Duvets and covers

[LlamaMama]

I recently bought a twin duvet cover for one of my daughters. (She's going to transition from the crib to the bunk bed!)

Should I buy a twin duvet or a full duvet to make sure that the duvet fills out all of the cover? Is down-filled not washable at home? I'm going to need to wash this often, especially when night potty training comes around.

I have a queen duvet and cover on my own bed that is from a washable material. I have buttons to hold the duvet down inside each corner, but my husband still complains that it shifts around. Would a king duvet solve that problem or is that just the nature of a duvet? If I get a "fluffier" one will be much warmer (and thus uncomfortable for my husband)?

*Sigh* I wish I didn't have to spend some much time and questions on this, but it is an expensive prospect.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'd look at the care instructions. Many down products need to go to a dry-cleaner.

[JudoMom]

I recently bought a twin duvet cover for one of my daughters. (She's going to transition from the crib to the bunk bed!)

Should I buy a twin duvet or a full duvet to make sure that the duvet fills out all of the cover? Is down-filled not washable at home? I'm going to need to wash this often, especially when night potty training comes around.

I have a queen duvet and cover on my own bed that is from a washable material. I have buttons to hold the duvet down inside each corner, but my husband still complains that it shifts around. Would a king duvet solve that problem or is that just the nature of a duvet? If I get a "fluffier" one will be much warmer (and thus uncomfortable for my husband)?

*Sigh* I wish I didn't have to spend some much time and questions on this, but it is an expensive prospect.

For your dd, I would absolutely by a twin. On a bunkbed a full would be way to big. You can wash down at home, you just have to make sure it is dry all the way, which can take some time. I've washed my king size in out front loader just fine. I worked at Linens N Things for almost 5 years, and the Pacific Coast people told me they recommended dry cleaning only because people tended not to dry them all the way. You can throw a couple of clean tennis balls in the dryer with the comforter to help it along.

A fluffier one will most likely be warmer. You want to look for the "fill power". A higher fill power will be warmer.

You might want to check out this link (http://interiordec.about.com/od/shopping/bb/downcomforter.htm).

Does your dh complain about the comforter shifting inside the duvet or the the down shifting inside the comforter? If it's the down shifting inside the comforter, you might want to look at the stitching that holds the comforter together. There are different types of construction, and I forget the names but I prefer a box construction because the down stays pretty much where it's supposed to without much fuss from me.

[Mrs. H.]

Sometimes when you wash it, it stinks. It can have a 'wild bird' smell to it, and that it normal. It will go away after it dries. We have lots of down-filled items in our home (pillows, feather beds, duvets), and I wash them all here, except the largest ones which I take to a laundromat that has a front-loader. They all smell funny when they get wet, but they are so wonderful to sleep on/under.

[Adrianne]

We are looking at down comforters also and it was recommended by my mil, who usually has good advice about such matters, that we go a size bigger than our bed. Our bed is a queen, she says to buy a king. This is due to the husband-stealing-the-covers issue (or wife).

As for a single bed, I would think the twin would suffice as there is no cover stealing.

[LlamaMama]

This is all great advice. I'm glad to know that I can wash the down comforters at home.
JudoMom, thank you for the link.

Does your dh complain about the comforter shifting inside the duvet or the the down shifting inside the comforter?

The current comforter we have on our queen bed is not made of down. It must be some type of cotton? I bought it when we were just newly married so my poor husband has been suffering with it for many years now. Now I realize that the problem is that it is too small for the duvet cover.

Now I'm off to do some shopping!