how to sew a duvet cover | bedding set ep. 1

Hi everyone! Bonjour à tous! This is Romy. Today I would like to show you how to make a quick and easy bedding set. Let's get to it! Today we will start with different sizes and shapes of duvet covers. In the next video we'll work on matching pillowcases. And if the demand is high enough, I'll show you how to sew a fitted sheet as well. This way you'll have everything nice and matching at the fraction of the retail price. So let's start with a cover with a flap. It's very easy to sew and to iron and to fold. Also it can be tucked under the mattress at the base of the bed, therefore creating a plush and cozy look. If your comforter is 200 by 200 centimeters for instance, the width and the length of the cover will be 200 centimeters as well. At about 35 centimeters from each corner at the base, we will add a 40 centimeters long flap. I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but this length is standard in France. Of course, feel free to make it longer if your mattress is extra thick. And now we just need to add a seam allowance all around. I'm adding 2.5 centimeters. So here we have now 200 centimeters plus 2 times 2.5 centimeters. That is 205 centimeters for the width and for the length. And we still have 40 centimeters and 35 centimeters here and there. We need to cut that two times, one for the front and one for the back of our cover. Also, if you feel that adding 2.5 centimeters all around might be too much, keep in mind that you'll probably be on your hands and knees on your kitchen floor trying to measure and cut a huge amount of fabric with tiny rulers and scissors, so there might be some slight inaccuracies in the process. But no excuse for me since I have decided to make for you a tiny cover that will fit into the frame of my camera. Alright, so first you need to wash, dry and iron your fabrics and place them right sides together on the floor. I measure 205 centimeters for the width, then 205 centimeters for the length. I place a mark and add another 40 centimeters on the same line for our flap. 205 centimeters for the length and 40 centimeters for our flap. Let's repeat the same operation on the other side, the length and the flap, and then we just trace a big rectangle. At about 35 centimeters from each side, I place a little mark in order to create the shape of the flap. We just need to trace perpendicular lines. If you want, you can stop them right before they cross and join them together with a little curve which will be prettier and easier to sew. Just like that. It's now time to cut everything, and I really want to remind you again that before working with your fabric, it's essential to wash it, dry it and iron it. Especially cotton fabrics whose fibers have a tendency to shrink at the first wash. So basically, you'd rather have your fabric shrink on you before working with it rather than after. Now let's pin both layers together right there on the floor before bringing them to your sewing machine. Don't pin the flap, we need to leave it open. So we are going to make a row of straight stitches at about 7 to 8 millimeters from the edge all around except at the opening of the flap. You can use a spot on your presser foot as a guide in order to have a nice and straight line at an even distance from the edge. At the corner, I just lift the foot, I pivot my fabric, I replace the presser foot down and then I go on with sewing. You can see that the fabric is well aligned with the side of my presser foot, that's my guide. You can choose whatever is convenient for you. And here is what it looks like when you are working with a real size cover. It's a good thing that you pinned everything in place together properly before going to the sewing machine, isn't it? When the sewing is done, I'm just trimming some excess fabric and threads, making it nice and clean, and I'm also cutting the corners, being very careful not to cut the stitches. Then we need to finish off the edge of the fabric to prevent fraying and we are going to use a small zigzag stitch all around with the sewing machine. That's really convenient if you don't own a serger. So here we have it, a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch to finish the edge off. Now here is what it would look like if you have a serger. It's really fast, the serger cuts the layers of the fabric, sew them together and finish them off all at once. And now even the lucky serger owners have to use their sewing machine to make the flaps hem. I fold my fabric once at 7 or 8 millimeters, I fold it again and we will make a quick cover stitch at about 1 to 2 millimeters from the folded edge, all around. You may have recognized my magic cover stitch presser foot that gives me a really professional result, but of course you can do without with a little bit more focus and attention. The stitch needs to be always at an even distance from the folded edge. And when you are back to the beginning, you just need to go over the sewing, don't forget to cut the threads before though, and then a few back and forth stitches and the hem is secure. Now you can turn your cover inside out, the corners always need some extra help and you can bring that to your ironing board. Obviously with my teeny tiny duvet cover, ironing was fast as a dream, but you know very well that in real life ironing a huge cover can be a little bit of the pain in the bottom. So enjoy! And when it's done, you can insert the duvet inside and tuck the flap under the mattress at the base of the bed. Good night! So we have made a cover with a flap using the straight stitch and the zigzag stitch of your sewing machine. Or using a serger if you have the opportunity. And I will very quickly show you now how to make, with your sewing machine only, this third finish that I find stronger and more beautiful. C'est parti! I cut my layers on the floor but wrong sides together this time, it's really important. I pin them and sew them at 5 to 6 mm from the edge and trim the excess fabric at about 2 to 3 mm from the stitches as well as the corners. Turn the cover wrong sides out and make a new row of straight stitches at about 4 mm from the edge. When it's done, we need to hem the flap the same way we did before. And finally, we just turn and iron the cover right sides out. And voilà, we have made a cover with what is called a French seam. By the way, that's called in English sewing, couture anglaise in French. Just to make sure that you are not confused, the outside look of the cover will be the same whatever option you pick. It's just the inside look that will be different. Finally, let's have a look at children covers or single adults covers without a flap. I trace the width of my comforter, then the length, and I trace a big rectangle thanks to that and add 2 cm all around for the seam allowance. Then we will cut that 2 times. So I have cut my fabric and I place both pieces with the wrong side facing me. We will start with a 7-8 mm wide hem at the bottom of each of them. So when you have pinned your hem in place, you will need to make a little covered stitch at 1-2 mm from the folded edge. So let's have a little fun again with my beloved cover stitch presser foot. And of course, again, you can do without but I'd rather do with it. When both hems are finished, just place your pieces right sides together and pin them. Now at the base, at 35 cm from each corner, I place a little mark with a pin. And now we will need to sew a row of straight stitches at 1 cm from the edge, starting at the first mark and finishing at the second. And then with a serger or with a zigzag stitch, we just have to finish off the edge and prevent the fabric to fray. And now I'm going to turn inside out my cover and iron it. I love this tiny doll size. For this cover, you may have noticed that I did not cut the corners before finishing the edges off. The result are these slightly rounded corners that you might like better than the sharp ones. The choice is up to you. And voilà, this tutorial is over and I really hope that you found it useful. In the next one, we will see how to create a matching pillowcase. Also, don't forget to leave me a little comment if you wish to see a tutorial on a matching fitted sheet as well. I'd be very happy if you subscribe to my channel and if you share with me and with everyone your own bedding set using my Instagram account at RomieStanzac. Bye bye! À bientôt!