Yes, it’s me — Sherry, the perpetually average seamstress — back with another sewing story. I alternated between wanting to fling the machine out the window and feeling like a victorious gladiator when I finished, parading around sweaty and half-dressed in full peacock mode. The project? Turning one boy’s duvet cover into two matching covers.
The situation was straightforward: my best friend had inherited a childhood twin-bed set for her son’s room. They had been using only one duvet cover at their previous home, and now with two beds to dress, she needed a matching pair. The original duvet cover was no longer available for purchase, and she assumed she’d have to buy two new covers. I enthusiastically volunteered to try transforming the single duvet cover into two — with the safety net that if it failed she could still buy a new set.
Step One: Be brave, then squirm. It’s unnerving to cut your friend’s duvet in half, even if she’s laughing and taking photos. I sat on her kitchen stool and used baby scissors to carefully clip the small threads that joined the front and back of the duvet cover, essentially seam-ripping it apart without cutting the main fabric. Before long I had two nearly identical panels: one with buttons and one with buttonholes.
For this method to work the duvet cover should have the same pattern or color on both sides. The idea is to pair each panel with a large flat sheet to form a complete duvet cover. We chose white cotton flat sheets from Target. Matching fabric type is important — sewing 100% cotton to 100% cotton avoids puckering and creates a cohesive feel. Choose a sheet color that complements the duvet pattern.
Tip: buy flat sheets a size up from the duvet panel. I used full-sized sheets for twin-sized duvet panels so the sheet would be at least as wide and long as the panel; anything smaller makes the finished cover look distorted.
Step Two: Wash and dry the flat sheets a few times to allow any shrinking before you cut. Lay a flat sheet with the duvet panel on top and trim the sheet to match the panel, leaving an extra inch on any sides you cut. Those extra inches are for hemming to prevent fraying and give a clean finish. Hem any cut edges before attaching the sheet to the duvet panel.
Optional: allow a small dog to supervise as you work.
Step Three: Sew three of the four sides together — all except the short side that contains the original buttons or buttonholes. Do this inside out so the seams are hidden when you turn the cover right side out. I placed the patterned duvet panel face up and the white sheet face down on top, aligning matching edges, and stitched them together. When turned right side out, the result looks like a large pillowcase; small imperfections disappear once the duvet insert is inside.
Step Four: Reassess the open end. The original cover left roughly one-third of that side open in the middle. I turned everything inside out and sewed the outer corners of that side closed, leaving the center third open for inserting the duvet.
Step Five: Address buttons and buttonholes. Splitting the original cover left one panel with buttons but no buttonholes, and the other with holes but no buttons. For the panel missing buttons, I attached buttons to the white sheet where the corresponding buttonholes on the patterned side were located. I sewed the buttons on the inside hem so when fastened the cover folds over to conceal them, producing a neat finish.
Step Six: Make buttonholes on the remaining panel. I hadn’t made professional buttonholes before, so I replicated the look of the originals: a small slit reinforced with dense, looped stitching around the edge to prevent fraying. After cutting the slits, I stitched many looped knots around each opening until the edges were secure. They weren’t museum-quality, but they held up well and looked tidy once the buttons were threaded through.
In the end, both finished covers looked equally good: one with newly sewn buttons and the other with fresh buttonholes. There were a few tense moments, but no sewing machines were launched, and the covers now sit nicely in the guest room.
As a sidebar, her son is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs — he can name countless species and corrects my intentionally wrong guesses. The room’s decor leans playful, with shark and dino wall heads and a T-Rex lamp, while many existing items (their rug and an old woven side table) were reused to keep the room cohesive and budget-friendly. I’m glad I could help by turning one lonely duvet into a matching pair.
For more of my sewing adventures, here are a few other projects I’ve shared:
- sewed a patchwork quilt for my daughter
- made a small stitched quilt for my son
- sewed a beanbag pouf
- made curtain panels for the dining room
- used two cloth napkins to create accent pillows
- crafted a drapey pom-pom-fringed canopy over my daughter’s bed
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