A few months ago, I made a quiet change that I’m finally ready to share.

You see, I always had this idea that I wanted to sleep every night covered in drop cloth. So as a part of our master bedroom overhaul, I decided to make a duvet cover out of the beloved material. Enter the ruffle duvet.

At first it was glorious, I relished its nubby texture and neutral hue. But having never owned a duvet/duvet cover combo before, I had no idea how ridiculous it would be to keep everything in its place. A king size bed takes a lot of fabric to cover…and that fabric was becoming increasingly harder to wrangle. At night the whole thing would slide slowly down the bed. I constantly felt that I had to readjust the insides, even though an alarming amount of safety pins were already in place. It was heavy, making it even more difficult to yank up during the night (extra dog weight notwithstanding). It was hot. And not in a good way. Soon I found myself thinking that my beautiful, ruffly creation had to go.

WHAT??!?!

But I made it! It took DAYS to finish! It’s drop cloth, for heaven’s sake! The.Ruffles.Are.Amazing!

I argued with myself. I felt guilty thinking horrible thoughts about something I had so lovingly made with my own two hands. Plus, I knew replacing it would be no easy task-bedding is expensive, and king size bedding is just obscenely so. For months I went back and forth about replacing it. I would peek in the bedding sections of Ross/TJ Maxx and the like.

Then came the guest room makeover, and while searching for linens on the cheap for that space, I stumbled upon another little large treasure. It was a bit unorthodox and slightly questionable. But I thought it just might work, and for $30, I took a chance on a butter yellow, scalloped edge king size quilt.

We’ve had it for about 2 months, and I do really love it. It’s nice and light, doesn’t shift in the night, and goes into the washer and dryer with ease. Sure it may be from the 80s, but it’s rocking out in 2012 now. I also found a high quality plain white extra long bedskirt (finally!) and Goodwill for $3, which replaced my homemade-with-hot-glue pleated one.

So I think it’s official: I’ve retired the drop cloth ruffle duvet. It’s sad, but I’ve been sleeping much better at night since I made the decision. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it…

5 Responses

  1. Camille

    I too love the look of a duvet cover…and it seems so practical – at the time – but I’ll never own another one for the same reason! ha

    Although I like this look, I ADORED the ruffles!! What if you took used ONLY the cover – with nothing inside? Is it still too heavy?

    Just my $.02

    Love the blog!

    Reply
  3. Marsha

    I am sorry but the duvet cover you made is very quite special and pretty.
    Forget about it being a duvet cover.
    Why can’t you use it as a bed spread instead.
    Fold it down when you go to sleep.
    Cover up the bed when you leave the room in the morning.
    Use another blanket or two to keep you warm.
    sincerely m

    Reply
  4. mary fran

    When I got married…My husband is a HOTTY…literally…He is like a freaking furnace. He sleeps with 3 fans on him and that is WITH air conditioning! So I had to get rid of my pretty comforter and duvets because unless I wanted 3rd degree burns! LOL.

    I have been using quilts and matelesse covers since then and they are great! They are light, easy to move around and easy to wash and take care of! So I am right there with you!!!

    Reply
  5. Karen

    Like Marsha suggests, I would take the duvet out of it and just use it as a bed cover. My middle child sleeps with a special/weighted blanket and so she doesn’t use many covers. She has an “empty” duvet cover on her bed as her “bedspread” and it works great for her!
    The ruffled creation is a beauty!

    Reply

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