Duvet or comforter cover help requested

March 12, 2016 10:10 AM

Finally found the perfect-weight comforter in a tropical wool, but it sheds like crazy.

The comforter measures 92" x 92" and none of the duvets turning up via online store searches are that size. (88" x 88" or 88" x 92-96" or 90" x 94-6" or 92" x 96," yes.) Am I just looking in all the wrong places? Is this comforter actually a standard size, and it's a given that one sizes up somehow when selecting a cover? The tag reads "Natural Home/Australian Wool" and the comforter is 'exclusively' for sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I'd like to spend less than $100 on an all-cotton cover (percale, ideally, if that will corral the shedding, to keep the current weight and warmth) and I'm in the US.

Thanks in advance.

posted by furtive_jackanapes to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: The easiest thing to do if you want a cover the same size might be to buy a 92x96 one and ask an alterations person to shorten it for you. It should be a matter of a single seam and trimming the excess; I'd be very surprised if it ran you more than $20 even in an expensive city.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 10:19 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Duvets and covers are notorious for a lack of size standardization so you may never find a duvet cover to exactly match your comforter. An alternative you might want to explore, especially since you want an all cotton duvet cover, is to purchase two flat sheets that are larger than the comforter, then ask your local tailor to craft them into a duvet cover for you. The total price should come in well under your target.
posted by DrGail at 10:20 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I had a cover that never managed to corral the leaking down from my comforter so if it were me, once you get the size sorted out, then sew two sheets together for a permanent lining and get a removable cover. Will add to the weight overall so I'm not sure this would work for you.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:28 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I would recommend getting any alterations person - your drycleaner may have one, or you may have a sewing friend who likes cash - to either shorten a commercially-purchased duvet cover or make one from a pair of flat sheets of your choice. (Or fabric, if you don't mind panels in your duvet cover.)

And pay them an extra $25 to put a zipper-close on it*. That might solve your shedding issues as well as a permanent liner (though that does not seem like a terrible idea either).

*If I was in for a penny, I'd go in for the damn pound and have it zip closed on three sides. I'd much rather assemble a comforter sandwich on top of my bed and zip it up than wrestle the stupid thing in every time. Hell, I might do this for my next comforters.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:56 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The listed sizes are not that accurate anyway. Go on Amazon and read what people really measured them as. And measure your comforter.

A few extra inches either way is not a big deal, a 92x96 is fine for a 92x92 comforter generally. If you go 90x92, it'll bunch up a bit but that's it.
posted by fshgrl at 11:05 AM on March 12, 2016

Best answer: Yes, the duvet never solves the shedding problem *shakes fists at sky*

I also recommend making (or commissioning) a permanent cover sewn from super light Cotten material.

This shedding will always be a problem, I eventually switched to an Eco-friendly synthetic-ish fill in a cotton shell. It goes inside a duvet. The warmth/weight is perfect, and my bedroom is so so SO much tidier. I literally can not believed I suffered like that for so long.

YMMV. I hope a permanent extra shell solves the issue for you. Good luck!
posted by jbenben at 11:16 AM on March 12, 2016

Mod note: Final update from the OP:

This AskMereminded me to update my own question. Thank you for all your replies. Ultimately, I donated that troublesome comforter, and bought a summer-weight light-fill Cuddledown comforter.

posted by cortex (staff) at 1:09 PM on August 6, 2017