How To: Vintage Sheet Duvet Cover

It's Spring here in Australia, and whilst I was photographing the spray painted lamp project a couple of weeks ago, I realized it was time to brighten up the bedroom with a new duvet cover.
I have a king size bed which is great (yes, I'm very lucky), but it can be hard to find bed linen to fit which doesn't cost a fortune. Even if I had the budget to spend on my favorite designer linen, many don't go up to king size anyway.
So, as usual, I thought I'd make my own from some queen size flat sheets left from my old bed. It's not complicated to make a duvet cover, the difficulty comes in dealing with the masses of fabric involved.  I've outlined the basic way to make a duvet cover in any size and a handy link to help you out with your measurements.


This guide to bedding sizes is really handy, and as you can see, you can use a flat sheet from the bed size down to the cover you'd like to make. So double bed sheets make queen size covers and queen sheets make king size covers. It was a little hard to find two queen sized vintage sheets (most are doubles), so I used a vintage sheet for the top, and a plain (newer) queen sized sheet from my linen press for the bottom.

You will need:
2 flat sheets
3 buttons
sewing machine and general sewing supplies
fringe (optional)

How to:
Before you cut anything, measure your duvet to check the size matches with the standard measurements. Then measure again. (I actually miscalculated by 10cm and then had to re sew a panel to an edge Doh!)

Measure and cut:
Top = desired measurement + 1cm (1/2") seam allowance + 17cm (7") for fold over.
Bottom = desired measurement + 1cm (1/2") seam allowance + 10cm (4") for hem

1. Bottom panel, fold bottom over twice where indicated on dotted line in diagram them hem.

2. Pin around edges with right sides facing each other, then stitch as per diagram.

3. Turn inside out, and mark place for 3 evenly spaced buttons/button holes at opening.
create button holes on back side (bottom) of cover and sew buttons on front (top) of cover.

4. Adding fridge is optional. I was lucky enough to find several meters of this double sided vintage trim which I sewed around the the sides and bottom edge of the duvet cover. Don't add fringe to the part where your head goes.

I've purposely not included any measurements so you can adapt this project to any size cover, I made Emma's toddler size duvet cover last year using exactly the same method. You will just need to do a few easy calculations, and I suggest writing them down (my memory was not great on this one).
So how much money did I save? Lots! Plus I now have an awesome one of a kind duvet cover that adds just the right vintage style to my bedroom.

You may also like: Make a Toddler size Duvet from a Single bed duvet