Peckish

Ok I have a question about split kings. This is where you use 2 twin mattresses instead of one giant king, right? I've been wanting to do this for YEARS because my husband is a back sleeper and prefers soft, and I'm a side sleeper and prefer less soft. I also think it would make it easier and maybe cheaper to replace the mattresses when needed. My husband thinks it's a crazy idea. None of my friends have split kings. Can you tell me about your experience? Benefits, drawbacks, etc?

Gemm

I can only speak to my parents' experience, but they had their king bed split for all of my conscious memory. I just asked and my mother's comment is: "Sharing the bed is all very well for a while, but a good night's sleep is priceless. And you're still together." My father died 30 years ago but my mother still sleeps in her half of that split king bed (new mattresses, of course). I'm thinking it was a good call if she's still happy with that setup.

mermaid

When we upgraded to king bed, the bedding came with split mattress AND springs. The mattresses are wonderful..they are latex and flip to firm on one side, to soft on the other. I have back issues and I prefer the firm side, yet it molds to my body and very comfortable. However, I still cover all with king as pad, and sheets. Underneath it all, the mattresses are individually enclosed in water resistant covers. We love our bed.

WesternWilson

Kudos to you for recycling and thrifting....but can I just make one point on the idea of repurposing other items as batting? I spend a whole lotta hours, care and attention in constructing my quilt tops, including charity tops. There is no way I am going to do that using less than ideal materials if I can possibly help it. And that includes all the things that go into finishing a top...backing and batting, quilting.

So while there may be wonderful ways to recycle old bedding etc., unless I am *certain* they will not compromise the quality of my work, or drive me crazy as I try to get the recycled item to "behave", I am not going to use it.

I totally respect that budget constraints are real and batting is expensive, so recycling other things can be a necessity. Hats off to the quilters who do this! I have a treasured old quilt made from wool suiting scraps, batting is two old wool blankets....all my great grandmother had at hand. But she would have loved the fabrics and tools we have to work with today.

Sandra-P

This is our second split king. It is two XL twins. We love it because I have to go to sleep earlier than hubby and he can have his side up for reading while mine is down for sleeping. I dont think we would go back to any other way. We just replaced our 10 year old bed at our condo with it.

SusieQOH

Peckish, you just reminded me- when I babysat in high school the parents had a split bed like you mentioned. I don't know if they even had King sized beds then. (the dark ages haha)

Gemm

Western Wilson - I appreciate your observations and agree with them as far as it relates to what I might call "real" quilts - those that are intended to be appreciated by humans for beauty, warmth, and love. What I'm envisioning is something that will probably be intended for a dog bed or a cover for the back seat of the car (also for a dog), which is why I'm kind of keen on the idea of its being a little thicker and not a waste of good fabric or batting as it's likely to get dirty very quickly. I'd still like it to look nice but I am also hoping to perhaps use it as an opportunity to try something new - maybe a technique or pattern I'm not sure will be successful on my first try, or a sampler using mismatched orphan blocks (considering I've only picked up quilting again during the pandemic, I seem to have SO many of these!).

Connected to this, it's interesting (and I know that this topic has been dealt with on other threads) but I was recently looking into opportunities to donate quilts in my area and have been quite shocked at how picky some charities are in terms of what they are willing to accept. Some are obvious (no stained/damaged fabric, no embellishment, flannel backing for NICU quilts, etc.) but some seemed a bit extreme. I was jumping around all over the place but one site gave not only VERY specific measurements but said the fabric also had to be new, unwashed and all fabric needed to be of the exact same quality/weight. I can't remember if it was the same site, but there was also a comment that pieced backs would not be accepted. It seems sad that they've obviously received stuff that is so not up to scratch that they've had to go so far in outlining their "rules." :-(