Doing it yourself means that almost everything in your home is custom-made. Custom-made because you know what you want and you want what you want, and when you can’t find what you want, you make exactly what you want.

This week it’s bedding. The problem with making bedding yourself is you can almost never find fabric that’s appropriate for bedding, that’s wide enough to cover the bed. You inevitably have to join the fabric, but fret not, because there’s always an elegant solution to such problems. Colour blocking is quite popular these days, both in clothing and in home decor, so you can find complementary colours in your colour scheme and join these and use for your bedding.

Today we’re making a duvet cover. This is a good time to get really creative and practical and make your duvet cover reversible, so you get two looks from the same piece. So find two different colours or patterns that work with your room scheme but yet are different enough to get two completely different looks. In my case I used a solid and a plaid for the main side of the duvet, and was lucky enough to find a luxurious 90-inch-wide damask fabric at Joseph’s for only $450 for the reverse side that will work well when you really want a formal option. If you will be using the duvet often to cover with instead of to dress up the room, then you will need to use a soft, cool and comfortable fabric that you would like to feel against your skin; so for the underside of your duvet, a great option is to use a king-sized flat sheet (which is wide enough to cover your bed) with a high thread count. It can still be beautiful and work as a reversible as well.

Mattress dimensions are:

o Twin – 39″ X 75″

o Full – 54″ X 75″

o Queen – 60″ X 80″

o California King – 72″ X 84″

o King – 76″ X 80″

Duvet dimensions are approximately:

o Twin – 68 x 88 inches

o Full/Queen – 88 x 88/90 inches

o King – 104 x 88 inches

So if you are using a standard duvet, you will have to ensure your duvet cover dimensions match so it will fit.

If you have to join fabrics to make your duvet, then:

1. Use the main fabric to cover the top of the mattress (width and length), and the accent fabric to cover the drop (sides/mattress height). Most available fabrics you will find will be 54-60 inches wide, which is perfect to cover the width of most mattresses and yardage will cover the length. Even for the king, the fabric can just be centred.

2. Cut your main fabric to cover the width and length of the mattress

3. Cut the strips of your accent fabric that will cover the drop (sides/mattress height) of your duvet. Mattress heights vary between seven and 15 inches, so it’s your mattress height plus seam allowance that you have to bear in mind when cutting the width of the strip (let’s say 15). Cut two strips for the sides measuring your mattress length plus 15 inches that will cover the bottom drop, and one strip for the bottom drop, 15 inches wide and the same width as the main fabric 54-60 inches. I was covering a daybed so I needed four strips to cover all four sides of the bed, so if doing the same you will need two of each strip.

4. Stitch strips to top and bottom of main fabric

5. Then stitch long strips along the sides

6. Place the two sides of the duvet together (right sides facing) and stitch three sides shut, leaving one end open to which you will add buttons and buttonholes or a zipper for closure. You can add a decorative piping cord, which you would place between fabrics before stitching.

NB. Loops or buttons can be added to the inside corners of your duvet cover to which you will attach your duvet to prevent slipping.

This is a fairly simple project that you can do to add a nice custom touch to your home. So have fun with this one, and check back next week to see other pieces to complete this bedding set.