With this type of mattress, individual springs are contained within individual cloth bags and so move up and down independently of one another to support the contours of your body.

Then they are covered top and bottom with various layers of different fillings, so you don't feel the supporting springs - simply the highest levele of comfort.

Finally a pocket sprung mattress is tufted to hold the springs in place.

Tufting means a length of tape inserted at intervals from the top of the mattress to the bottom with a long needle, about 40cms in length. The purpose of the tuft is

(a) To stabilise the padding in place so it does not move
(b) To stabilise the springs in place especially in the case of individual pocket springs, so they do not move out of place
(c) To compress both padding and springs, thereby giving a mattress a firmer feel.

Quilting is a different treatment to the sleep surface of the mattress. A quilted pattern is sewn through the top fabric or ticking and upper layer of final padding to bind the layer/s of padding together, to stop it moving and to improve the aesthetics of the mattress surface.

The count on a pocket sprung mattress refers simply to the number of springs in the mattress. The greater the number of springs, the firmer the support level.