Tuesday, February 5, 2013

How to Make a Duvet Cover



After my last post, which featured pictures of the master bedroom, I got many emails asking about my duvet cover.

"Where did you get your duvet cover?"
"Did you make the duvet on your bed?"
"Who made your bedspread?"

If you can believe it....I made it! Yep. This little semi-city gal, turned mountain dweller can sew a mean straight line. And with the help of my mom, (she rocks) I made this duvet cover about three years ago.

Finding the perfect comforter design in stores, or on-line, was an impossible task. After scouring the special order fabric at Joann Fabrics everyday for two weeks, I finally found the perfect pattern, and ordered it.



Now here is the kicker….I get bored easily. It's true.

 So, while I waited for my lovely fabric to come in, I worried that I wouldn't like it once it arrived.

Finally, two weeks later, the call came that my fabric was in. 

 {I almost totally forgot I ordered it since it took so long.
 I blame Mommy Brain.}

Luckily, no Miner adjustments were needed for this project. I still loved the pattern. 

 {I really should seek some professional help these issues.}

Anyway…here’s how you can make your own duvet cover.

Supplies Needed:
1 flat, king-sized sheet (72" wide x 84" long)….we have a queen mattress that is higher than an average mattress
5 yards of 54" width Fabric (5 yards will be 180" long)
Sewing Machine
Pins
Ruler

The fabric is only 54 inches wide, so we had to place two pieces on top of the sheet, side by side, to make it the correct width.



After you sew the two pieces of fabric together, sew a hem along the bottom edge of the fabric.




Next, pin the rights sides of the sheet and fabric together.

Sew around the 3 sides, leaving the bottom open. ( This will be the opening where you put in the comforter.)

Cut the top 2 corners at a diagonal above the seam line. (This makes the corners more crisp and pointy when it is turned right side out.)


Turn it inside out and put in your comforter.


Homemade Duvet in about 3 hours



There was even enough fabric left over to make the decorative pillow. 

Three years later, I am still in love this fabric. 

And I don’t know if you noticed this, but Thistlewood Farms {one of my favorite blogs} has the same fabric on some of her pillows.

Kindered spirits?
Great Minds?
Decorating Twins?

Who knows…maybe we both just have really good taste!


Sweet Dreams!






DIY Show Off

Liz Marie Blog


30 comments:

  1. Nicely done Trina!!!
    I've got two down comforters that I want to make duvets for {one's white white, the other a burnt orange, pretty but doesn't go well in the room} And I too can sew a mean stright line! :) Thanks for the tutorial!

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    1. Thanks, Kim! I hope it was specific enough. I didn't take pictures of the process as it was before my blogging days. Good luck with your project!

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  2. This is fantastic!!! I have a sewing machine, and my Mother was a seamstress....do ya think I even paid attention?! When she wanted me to help, I did, but I didn't get it! Boy, should have watched more closely! If I knew I was going to grow up and WANT those skills.....!! Anyways, this is awesome and makes me want to at least try a pillow first!! I did take sewing in HomeEc in HS, made a poncho and purse...that was it!! Thanks for sharing this! It looks great!

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    1. Pam, thank you! I used to help my mom sew when I was a kid. We made dresses for me. But I still needed her help for this one. We had to line up the pattern in the middle. It was a lot of fabric! Pillows are super quick...give it a try! I have a tutorial on pillows right here...

      http://afewmineradjustments.blogspot.com/2012/10/one-sweater.html

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  3. Few years back got my girls comforters for Christmas, never have found duvets anyone liked & could afford. This year I got both of them sewing machines & was wondering what the first lesson would be for them to learn & try out the machines. I've just got my idea!! Thanks so much!

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    1. Terrie, you are welcome! That will be a fun project for them. Especially picking out the design! If I can sew a straight line on 3 sides, anyone can! Ha!

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  4. It's often hard to find flat sheets sold by themselves these days. Most sheets seem to be sold in sets. Solution? Quilt backing! It's 108" wide (so your duvet is seamless), 100% cotton, washable and comes in a variety of colors and prints. You may even find some that you like for the duvet top. There's even a website that sells nothing but quilt backing - backsidefabrics.com . Another thing you can use are tablecloths. They're at least 60" wide. You can find some that are cotton/poly blends, linen and if you go to websites that sell linens for wedding receptions, they sell 100% polyester tablecloths that are up to 90" wide and very inexpensive.

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  5. Was this for a King or Queen size bed?

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    1. This bed is a Queen. The sheet was a king. We have a mattress that is deeper, so I wanted to make sure that the duvet was wide enough to be about to tuck into the side boards of the bed frame.

      Thanks for asking! I didn't even think to put that info in there!

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  6. I have a king size and want to do the same thing, but wanted to check the measurements! : ) thanks for replying. C

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  7. The only thing that I would suggest, if you do not want a seam in the middle of your duvet cover, is to cut one of your lengths in half and sew each half to the center piece.

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  8. So many great tips and you certainly make it look easy! Thanks so much for sharing, Trina!

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  9. Love the fabric cover, by the way what kind of fabric is this?

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    1. I am not really sure what kind of fabric it is...probably a cotton blend. It is a little stiff which made it super easy to sew. But it has gotten softer over time. I got it at Joann Fabric's, from the special order section.

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  10. Great fabric! That seam down the middle really doesn't stand out at all. This is a great option. Thanks for the share! Pinning it!

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  11. So if I need to make a duvet for a king sized bed should I get a California king fitted sheet? And what seam allowance did you use?

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    1. Great question, Megan! My mattress is thicker than an ordinary mattress (and I think a lot of them are thicker these days) and I have the side rails that I like to tuck the duvet into. So I used a king sized sheet to make sure it was wide enough to get tucked into the bed rails on the sides. If I were you, I would measure from one side of your mattress to the other side (where you want the duvet to end/fall). Then check the flat sheet sizes for the right one.

      I think it was a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Hope that helps!

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  12. Thanks for the tutorial. I've been meaning to make duvet covers for the comforters (I like to be warm) on the bed in my home's master bedroom, but have never gotten around to it. Now I will know what I am doing when I finally try it. Thanks again!

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  13. Great tutorial...I may be able to tackle this! Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thank you, Debbie! {and I checked out your blog...it is lovely!}

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  14. Beautiful fabric - worth waiting for! - and a fab tutorial.

    I would love for you to share this at Empty Your Archive - this week we are linking up posts on bed linen of all sorts, Alice @ Mums Make Lists

    http://mumsmakelists.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/empty-your-archive-27.html

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  15. Wow Trina! You did an awesome job on this! You rock!
    Leslie
    House on the Way

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  16. Hi! Found you via Hometalk. Wanted to say you did a great job pattern matching on that fabric!

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    1. Thank you so much! I can't take all the credit though. My mom helped {a lot} with the match up.

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