Duvet Covers Are Easy to Make Yourself

Duvet covers are rather versatile when you think about it. If you want something that is really different for your bedroom, you may find expense is an issue in fancy, unique, well made fabric. Designer labels are pricey, especially if you aren't shopping during a white sale. The versatility of the duvet makes them worth it, and a necessity for a comforter, but you don't want to spend the money. Even an inexpensive comforter can be transformed into a stylish work of art with a unique duvet cover. They are great for your kid's rooms because they can easily be changed when the child grows.

A teddy bear duvet might be good one day but you blink and he's ready for a NASCAR print. You will save even more money if you make the duvet yourself. Even a novice can pull this off. Just think of a duvet as a giant pillow case with some sort of closure at the end. That doesn't seem too hard does it? A pillow case keeps the pillow clean as you sleep on it, and the duvet does the same thing. All types of bedding should be soft and supple since it is next to your skin.

You are going to be making this yourself, so don't scrimp on fabric. Find good quality fabric in a soft cotton or blend. I love flannel on the bottom and it is available in lovely colors and prints. It will be repeatedly washed so look for one that is yarn dyed. You can even find two sheets on a clearance table that are a steal. This would be the easiest because no cutting is involved. Wash and dry either fabric or sheets before you begin as this will curtail shrinking disappointments down the road.

If you haven't already purchased a comforter, think about how it will look on the bed. Do you want more of an overhang on the sides or is your partner prone to stealing the covers? If so, you might want to buy a size that is a little larger than your size of bed. The completed presentation might look more finished if you do so.

? Measure your comforter and add one and a half inches to the width and three and three fourths inches to the length allowing for seams and hems. If you have sheets, just look at the dimensions on the package.

? If you have chosen sheets, I would suggest not buying two of the exact same thing. Make things more interesting by buying complementary patterns and colors so it can be turned over for a new look. Don't be afraid to mix it up a little.

? If you have chosen fabric, you must piece it together as you won't find fabric with the width you need. Here is where creativity comes in. You can choose lots of matching patterns and colors and stitch them together to make the top of your duvet, just measure how big you want your "blocks" of fabric to be and go from there until you have enough for the top of the duvet. If this sounds like too much work, just use one or two fabrics and do the measuring.

? Place the wrong sides together and stitch with a quarter inch seam along the top sides. If a sewing machine is a foreign thing to you, there are many types of glue on the market that will do the job as well.

? You can create a fanciful closure by sewing large buttons at the top, folding it over and stitching ribbons to the other side of the top. Make sure it represents a nice fold and tie the ribbons to the buttons. Nothing could be simpler. For a more country look, take strips of torn fabric and stitch them where you placed the ribbons. They will fray, but that's the point. Your duvet cover will take on a shabbier chic look.

Let the creative side come out and decorate your bedroom in the style and color that you choose, and save money at the same time.

Bev Marshall is a successful freelance writer offering guidance and suggestions for consumers buying mattresses, baby bedding, bedding, bedspreads and more. Her many articles can be found at http://www.bedding-4u.com/Duvet%20Covers.htm . She gives information and tips at http://www.bedding-4u.com/ to help you save money, make informed buying decisions and common sense ideas for changing your life.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Israeli Armored Personal Carriers drive to the Gaza Strip, near Israel's border with Gaza, southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009.  Israeli tanks, infantry and aircraft hammered dozens of Hamas targets overnight Wednesday as Israel's leaders discussed whether to expand the 12-day operation meant to stop rocket fire into Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage. Despite the heavy fighting, strides were made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt.



President-elect Barack Obama gestures during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, where he introduced Nancy Killefer, not shown, to the newly created position of chief performance officer. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris, left, meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."



Workers put bullet proof glass on President-elect Barack Obama's Inaugural Reviewing Stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.



President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill  Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.



Vice President Dick Cheney waits for senators to arrive to administer re-enactments of the Senate oath, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009, in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday it would be a mistake for President-elect Barack Obama to scrap the Bush administration's terrorist-fighting policies designed to prevent future attacks on the U.S.



AP - A federal judge has ordered the arrest of an Alabama sheriff who was held in contempt of court for failing to adequately feed jail inmates while profiting from the skimpy meals.

This undated handout illustration provided by The Johns Hopkins University shows the massive 30-foot wingspan of the toothless pteranodon, left, was surpassed by that of Hatzegopteryx, right, at 40 feet or more. Pterosaurs, sometimes weighed more than 500 pounds, and yet they soared above the other dinosaurs. Experts couldn't figure out how  because no bird can get that big could get off the ground. A new study has figured out how they did it: By leaping into the air from all fours - unlike any other flyers in history (except the vampire bats). (AP Photo/Johns Hopkins University, Mark Witton)AP - The Jurassic version of jumbo jets — huge flying creatures weighing hundreds of pounds — is a mystery of dinosaur-era flight: How did something so big get off the ground? A Johns Hopkins University biologist thinks he has figured out the answer.



AP - An eastern Pennsylvania man may face up to 37 years in prison for tearing open a neighbor's door with a chain saw. Police say 34-year-old Robert Kane began sawing through the front door of Jamie Zaleski's apartment in Scranton while Zaleski and several friends ran out the back.

In this Nov. 30, 2008 file photo, New York Jets coach Eric Mangini looks up at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cleveland Browns have agreed to hire Eric Mangini as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)AP - Eric Mangini is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, a week after being fired by the New York Jets. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mangini will be introduced Thursday at a news conference at the team's headquarters in Berea. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Mangini's contract has not been finalized.



An Israeli soldier jumps off an armoured personnel carrier (APC) after crossing into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip January 7, 2009. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)Reuters - Israeli aircraft and tanks pounded the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and troops battled Palestinian guerrillas on the ground as U.S. backing for a proposed truce raised expectations of an end to the 12-day-old offensive.



President Bush greets President-elect Barack Obama at the White House, November 10, 2008. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, the result of an economic recession that has cut tax receipts and caused massive government bailouts of banks and automakers.



Senate-designate Roland Burris talks with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as Senator Richard Durbin sits in Reid's office on Capitol Hill, January 7, 2009. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.



United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger (C) addresses the media as UAW Vice-Presidents listen at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, Michigan December 12, 2008. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)Reuters - United Auto Workers bargaining teams are arriving this week in Detroit as the union gears up for negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, which are mandated to cut labor costs under a $17.4 billion federal bailout.



Eggs are stacked up at an egg farm in San Diego County, July 29, 2008. (Mike Blake/Reuters)Reuters - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning has made 388 people sick across 42 states, sending 18 percent of them to the hospital, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.



Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.

A door gunner on a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter keeps a watch on the terrain during a resupply mission in eastern Afghanistan December 25, 2008. (Bob Strong/Reuters)Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told Congress that a planned buildup of U.S. forces in Afghanistan could add $5.5 billion to U.S. war costs in the current federal fiscal year, officials said on Wednesday.



Bernard Madoff is escorted in a vehicle from Federal Court in New York, January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff should be jailed for violating a court order by mailing $1 million worth of diamonds, watches and other jewelry to friends and family, U.S. prosecutors told a court on Wednesday.



Smoke billows following an Israel air strike in Rafah near the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.(AFP/Said Khatib)AFP - Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.



A local worker controls a gas valve and the gas pressure at the gas-main center of FGSZ Natural Gas, in Vecses, Hungary. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.(AFP/Attila Kisbenedek)AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.




Color Help: Choosing Color Combinations

Choosing a color scheme can be a nerve-wracking business. For instance, I... Read More

How to Paint Your Own Artwork - And Save Money

Everyone wants to save money. Don't you? Well, painting your own, color... Read More

Planning Your In-Wall Speaker System

So you've finally decided to get your favorite music throughout your house.... Read More

Hot Tubs: Without A Shadow Of A Doubt Guarantee Relaxation When You Dip Your Feet Into The Water!

A staple of healthy outdoor living, hot tubs equals to water therapy... Read More

Hiring a Waterproofing Contractor

According to the National Association of Waterproofing and Structural Repair Contractors (NAWSRC),... Read More

Planning Permission Tips UK - What To Show And What Not To Show On Your application Drawings

Many successful business deals are the result of being a bit canny... Read More

Interior Design For Children

Interior design for children is one of the most fun, delightful aspects... Read More

Can You Buy Luxury Home Brands Online and Save - Worry Free?

Are you frustrated with the high prices you've been quoted for luxury... Read More

Discovering Fiberglass Roofing Panels for Your Roofing Needs

Roofs are an integral part of the house. The design of a... Read More

Help With Buying A New Ceiling Fan

When you are choosing a new ceiling fan there are a couple... Read More

Easy Renovations for Your Home

Renovating should be a fun and exciting process (really!). The key is... Read More

Concrete Cutting: Shedding Light On Your Basement Remodel

Basements or cellars (depending on which part of the country you are... Read More

Summer Is Here! Consider Tackling Key Home Improvement Projects While The Weather Is Good!

Summer time means barbeques, baseball, camping, and yes, Home Improvement Projects! As... Read More

5 Window Treatment Ideas To Improve Your Home

Coming up with interesting window treatment ideas that bring out the best... Read More

Modern Rugs Add Color, Texture, Interest and Space Definition To Your Room

Modern Design is sleek, stark, and spacious with angular and geometric lines.... Read More

Your Home is Your Symphony

"Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be... Read More

10 Things You Can Do Now To Prepare For Hurricane Season

The 2005 hurricane season is right around the corner and runs for... Read More

Repairing Putty Window Glass

Have you ever thought about fixing a broken window in your house,... Read More

Keeping Stone Floors in Tip Top Condition

I had a customer call me to make a complaint about the... Read More

What To Look For In USPS Mailboxes

High quality residential and commercial mailboxes are available in styles that meet... Read More

Building or Decorating Your Home Requires House Plans

There are some things to consider when creating plans for your home.... Read More

Replacement Windows and Double Glazing - Essential Buyers Tips

Welcome to my essential tips for replacemnent windows and double glazing buyers.... Read More

How To Completely Rehab Your Home In 10 Days!

This report is about taking a house and restoring it to an... Read More

Air Sanders: Forget Electric, Go Air!

An air sander is a common air tool often overlooked by most... Read More

Clearing the Air on What to Look for in an Air Purifier

If you are dedicated to improving the indoor air quality of your... Read More

How to Select Exterior Shutters

Installing exterior shutters is a relatively quick way to add style and... Read More

Interior Design For New Homes

When decorating or making decorating decisions for new homes, it is important... Read More

How to Modify Your Landscaping to Protect Your House from Burglars

Believe it or not, landscaping can be an important part of a... Read More

Window Dressing from the Outside Looking In

Window coverings are important to the overall look and feel of a... Read More

The Four Major Types of Air Filters

Hygienic air is essential to human life, and in this modern age,... Read More

The Bathroom - The Forgotten Area Of Your Home?

The bathroom in your home is the one room that has undergone... Read More

Interior Design For Babies

Babies, babies, babies-yes the topic of this article is based on interior... Read More

The Mighty Dust Mite and How To Deal With It

A Closer Examination of the Dust MiteThe dust mite's mouth parts are... Read More

Sliding Glass Door Replacement

This article is going to be about replacing an old sliding glass... Read More

Concrete Cutting - Adding a Pre-Cast Concrete Stairway Bulkhead to Your Home

Installing a pre-cast concrete stairway to your home's basement is actually quite... Read More

Tips To Improve The Quality Of Your Outdoor Space And Patio

It's easy to get overwhelmed trying to figure out just how to... Read More

Log Home Basics

As we start to research log homes, it quickly becomes apparent that... Read More

How to Build a Home Sauna - Three Important Questions to Answer Before Building

Considering that home saunas are believed to produce numerous health benefits and... Read More

Lighting and Your Emotions (Part One)

Do you feel unhappy in your home and you don't know why?... Read More

Making Space for Sacred Space

When you read a great inspirational book, prayer, or article, don't you... Read More

Small Cabin Plans - Finding a Great Log Cabin Plan Online

Small cabin plans - how do you find that special log cabin... Read More

How to Finance a New Kitchen?

Want to improve the look of your property? Want to add value... Read More

6 Saving Tips When Moving

Moving households, whether it is due to a job transfer or upgrading... Read More

10 Spring Cleaning Tips For Your Kitchen

The words "spring cleaning" can make the neatest person cringe. They mean... Read More

Remodeling Your Kitchen

Remodeling a kitchen is one of the best investments a homeowner can... Read More

Whats So Special About My Front Door?

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we... Read More

How To Give Your Home More Space

Have you been wondering how to free up space in your home?... Read More