Yes, it’s me — Sherry, the self-styled Mediocre Seamstress — back with another honest, slightly sweaty sewing project: how I turned one boys’ duvet cover into two. This is a practical, budget-friendly DIY sewing tutorial for anyone who wants to repurpose a large duvet cover into two smaller, matching covers for twin beds.
The situation was straightforward: my best friend inherited her husband’s boyhood twin-bed duvet set and in their new house they now had room for two twin beds. They only had one duvet cover and the original pattern was no longer sold, so replacing it with two matching covers would be expensive. I volunteered — perhaps with more enthusiasm than skill — to take the original duvet cover apart and try to make two usable covers out of it.
Step One: Prepare and carefully separate the duvet. Start by undoing the seams that join the front and back layers of the cover, using a seam ripper or small scissors and working slowly around the perimeter. I clipped the small threads holding the front to the back without cutting the main fabric. The result was two nearly identical panels — one with buttons and one with buttonholes.
Important tip for this DIY duvet cover hack: this method works when the duvet cover has the same fabric or pattern on both sides. You’ll be pairing each half with a large flat sheet to form a complete cover. For the best result, choose flat sheets in the same fabric type (for example, 100% cotton) to avoid puckering and stretching issues. For these covers we used white cotton flat sheets, sized one size larger than the duvet panels so there’s enough fabric to trim and finish.
Step Two: Prewash and trim your sheets. Wash and dry the flat sheets a few times to pre-shrink them. Lay a sheet flat and place a duvet panel on top. Trim the sheet to match the panel size, leaving about an extra inch on any newly cut edges so you can hem them and prevent fraying. Hem any cut sides before joining the sheet to the duvet panel — fold the extra inch under and stitch it in place for a neat finish.
Feel free to have a small canine quality-control inspector watch your progress.
Step Three: Stitch three sides together. With pieces inside out so seams are hidden, align the patterned duvet panel (pattern side up) with the sheet (sheet face down). Sew three of the four sides together — leave the short side that will be the opening unstitched. When you turn the piece right side out, it will look like a large pillowcase ready for a duvet insert.
Step Four: Recreate the original closure. The original duvet kept the opening in the center of one short side, so I turned the cover inside out and stitched the outer portions of that short side closed, leaving only the center third open. This recreates a tidy, hidden opening for inserting the duvet.
Step Five: Add buttons to the cover that has buttonholes only. Splitting the original cover left one panel with buttonholes but no buttons, and the other with buttons but no holes. For the panel missing buttons, I sewed buttons to the inner hem of the sheet where the original buttonholes aligned. Sewing the buttons to the inside hem lets the outer flap fold over to conceal the buttons when closed.
Step Six: Make buttonholes for the cover that has buttons but no holes. I hadn’t made hand-sewn buttonholes before, so I mimicked the original: cut a small slit then secure the edge with dense, looped stitches to prevent fraying. The precise stitch can vary; the important part is covering the raw edge thoroughly so the hole holds up in the wash. Once the buttons are tucked into the new buttonholes, the finished covers look clean and professional.
After some anxious sewing moments and lots of checking, both covers were complete and usable. The result: two matching duvet covers from one original, saving money and preserving a favorite pattern. The finished duo looks neat on the twin beds and the closures are discreet once buttoned.
Extra notes and practical tips: use sheets one size larger than the duvet half so you have enough fabric to work with; match fabric types (cotton to cotton) to avoid puckering; prewash sheets; and hem cut edges before final assembly. If you’re not confident making buttonholes by hand, you can practice on scrap fabric first or use a sewing machine’s buttonhole setting if available.
Also worth mentioning: the duvet belongs to a boy who is obsessed with dinosaurs — he can name dozens — and the room decor blends a few playful elements with existing pieces like a rug and a woven side table. Turning one duvet into two helped the family create a coordinated look without replacing everything.
More of my sewing projects include making quilts, a beanbag pouf, curtain panels, accent pillows, and a drapey pom-pom canopy. If you enjoy easy, budget-savvy home sewing projects, this split-duvet method is a practical way to create two matching covers from one original duvet cover.
- 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 cloth napkins to make accent pillows
- Made a drapey pom-pom-fringed canopy
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