Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with duvet

Blankets just aren't the same...

Bergamot — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:56:03 -0800

What should I do with a wounded duvet? A few months ago my partner decided to do some housecleaning, and washed our lovely, heavyweight down duvet (I know, I know...). Apparently the fabric of the duvet got caught in the washing machine somehow, and tore open the duvet. I'm so glad I wasn't there to deal with all the soaking down, and especially glad it wasn't our washing machine! So now we've got broken bedding. The duvet was sectioned, and only one section--sadly, one in the middle--was emptied of its down, but it's still useless as it is. Is there anywhere I could go to get it repaired, or is this a very expensive write off? (We're in Edmonton, if it helps). If it's not reparable, is there anything else we could do with it?

Getting a duvet into a duvet cover without losing one's mind

Kat Allison — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:37:29 -0800

Duvet/comforter users! I know there are plenty of you out there, and I would like to join your happy (and warm) ranks, but I have one question: is there ANY way to get a duvet/comforter INTO a duvet/comforter cover that does not result in (a) an asymmetrical lumpy bunchy MESS, and (b) GIBBERING INSANITY?? I have spent the last twenty minutes or so crawling around inside my new duvet cover, blindly groping for corners of my new duvet and attempting to shove them into corners of the cover, crawling out again and shaking the whole thing, viewing the lumpy bunchy mess, crawling back in and resuming the blind groping, etc. etc.

There has GOT to be an easier, more efficient way to do this, or else everyone in duvet-loving Europe has VASTLY more patience and/or coordination than I do. Help??

A warm-weather comforter that's heavy and cool

muddgirl — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:37:20 -0800

My spouse is desperately looking for a "summer comforter", that is at the same time heavy and not-too-hot! We've tried a normal polyester comforter (heavy enough, a little too hot) and a duvet-style comforter from Target that was labeled "Warm" (certainly heavy enough, also a little too hot). On the other end, the single-layer woven blanket that I use isn't heavy enough. He hates having multiple layers of sheets/blankets, which is why I think a duvet is the way to go.

Now, I'm looking for the softest, thinnest duvet insert to see if that will satisfy him. But it seems like "heavy" and "breathable enough to be cool" are mutually exclusive. Does anyone have experience finding a good summer comforter? Is there a particular insert material we should be looking for? Is there a good way of evaluating the warmth of a duvet insert before we buy it?

Stinky duvet

pised — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:19:38 -0800

Why does this just-drycleaned duvet smell like garbage? Just picked up our duvet from the dry cleaner and it smells really off. Not dry-clean chemicals, but more like rotting garbage. I also just picked up a coat from the same dry cleaner and it smells neutral, so it's probably something to do with the duvet itself, which is feather-filled. It was my partner's originally and he can't remember if it was ever drycleaned before or what it would have smelled like then. (At any rate, it shouldn't smell like garbage now.) What could be the cause of this and how can it be avoided in the future?

We are going to take it back to the dry cleaner and see what they can do with it; we're just wondering what's going on right now.

Duvet

stenoboy — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:09:02 -0800

Potential buyer's remorse over a duvet - help me decide! I just ordered a Kauffmann duvet, king size (UK sizing), 13 tog. It cost me an arm and a leg (and probably a torso).

Also information here

I did some research beforehand and found that cheaper duvets (down-filled) don't last as long or the down starts coming out the duvet. I was wondering now if I've gone over the top with my "buy cheap, pay twice" belief and should've bought a cheaper one. Has anyone ever slept under one of these, and if so, is it worth the extra price? I'm now of the opinion that cheap bedding isn't worth it and a good night's sleep is the best thing you can do for yourself. I'm just worried now I've gone too far in this!

Feathers everywhere, and poking me to boot!

dancestoblue — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:04:24 -0800

So I had a regular sized (full) feather bed, I'm real tall, I thought to take the feathers out of the bed and put them into a king sized duvet and -- Viola! A king sized feather comforter! A good plan. So I bought the duvet, dumped the feathers in, and the thing is warm. But now, feathers large and small are poking through, and poking ME, there's feathers everywhere, I look like a chicken coop landed on me. So. It was a good plan. I intended to sew the thing closed and sew every six inches, as is done with a quilt, to keep the feathers/down from bunching up too badly. But the thing is poking the hell out of me, it's like sleeping with a porcupine (I imagine) or a prickly woman (experience). Is the fabric usually used for these things different, somehow tighter woven? The duvet *seems* as tight as the material that held the feathers/down before. Does this whole thing just need to go to the dumpster? How do 'they' make these things so the feathers won't come through? How do I do so? I'd love to have this thing to sleep under but so far it's just a mess...

Bedroom tips needed!

mikewas — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:57:00 -0800

Last night I slept in my own bed after several days in the road and realized that the hotel beds were much more comfortable and rejuvenating than my own. How can I replicate the hotel-bed experience at home? My mattress and/or box spring is about due to be replaced, so I'm more than willing to do that. Also looking for tips on the frame and bedding (sheets, blankets, duvet, duvet covers, and pillows... especially duvet and pillows). What should I look for, including specific brands? How often should I expect to replace the various components?

Tips from hotel professionals are especially appreciated.

Cheaper duvet cover

lemonade — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:41:27 -0800

I have been wanting to redo the bedroom in blue and chocolate brown, and I really really love this duvet cover, the king-size sky version, although I wouldn't mind if the blue was a few shades darker. Is there something similar but cheaper out there? And maybe made of a sturdier fabric...

Duvet-to-bed ratio

like_neon — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:57:35 -0800

Two single duvets on double beds in Copenhagen. Why? Is this a local thing? My boyfriend travels to Copenhagen (from UK) about once a month, and about 80% of the time the hotel room has a double bed with two single duvets (these are different hotels). He has asked me to ask the hive about this bed setup.

- Is this local to Copenhagen/Denmark or are there other countries that make their beds this way?
- Is this just for hotels? Do domestic homes in Denmark make their beds this way?
- WHY?

Anecdotally, he would be quite happy if it were a single duvet on a single bed, but when he finds two singles on a double there's no doubt I'll hear about it when he comes home. :)

IKEA duvet cover confusion

smackfu — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:39:57 -0800

Am I missing something with my IKEA duvet cover? Is the slit at the bottom supposed to just hang open messily? It looks nicer in the catalog photos.

Modern duvet covers?

mendel — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 08:12:08 -0800

Where can I find reasonably-priced modern duvet covers along the lines of this one? Nyxie (now Mrs. mendel!) and I want to start sleeping British-style -- with a fitted sheet on the mattress and a duvet but no top sheet. But this means we want more than one duvet cover, so we're shopping for another.

Right now we have a great but discontinued Ikea one that is in the same sort of style as Amenity's "Twig", with a stylized brown-and-white "tree" on a similar background. We really prefer this sort of design to a repeating pattern, but $400 for a duvet cover is more than we want to spend.

The bedroom is oak and aluminum with white walls and a lot of right angles so we're pretty much wide open to colors and need some color and curviness in the duvet.

Can anyone recommend reasonably-priced sources of modern duvet covers, or specific covers you think we'd love? I know I've seen stuff on mightygoods and Funfurde and MoCoLoCo but I can't seem to find them now.

Sleeping with the enemy

-harlequin- — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 10:33:33 -0800

How do you eliminate fleas in a bed? I'm under the vague impression that flea-killing products have limited to no success against the eggs (is this correct?), which hatch 3 weeks later, so what is Standard Proceedure? Put the matress in a plastic bag for a month with some flea product inside and sleep on the couch? I have no experience with fleas. My reason for thinking there are fleas in the bed is that ever since my girlfriend let her cats sleep on the bed in the midst of a heatwave-induced flea epidemic last summer, I've periodically noticed insect bites in the mornings. Cats were banned from bedroom, but it's been months now and I still get bites. They're not going away on their own.

Any firsthand success stories?

Do flea bombs work for eggs in beds?

The bed has a duvet, any duvet-treatment tips? (I really wouldn't know where the fleas are, just that they're somewhere).

Do British people use sheets?

Mayor Curley — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 14:07:08 -0800

Brits: Do you use sheets and blankets? Or does everyone use a duvet and cover now? Any ballpark guess on percentages of the population using each?