Make Your Own Duvets

With the winter season quickly making its way towards us, bringing much cold, wet and uncomfortable nastiness with it, perhaps it is time to invest in a new winter blanket?

Of course, cheap winter duvets from the bedding company are simply great, but what if you fancied being a little creative in the small amount of time before winter?

If you find yourself with a little bit of material alongside a cupboard full of tools, why not make your own? Like many things in life, it’s actually easier than you think!

But what will you need to make a homemade blanket?

• Roughly ten yards of fabric. With this in mind however, mistakes can (and probably will) be made, so it is a good idea to buy a little more of this than you need.
• A long role of tape measure that will exceed the ten years of quilt. Perhaps even a yard stick will serve this purpose.
• Sharp scissors, preferably fabric scissors rather than your average kitchen ones.
• Straight pins, but keep them out of reach of children, and by all means, pick them up off of the floor if you drop them!
• A sewing machine. If you don’t own one then this could be the perfect opportunity to treat yourself!
• An iron and ironing board!

What next?

It is time to start looking for the perfect material for your cosy winter blanket. But what material should you choose? Like any bedding that you buy online or in store, it’s best to find something that suits you, such as machine-washable cottons or cotton-linen blends. If you’re unsure, the next time that you go shopping, take a look to see what fabrics are being used there!

One great tip is to use two differing types of fabric for the cover, with one on either side. This therefore means that you will in effect be providing yourself with two duvets for the price of one!

Once that you have your lovely new material, it is time plan out the composition of your duvet! Of course, making a child’s duvet will probably use one or two panels of fabric, if however you’re planning to make a double or king sized duvet, then be prepared to sow multiple panels of fabric together.

Cutting a three panelled duvet is often regarded as a better option than having a two piece duvet as this will generally provide a nicer looking duvet; so you will have one large strip of material, with two smaller ones which run down alongside it.

This means that if your centre panel is 40” wide then each side panel will need to be 20” wide. Whilst doing this however, make sure to cut 41” for the centre and 21” for the sides as those extra inches will be covered up during the stitching process.

Now it is time to sew!

To start with, sew your three pieces together, French seams using a sewing machine is recommended, finishing them both on the inside and outside of the duvet.

Once that you have sewn and steamed the blanket closed, you may want to use buttons for the bottom of the duvet so that you can place within, a nice and thick duvet to keep you warm in the coldest of nights.

This post is endorsed by The Bedding Company