The Family Trunk Project Blog

Turning Japanese

This weekend was very domestic for David and I, and I finally got around to some nesting projects I've been putting off forever. Primary among them:

Way back when we were originally shopping for bedding, we had a hard time finding any duvet covers we liked. Since we had an old, cream-colored cover for a double-sized bed, which we could cannibalize for remnants, and a gift certificate to a quilting store (which, speaking of letting things go, I received as a gift for my college graduation back in 2004), we got the novel idea of whipping up our own and saving money. Indeed, this little wonder only cost us about $20 out of pocket...and a year of waiting, because I have taken this long to get around to it.

The design is inspired by Lotta Jansdottir's gorgeous, simple pattern for a duvet cover in Simple Sewing - a book I don't possess, but covet just for the lovely Scandinavian-minimalist project photography. Not owning the pattern, though, and having certain yardage-based restrictions, I just improvised my own take on her basic idea. I'm quite pleased with how it (eventually) turned out, and it was interesting doing such a large-scale sewing project, when I'd only ever made garments before. Those are some loooong, straight seams, I tell ya. And one HEAVY project. I thanked my lucky stars for my table arm, and for the fact that I wasn't trying to pull off all the measuring and cutting in my old 300-square-foot apartment. Mr. Bingley thought the whole thing was a ball (David took this hilarious photo):

He's upset now, of course, that his nest has been taken away and he still doesn't get to come up on the bed. Curses!

I really like the clean lines and Japanese-inspired sandal print of the contrast fabric. The cream compliments it nicely, and even though this design was born of frugality and the resources at hand, I wouldn't change a bit of it. A solid block of the red would be much too much, and this is just enough visual interest to be engaging. Even though it's still pretty warm for a down comforter enhanced by two layers of heavy cotton, it felt wonderful to fall asleep last night under an aura of finished project and clean, new bedding.