“The battle for the duvet”: it could be the title of a book. I think a lot of people struggle with this at times. Especially if you or your partner like to wrap up in the duvet, there usually isn’t much left to lie under. A duvet is always well larger than the size of your mattress.
Choosing duvet and duvet cover on the right size
To choose the right size duvet for your mattress, follow these rules:
- Count about 60 cm on top of the width of your mattress.
- Count 20 to 30 cm on top of the length of your body.
- Does your partner rather like to pull on the duvet? If so, choose one size larger.
A calculation example: a 180 cm bed gets a 240 cm wide duvet. Combined with a body height of 185 cm, we arrive at a standard size of 240×220 cm for your duvet.
Above all, look for standard duvet cover sizes when you go to buy a new duvet. This can save quite a bit of money. Some standard sizes of comforter covers are:
- 140×200/220 (single)
- 200×200 (double)
- 240×200/220 (lits-jumeaux)
Sleeping together: one or two duvets?
In March 2024, I was allowed to join the Radio 2 program Ann and Daan on Belgian national radio to talk about sleeping together or apart. A lot of listeners there spontaneously cited that they like to sleep together, but use separate mattresses and or separate duvets. Especially if someone moves or tosses more during sleep, two separate duvets can be comforting.
This is also very useful when partners have different temperature perceptions. In that case, you can also completely adjust the fill weight and even the filling of the duvet to what one or the other needs. If you want to read some more tips on this, check:
Did you know that even partners with quite a height difference are best to use two separate duvets? If the length difference exceeds 30 cm, cold zones can occur. According to our expert Marco Achtereekte, these are avoidable by providing two separate ones.
Which standard duvet size should you choose?
Several standard sizes are available within Europe. In the UK, duvet sizes differ slightly because they are calculated with inches. Until recently, for use by one adult person, duvet lengths were usually in 200 cm (or 79 inches).
Slowly this is changing to 220 cm in the low countries and Germany. That’s because duvet cover manufacturers are standardizing and more often producing an “open” end to the duvet, up to 270 cm in length. Thus, duvets with a length of 200 cm (79 inches) and duvets of 220 cm (87 inches) fit in the same cover.
When a duvet is finished with buttons, a zipper, or stitched-in corners to prevent it from slipping out of the cover, always choose the exact size for your covers.
Tip: I just made a note for this in my phone and pinned it to my messages. Banal, but convenient. Because often you stand in the store, see the huge selection of beautiful bedding textiles, and that, seemingly obvious duvet size, is completely out of your mind.
What size duvet do you use with which bed size?
The table below lists standard sizes that you can use with certain mattress sizes. Each country usually has a certain preference and you can recognize it by the range of covers. I pay attention because a custom-made cover can cost quite a bit more.
| Mattress dimensions | Duvet dimensions | International name |
| up to 90 x 200 | 135 x 200 | Single |
| 90 x 200 to 120 x 200 | 155 x 200 | Comfort single |
| 120 x 200 to 150 x 200 | 200 x 200 | Double |
| 150 x 200 to 180 x 200 | 225 x 220 | King |
| 160 x 200 to 180 x 200 | 240 x 200/220 | Lits-jumeaux |
| 180 x 200 to 200 x 200 | 260 x 200/220 | Super King |
Duvet sizes in different countries
Depending on where you live, you look at this table with a different eye. For example, a 150 x 200 cm mattress is very common in Britain or Italy, while in a bed store in Belgium or the Netherlands you are more likely to encounter 160 or 180 x 200 cm when looking for a double mattress.
Then again, in Germany people prefer to sleep with separate duvets and you can also find a wide range of covers in size 155 (160) x 200 or even 220. Then again, in Belgium and the Netherlands you find very few of these sizes.
There is a difference in between what you measure and what it says on the package: that is normal. Especially when you unwrap a new duvet, it is often several inches larger than the size listed. Materials still set by impact of sleep environment. A duvet gets quite a bit of perspiration to deal with.
Shrinkage after washing is already taken into account in the manufacture of the comforter cover or cover. Hence, these tolerances are measurable. The filling also has an impact, as a richly filled down comforter contains a lot of air and therefore inflates more compared to a Texel wool, for example. As a result, the down will “stretch” the ticking more.
Why choose an extra-long duvet?
Even though we see that duvets are increasingly 220 cm long even in standard sizes, there may be reasons to deliberately choose an extra-long duvet. People who are built tall logically have a distinct advantage in a longer bed and certainly in a longer duvet.
If they like to pull the duvet over their head, for example, some extra length is quite nice. When I talk to Marco Achtereekte about it, he recommends actually providing an extra-long version starting at 180 cm in length.
Read also: Does a boxspring sleep better than a regular bed?
Which duvet for a 140×200 bed?
On a bed with a 140×200 mattress, it is best to use a 200×200 duvet. Are you (or your partner) a little taller? Then you can also choose an extra-long duvet of 200×220.
What kind of duvet for a 90×200 bed?
On a bed with a 90×200 mattress, it is best to use a 135×200 duvet. Sometimes you can also find 140×200 as a standard size. If you are taller in stature, you can choose a 220 cm long duvet.
How big should your duvet cover be?
It sounds simple, but the duvet cover should be the same size as the duvet. Usually these are standard sizes, such as 180×200 or 220×200.