5/28

Make An Easy Duvet Cover With Any Flat Sheet!

Bedroom, Crafts, D.I.Y. Project, DIY, Home Decor, Sewing
By Laura Gummerman

It doesn’t take long for me to want to make a few tweaks or adjustments in a room once I’ve “finished it,” and when it comes to a bedroom, getting a new bed frame every few years can get expensive. So it’s usually a much better idea to switch out some pillows or a duvet instead! Now I don’t know about you, but I tend to find that I like a lot more sheet options/patterns then I do duvet covers. So it occurred to me that it’s probably pretty easy to make a duvet cover out of a few flat sheets that you like, and it turns out that it is!

Supplies:
-2 flat sheets that are at least 1″ larger than your comforter dimensions (either the same pattern or 2 different ones) I used the flat sheet from this set)
-sewing machine
-straight pins and fabric scissors
–snap setter and snaps
-1/4″ grosgrain ribbon for ties to keep comforter in place (optional)
–comforter

First, spread out your two flat sheets (right sides together) on the floor. You may need to move some furniture to do this as it can take up quite a bit of room! If they haven’t been washed yet, make sure to wash them to account for any shrinking that may happen before you make the duvet cover. Line up the tops of the two sheets (the larger hemmed side that you usually fold down over your blanket near the head of the bed) and this side will end up being the side of the cover that opens. Run your hands over the sheets to flatten out any wrinkles. Measure how big your comforter is that you’ll be putting inside your duvet cover and mark out with straight pins or an erasable pen a rectangle that is 2″ taller and 2″ wider than your comforter. Just make sure to think about which way your pattern is running if you have a patterned sheet.  Lay your comforter down on top of the sheets in your marked area to make sure that it will fit and then cut out your rectangle with scissors. Pin all the way around your rectangle 1/2″ from the edge, but on the edge with the large hem that will be the side with the opening, leave the middle 1/3 of that side open. Sew around your cover with a 1/2″ seam allowance, leaving that designated section open.

As an optional move, you can sew the middle of a 6″ long grosgrain ribbon to each inside corner of your cover (just seal the ribbon edges with a lighter first) and sew a small ribbon loop onto each corner of your comforter and that way you can tie the comforter to each corner and your comforter will always stay in place in the cover!

Clip your corners (cut off the tip of the triangle at each corner) and turn your cover right side out. Press flat with an iron. Fold in and press flat the section you left open as well. Use a snap setter and snaps to attach snaps every 6″ or so across the opening so that you can close that side when then cover is in use. Once you’ve done that, your cover is done and you can add in your duvet or comforter!

Pretty simple, right? I love the pattern with fun details like those pretty gold side lamps too. You can either pick two sheets with the same pattern/color so the duvet is the same on both sides or choose one pattern side and a complimentary solid color for the other or two complimentary patterns so you can flip the duvet over whenever you want a change! I use mine with the comforter inside in the winter and just the cover without it in the summer as a thin blanket on top of our sheets. Overall, this was a great way to make a custom duvet cover that can also be reversible for two different looks to change things up whenever you want! xo. Laura

Credits// Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

14 Comments

  • My next project!!
    Several years ago I made your rope rug and loved it!!

    Reply

  • What a fab idea! I am not the best at sewing but I feel like with a little bit of help, I could do this! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  • I did this, but I wasn’t as clever as you. I measured the duvet, whereas you laid the duvet on top of the sheets. It is not easy to measure a duvet.
    However, I was thrilled with the results. We had been running around the south of France buying up antique embroidered linen and cotton sheets (by definition organic, because they predated chemicals). Often, somebody would want to sell us a “lot” or bunch of sheets together “for a good price.” But some would be less than 100% perfect, which was what we needed for our AirBnB. However, I took the ones with imperfections and made duvet covers for us, because we don’t care if there’s a little mark at the bottom or whatever. They’ve been washed in boiling hot water with bleach, so they are clean as clean can be. Anyway, they feel SO much nicer than the stuff you buy in stores today. I love them! I also made pillow cases–I can cut around any holes or spots, and use only the parts that are pristine. And the rest become rags for cleaning.

    Reply

  • How funny, in UK there are millions of duvet covers available quite cheaply in every home store, supermarkets etc. But patterned sheets until quite recently I would say unheard of, I’ve only really started noticing them available in the last few years and even then quite rare. You’ll have to do a tutorial for the UK how to make 2 patterned sheets out of a duvet cover 🙂

    Reply

  • … and when you sew them yourself, you can sew them the Scandinavian (or whatever) way, leaving the side seam 10 cm open at each top corner. This will make making the bed a lot easier — at least that’s what some of us think! 🙂

    Reply

  • This is the cutest idea and so simple to make! I would love to try adding some embroidery on that to spice it up and make it feel like new!!Maybe a colour accent 🙂

    Reply

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