What is Hand Side Stitching?
Only, or I should say,usually as there are exceptions, a pocket sprung mattress will have genuine hand side stitching on the side panels. Hand side stitching is a labour intensive process involving the perimeter rows of pocket springs to be directly attached (sewn) to the side panels of the mattress to give complete and absolute edge to edge support and prevent the side panels from bellying out. There is nothing better.
This image shows genuine hand side stiching (2 rows)
This image shows Machine side stitching (4 rows)
Bellying Out is the reaction you will get from the side panels of your mattress when you sit on the edge or even lie near the edge. The mattress sides bulge out because there will be nothing to prevent it from doing so.
Hand side stitching is reserved for only the top of range models from all manufacturers, it is not employed on cheaper models although a simulated hand stitch (machine stitched) is used to give the impression of hand stitching. Machine side stitching is only a decorative detail and does absolutely nothing to/for the construction of the mattress.
Read descriptions carefully - “Side stitched for added strength” – is NOT the same as “Hand Side Stitched for added strength“. Always bear in mind that if a mattress is genuinely Hand Side Stitched – it will definitely say so!
It is usual for only two rows of hand side stitching to be employed and this really is more than adequate, however in the case of the exceptional Harrison’s top of range models, four hand side stitched rows. More still with 5 rows of hand side stitching in Vi-Spring’s top of range ‘Magnificence’.
Is Hand Side Stitching worth it?
Absolutely. It may seem to be only a detail but the benefit to the longevity of the mattress is unmistakable. Hand side stitching is a time served craft that commands a premium day rate. An average two row output is about one mattress per hour that has to be added to the raw cost of a mattress. You can spot a well constructed mattress just by the very fact that hand side stitching has been employed. Like I said – this technique is not used on cheap mattresses.
There are a couple of manufacturing techniques that go towards supporting side panels to minimise bellying. Firstly, there are butterfly clips or butterfly springs. These are not directly attached to the springs (either pocket springs or cage springs) but connected to the top and bottom of the rod edge on the perimeter of the the spring units. These act as stabilisers and supports.
There is also the technique of clipping or stitching the side panels to the springs at intermediate points. This is better than not having anything at all but not worth paying too much extra for.
Thanks for the reply. For us, using the whole sleeping surface is very important, and I’m not really fussed as to how that is achieved, nor about sitting on the side of the bed. (Room can only take a King Size bed, but we both use a lot of bed width). In other words, adding more layers is of no real value/benefit if maximum width is not there. What would be useful would be a video showing the different kinds of edging and their impact of sleeping space. Trying in the shops I can only recall HSS or No HSS, and No HSS meant far less sleep space. Is there a middle ground?
Hi Stephen. I understand. The middle ground is the Foam Encapsulated Pocket Spring [FEPS] Read details here. We will shortly be offering models utilising this construction utilising Latex as opposed to memory Foam, and hopefully these will be offered online in about three to four weeks time.
I have emailed you my direct mobile number in order that you can voice your concerns direct and I can answer any further questions you may have. We do not contact you unsolicited. John and Ryan.
Your post above isn’t 100% clear on the benefits of Hand Side Stiching. My understanding is that if you have it, it prevents the bellying out (soft side of the bed), thus effectively making the complete bed surface usable. But can the same benefit be obtained from non hand side stitching? Given the importance of being able to use the full bed surface and not fall off the side, it seems odd that your 1500 origins model doesn’t have HSS – could it be added at extra cost?
Hi Stephen. Thanks for your comment. Hand side stitching is an aid to side support. It is the best form of edge support and is used on all high end mattresses. there are of course other options, obviously going down in, and relative, in terms of quality. Butterfly clips see here is an example of what can be used etc. Sealy use edge guard as a further example.
Hand Side Stitching is a time consuming process and so it would not be economically viable for you the consumer to have this on a low priced mattress. It would be far beneficial for to have more inside for your sleeping comfort than to have less inside and a supportive edge. It is also worthwhile knowing that Vi-Spring, one of the leading manufcaturers remove the perimeter bandind once the spring unit has been formed. Even though all of their models are HSS the edge support is certainly not rigid enough to withstand an average boidyweight compressing the sides down.
As a sidenote. We are aware that over the past year or so our site has become quite disorganised. Our new site to be launched in a few week will have more and extensive detail on this point as well as all the other points you need to know to make an informed decision. I am assuming this point is important to you and would welcome your take on it from a consumers point of view. Many thanks. John and Ryan.
Hello..
Just a thought on that.. the Harrison mattress you mention as being HAND stitched doesn’t actually say that on the website at all.. the only ones it says are hand stitched are rather perversely the vacuum packed Express range, not even their 9 million spring mattresses claim hand side stitched.. just side stitched.
Curious..
James
Hi James, Absolutely. Sometimes it is what is NOT said that rings alarm bells. In this case it seemed absurd that the vac packed model made an explicit claim of HSS and yet their high ends fail to fully clarify.
Another bugbear of ours in the same vein is the description given to upholstery listings. An example – “contains Wool, hemp and cotton” can be very misleading and can be read as:
1. Three individual layers.
2. One layer combining all three materials.
3. A layer of Wool and a blended layer of hemp and Cotton.
When you have to disect a description to the extent of understanding how the word ‘AND’ is used, as well as assuming the ‘COMMA’ infers a separate layer, it makes you wonder whether it is intentionally misleading or an incorrect assumption that the customer will know what is meant!
The example above is not an isolated case. Once you start to read mattress descriptions and listings you will soon see that this confusing use of the word ‘and’ and the use of a well placed comma, should provoke you to investigate further for complete and utter clarification. Whether you get it is a different matter altogether! John and Ryan
Update: Jame’s original questions and issues were lodged in the Pocket Springs section. Read Here.