the layers stay put for long periods of time, preventing internal shifting of materials over the years.
Mattresses that are made only of high density foam or just one layer of materials are not tufted as there is not enough material to shift. However, memory foam mattresses tend to have their own issues unrelated to materials shifting, like sleeping hot, causing the sleeper to sink into the mattress and a lack of edge support. Mattresses that provide both comfort and support, like hybrid innerspring mattresses, should always have a tufted design.
Why are mattress tufts important?
Mattress tufts are key to uniformity in a mattress surface. Without them, there’s no way to prevent materials from shifting, which leads to mattress lumps, sagging and uneven surfaces over time. The chance of this happening increases with use, but with tufting, you can enjoy your mattress at peak performance for a longer time.
Tufts should be evenly spaced on a mattress surface without compromising the surface comfort of the mattress. Spacing tufts a few inches apart on a grid is ideal. Place tufts right next to each other and suddenly you’re sleeping on a surface of divots and hard buttons.
Benefits of tufted mattresses
To summarize, there are three key benefits of tufted mattresses:
- Maintain design and shape: Tufting a mattress means the materials encased in the outer layers of the mattress are compressed and stitched together, making it much harder for them to shift around over time and cause lumps, sagging and unevenness on the sleep surface.
- Better sleep: Without lumps and sagging becoming an issue, your mattress stays even and comfortable. The small “pockets” created by tufts also tend to enhance comfort by providing support. Simply put, a better mattress contributes to better sleep.
- Long lasting: Tufted mattresses are designed specifically to last longer by compressing materials firmly in place. If you’re going to invest in a mattress where you’ll spend 7-9 hours per night every night for the foreseeable future, you want it to last as long as possible. There is no other mattress design that has such a significant impact on durability and longevity.
What are hand tufted mattresses?
Traditionally, and in large scale operations, tufting is done by a machine which drives a needle through the mattress surface and inserts a tufting strap at pre-selected intervals. In smaller, higher quality operations, however, mattresses are usually tufted by hand.
Hand tufted mattresses are those made by an actual person joining mattresses layers manually. That person will individually insert durable string fasteners completely through the mattress in all locations, spread evenly across the surface.
Tufting is a time consuming process in general, but even more so when done by hand. It cannot be emphasized enough that, in this industry, hand tufting is a mark of high quality. Hand tufting is even referred to as a “lost art” because so the overwhelming majority of mattress manufacturers use a machine.
Are hand tufted mattresses better?
In the mattress industry, hand tufting is an indicator of luxury and extremely high quality. The process of hand tufting requires extra manpower and labor hours, but guarantees longevity beyond machine tufting.
There are several benefits to hand tufted mattress that make it a true indicator of quality.
- Work done by a professional
Machines cannot be taught what a quality tuft looks like. A professional who has been tufting by hand for years has an eye for the level of care and attention to detail required to create a sturdy, well-placed tuft that penetrates all layers of the mattress.
- Increased comfort
Machine-made tufts can feel less firm and more prone to breaking or shifting over time. These cheaper tufts are shallow and can feel uncomfortable compared to a well-placed handmade tuft.
- No glue required
Chemicals found in mattresses are a hot-button topic these days as so many manufacturers cut corners and costs with cheaper, toxic materials. Hand tufting eliminates the need for the extra glues required for machine tufting.
They also won’t hold the filling in place as long as hand tufting can.
- No fake, surface-level effects
The purpose of tufts is to hold mattress filling in place for longer. Many machine-made tufts are designed only to create the quilting or surface-level tufts just for the effect. Remember earlier when we said that mattresses without tufts are like zebras without stripes? Adding in surface-level tufts makes the mattress “look right,” but doesn’t truly compress and join together the layers for long-lasting comfort and support.
What is the best hand tufted mattress?
Big Fig Mattress is immensely proud to be one of the few remaining mattress companies made in the United States that uses hand tufting on every mattress we create.
Every Big Fig Mattress is hand-tufted by skilled craftsmen in our factory. Additionally, as part of our tufting process, we pre-compress the entire mattress - further conditioning our spring system and foam layers to reduce the potential for body impressions.
Something we’re even more proud of? You may have guessed it, but with all the time and effort hand tufting requires, it tends to drive the price of a mattress up sky high. We’re talking $2,500 or more. Due to the high cost of hand tufting, it is found on very few mattresses and is unheard of in the Big Fig’s price range.
We work hard to deliver a high quality mattress designed from the ground up to meet the needs of bigger figured sleepers without overcharging. We also offer several financing options through our partners at Bread and Katapult so you can sleep now and pay later.
Trust us, once you’ve slept on a high-quality, hand-tufted mattress, you won’t settle for anything less. Give it a try and test drive the Big Fig Mattress in your own home for 120 nights risk free.
Click here to learn more about Big Fig Mattress’s 120-Night Sleep Trial. No risk, no pressure – if you don’t love the Big Fig, we’ll come pick it up for free and give you a full refund of your purchase!
