Sunday’s Someday Projects
Burnout Chiffon Duvet

My bedroom is decorated in a color triad: purple and green, with gold accents. The purple and green are toned with gray. The bedroom walls are a neutral pinkish-beige.

Bedroom Color Swatches

I had a purple comforter for the bed that I really liked. The color was perfect and it was elegant without being too feminine. (i.e.: My husband liked it, too.) However, it got ruined by one of my cats. I’d already purchased twelve yards of a lavender silk dupioni and another twelve yards of a light green georgette for the curtains and I haven’t been able to find a new comforter that matches.

Georgette & Silk Dupioni

Finally I discovered a floral burnout chiffon at Fabric.com. It’s a grayish-green and the burn-out areas are sheer enough to be transparent, with no discernible color. I bought enough to make a comforter and pillow shams for our queen-sized bed. In my stash, I found a pale green flat sheet that’s just the right shade of grayish-green to coordinate, so it will line the chiffon.

Burnout Chiffon

I realized I can’t just line the fabric and throw it on the bed. It would lack structure and would appear flat. So, I’ll be using my old comforter and essentially creating a duvet (or cover) for it. I experimented with ruching the chiffon, to add texture and depth to the bedspread, but it obscured the floral pattern. In the end, I decided it would look best if I just left it flat and unembellished. I might add a flange around the edges, for visual interest. And I might create a matching dust ruffle, if I have enough fabric left over.

I’ve never made a duvet or bedspread before, so I’m a little nervous. It shouldn’t be too difficult, but there’s that fear of the unknown. Plus, there’s the concern that my cats will ruin this one the same as they did my original comforter. It’s difficult to keep their claws clipped—and they both spend a great deal of time on the bed. Any fragile fabric would soon get snagged, and I’m loathe to spend a great deal of time and effort on a project that’s going to be ruined in a few months by my cats inadvertently catching their claws on the fabric

All the same, I do need a comforter on my bed. I’m tired of just having bare blankets and sheets.

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Have you ever made a duvet or comforter? Any tips or advice?

Update: I decided against making a duvet out of this fabric. My cats would tear it up and all that work would be wasted. Instead, I finally found a comforter that I liked at Target.