Throughout the year, the work of bedding makers is limited to making two to three mattresses or pillows a day. But only in winter, their business shoots up.

"Last winter we had more orders than in other nine months of the year combined," said Abul Kalam, an employee of a bedding shop at Green Road.

But cotton merchants, anticipating the 'boom period' for such bedding stores, have already raised the prices of cotton by Tk 4 to 5 a kilogram.

"Cotton is priced at up to Tk 150 a kilogram," said Kamrul Islam, owner of a bedding store at Basiruddin Road in Kalabagan.

As is known, karpash and shimul are the most demanded varieties of cotton, with the first having two to three varieties -- available at different prices. And shimul, used only to make the pillows, has only one variety with feather-like softness.

The original varieties of both karpash and shimul are not available in the market, hiking the prices of other varieties.

Making a mattress or quilt requires three to five hours and the bedding stores outsource workers to catch up with the demand for more products in winter.

"The more efficient we are in our work, the better as we can earn more money," Kamrul said.

The bedding stores sell mattresses, quilts and pillows, among others -- of which pillows are most popular all year round.

Quilts and mattresses sell mostly in winter in all sizes -- single, semi-double and double.