the thrifty crafter

I heart west elm. In fact, I love the whole Williams-Sonoma/Pottery Barn/west elm family. Classic, yet modern, luxurious, yet casual…and oh, the quality!

My husband and I recently moved into a little beach shack and had purchased a silk dupioni blue duvet/bedskirt/shams set for our bedroom from Linens N’ Things during a “Store Closing” sale. So the style wasn’t quite what we were looking for but we didn’t want to spend a ton of money – $30 for the whole thing – what a deal! Well, in this instance, we got what we paid for. After two months, the underside of the duvet grew little nubs on it and everytime I got in bed, I screamed , “I hate this comforter!”.

I’d been dreaming of a soft and cozy west elm duvet/shams set, but my frugality kept me from splurging. One day I saw the perfect set in the perfect Glacier Blue color for the rock-bottom, clearance section price of $49 including tax and shipping! Deal!!! Only problem was, it was a king and we have a queen sized bed.

Well, the thrifty crafter that I am, I thought, “How hard could it be to convert a king-sized duvet cover to a queen?“.

Turns out, it wasn’t hard at all! I looked up some measurements on About.com, then double checked by measuring my existing comforter and my existing duvet.

The king was 90 x 108 and I cropped it to 84 x 86.

Here’s what you do:

• Turn the duvet inside out.
• Measure 11 inches off of each side and 6 inches from the top (these measurements may differ depending on your actual comforter size).
• Iron the edges to keep things flat, pin it and sew away!
• Turn right side out and enjoy!

Tip: If you prefer, you can cut the excess material. I kept it intact for two reasons: 1.) in case we buy a king someday I can rip the seams and convert it back, and 2.) the extra material inside gives it a heavier, more enveloping feel that makes you yearn for more bed time!

The whole project took me about an hour to complete and I couldn’t be happier with the result!

Cost: $29.99 for duvet (marked down from $119!), $3.99 per sham (2) (marked down from $19 each!)

Savings: $130!!!!