Snaps for a Duvet Cover

So sheltering-at-home is getting old, but a surprising benefit, around here, at least, is that old projects, long-procrastinated, are finally getting knocked off. This week duvets got addressed.

We got our duvets and covers quite a while ago because one of us was always too warm, and the other always too cool. Two wonderful over-sized twin duvets, with covers, one for each side of the bed, did the trick. One duvet is thin, and the other thicker; we each get to pick our own. Problem solved!

Since the duvet covers function as top sheets, though, we have to remove them regularly for laundering — and re-insert each duvet after.  Unless each corner is anchored the duvet tends to shift around inside, and the cover tends to twist. This is a pain; IKEA, which is where we got our duvets sets, doesn’t address the issue by providing a built-in solution.

Maybe that’s not so bad, though. I actually hate tying duvet corners, and the grosgrain ties — the cheapest and quickest solution — that I slapped into the covers when we bought them have always annoyed me.  This week I hauled out my snap press and solved that problem by making snap tabs for each of the eight corners.

I used size 22 plastic snaps attached to 1 inch grosgrain ribbon for these. More than a decade ago, I bought this heavy duty old-style KAM snap press for no really good reason — maybe I thought one would be hard to find later, or maybe I just have a low threshold for resisting new tools. At the time, I didn’t really know if I’d use it much, and I didn’t for years. Eventually, I found myself reaching for it more and more, and now I’m always finding new uses for it.

This model has been supplanted by a newer one which is smaller and shaped differently. Mine is heavy and tall, and, as you can see, can be bolted to a workbench. It’s a serious device! I’m happier than ever that I have this earlier model, since the new one requires hand strength I simply don’t have anymore. This baby, though, can be put on the floor, and it’s big enough and sturdy enough that all I have to do is lean on it to set each snap. Calisthenics and snap-setting all in one!

Once the tabs were made, I sewed light blue grosgrain loops across each corner inside each of the duvets, and then installed one tab at each corner inside each cover. This was incredibly boring, but it went fast, and the rewards were great. I do mind that neither the loops nor tabs are particularly coordinated to the great IKEA colors, but that’s another Covid thing: working from stash means not having everything exactly as I might like it.

Replacing the covers is so much faster now! It’s just a matter of laying out the covers, inside out, setting each duvet on a cover, snapping the four corners, and then reaching into the opening to the foot of the combined duvet and cover and pulling it through.

If you’re curious about setting your own snaps, the KAMsnaps website is chock-full of every bit of information you might need — and I can confirm that they are fast and reliable when shipping. They’re also very customer-oriented; all over the website you’ll find guidance, and you’ll be asked to confirm that you’re really ordering what you mean to. That’s a real bonus when dealing with so many small bits and pieces. (I have NO affiliation with KAMsnaps, except as a private customer, and receive no compensation of any kind for mentioning them here.)

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