A
quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of
batting or wadding, and a woven back, combined using the technique of
quilting, the process of sewing the three layers together. Occasionally, the three layers of the quilt are tied together using evenly spaced knots rather than sewn. This unique process of binding three layers of fiber together distinguishes quilts from other types of blankets, although in modern British English, an unquilted
duvet or
comforter may also be called a "quilt." Historically, quilts were frequently used as bedcovers; this use persists today, but in the twenty-first century, quilts are also frequently displayed as non-utilitarian works of art.