How to Put a Comforter in a Duvet Cover

Wondering how to put a comforter in a duvet cover? Here are the tricks you need to know to get it right every time.

Getting your comforter into a duvet cover can seem like a tricky task, especially when you’re doing it by yourself. One wrong step and you can easily find yourself tangled up in a sea of linen, or somehow inside the duvet cover scrambling desperately for a corner to grasp (it’s okay, we’ve all been there).

But, with a couple of tricks up your sleeve, you can become the master of your bedding in no time. Read on for some need-to-know tips on putting your comforter in a duvet cover hassle-free every time, whether you’re working alone or in pairs.

Getting your bedding straight

Before getting started, it’s important to get some terms straight and make sure you’ve got the right bedding for the job.

First of all, the terms ‘comforter’ and ‘duvet’ are often used to describe the same type of bedding. Comforters are single-piece blankets usually made up of a fluffy, thick filling inside an enclosed fabric shell, kind of like a duvet cover and insert in one piece.

The filling inside a comforter can be anything from feathers and down, to wool, cotton, silk or synthetic materials.

Comforters often have quilted stitching that keeps the filler firmly in place and evenly distributed throughout the shell. While you’ll often find standalone, decorative comforters that are meant to be the top layer of your bedding, comforters can also be used like a duvet insert.

So, before you put a comforter in a duvet cover, you’ll need a few bedding items.

A duvet cover
An appropriately-sized comforter
A large, flat surface (usually your bed, but you could also use a dining table)

Before you pick out the duvet cover you want to use on your bed, it’s important to check sizing to ensure it will fit snugly around your comforter. There’s nothing worse than waking up at midnight only to find your comforter has shifted wildly in its cover, leaving you barely a few sheets to keep you warm.

Duvet covers come in all standard bedding sizes, but are usually an inch or two longer in each direction than their appropriate insert. For the perfect fit, you’ll need to ensure your comforter is the same standard bedding size as your duvet cover.

Preparing your comforter and duvet cover

Once you’ve got the right-sized comforter and duvet cover for your bedding, make sure they’re ready to be used. This might seem obvious, but it will save you some pain and effort in the long run.

Firstly, if you’ve picked out a brand-new flax linen duvet cover for your bed, it might need a little attention before it’s soft, comfortable and ready to use. All you need to do here is run your duvet cover through the washing machine on a cold cycle a few times to help your new linen bedding shed any loose fibres that may be stuck in the fabric.

This is also a great way to naturally soften new linen bedding, making it super snug and buttery-soft to the touch. After washing your linen duvet cover a couple of times, hang it up to air-dry.

Next, you’ll need to make sure your comforter is clean and ready to be used inside your duvet cover. Comforters can usually be safely washed in a washing machine. Follow the instructions on the care label for the best way to wash and dry your comforter.

Once your comforter is clean and dry, give it a few good shakes to spread out the filling evenly. This is especially important if your comforter is not the quilted variety, and will help to disperse any lumps and bumps in the filling which can be a nightmare to deal with once your bed is made.

Use the inside-out method

Once your bedding items are prepared, you’re ready to put everything together. One of the easiest methods for putting a comforter in a duvet cover is the ‘inside-out method’, sometimes known as the famous ‘bedding burrito method’ or 'California roll method'.

The biggest advantage of this bedding method is that it's a one-person job. With this technique, you can easily set up your duvet cover and comforter bundle with only the top of your bed as your workstation.

This revolutionary duvet cover method starts by first laying out your cover. Turn the duvet cover inside out and lay it flat on your bed with the top of your duvet cover pointing towards the head of the bed and the bottom pointing towards the bottom of the bed.
Align the comforter on top of the inside-out duvet cover. Try to line up the top corners of the cover with the comforter as evenly as possible. You might need to shuffle the entire comforter around a bit to make sure everything lines up.
Time to roll it up! Starting from the top end of the comforter, grab both the comforter and duvet cover, then carefully roll them together. Make sure to roll the whole thing tightly and evenly, as this helps to prevent the comforter from shifting inside the cover.
Once you have a tight roll, flip the open slit of the duvet cover right-side-out, over both ends of the rolled-up bundle. As you do this, the comforter will slide into the duvet cover.
Unroll the duvet cover from the bottom side of the bed to the top, smoothing out any lumps as you go.
When you're done, your duvet will be spread out on your bed, right side up and looking as good as ever.

For a closer look at this time-saving method and a helpful demonstration video, check out this burrito duvet hack guide.

Tips for securing the comforter in place

Now that the comforter is snugly inside the duvet cover, you’ll need to secure it so it doesn’t shift around while sleeping.

First and foremost, close the open end of your duvet cover to keep everything together. Some duvet covers have button fastenings, loops or corner ties to close the open slip while others fold closed.

An easy way to keep everything in place is to ensure the duvet cover and comforter drape evenly over both sides of the bed. If one side hangs lower than the other, the comforter and its filling may begin to bunch on this side, leaving the opposite side of the duvet cover patchy or bare.

Likewise, check that your comforter and duvet cover do not hang too far down at the foot of the bed, otherwise, the filling could shift away from the top of the bed, bunch at your feet and leave your upper half without any warmth.

If you do have fastenings on your duvet cover or decide to use duvet grips or clips, make sure to attach them while your bundle is inside-out before you start rolling it all up. These fastenings will help keep your comforter at the top of the duvet cover and ensure each corner of the duvet is evenly warm.