The short answer: first decide whether you will sleep under your own duvet or share one. Your own duvet is chosen by your height: 140×200 cm suits most people up to about 180 cm tall, and taller people are better off with a 220 cm length. A shared duvet is chosen by the width of the mattress, so that it hangs 20–30 cm over each side: 200×200 cm for a 140 cm bed, 200×220 cm for a 160 cm bed and 240×220 cm for a 180 or 200 cm bed. Buy the duvet cover in exactly the same size as the duvet.
The first number in a duvet size is the width and the second is the length, so a 240×220 cm duvet is 240 cm wide and 220 cm long. The sizes below are European; if you are in the United States, see the note at the end.
Your own duvet: choose by your height
This applies if you sleep alone, and also to couples who each have their own duvet, which is how many people sleep in Denmark. The size of the bed hardly matters here, because a duvet for one person only has to cover one person.
| Your height | Duvet size |
|---|---|
| Up to about 180 cm | 140×200 cm |
| Over about 180 cm | 140×220 cm (made to order) |
If you sleep alone in a bed 140 cm wide or wider and like to wrap the duvet around you, choose 160×200 cm.
One shared duvet: choose by the width of the mattress
A duvet for two has to cover you both and still hang about 20–30 cm over each side of the bed; otherwise it slides off during the night and one of you ends up uncovered. That works out at a duvet 40–60 cm wider than the mattress. The more you move in your sleep, or the more you like to wrap up, the closer to the upper end you should go.
| Mattress width | Shared duvet |
|---|---|
| 120 cm | 160×200 cm |
| 140 cm | 200×200 cm |
| 160 cm | 200×220 cm |
| 180 cm | 240×220 cm |
| 200 cm | 240×220 cm |
We make 140×200, 160×200, 200×200, 200×220 and 240×220 cm in alpaca, plus 70×100 cm for a child's cot. Other sizes, such as 140×220 cm, we make to order.
Alpaca duvet 200×220 cm for a 160×200 cm bed
The most common size for two people. All-season or winter.
Length: your height plus 20–30 cm
The standard 200 cm length suits people up to about 175–180 cm tall. If you are taller, or like to tuck in your feet and shoulders, choose a length of 220 cm. In our range, the 200×220 and 240×220 cm duvets have that length. If you need a single duvet that is 220 cm long, write to us, as we make other sizes to order.
Duvet cover: exactly the size of the duvet
Buy the cover in the same size as the duvet. A cover that is too small squeezes the filling so the duvet loses some of its loft, and one that is too large shifts and bunches inside. Check which number the cover maker gives as the width, because 200×220 and 220×200 cm are two different shapes.
Covers in 240×220 cm are less common than the other sizes and are sometimes listed as 220×240 cm, so check the measurements before you order the duvet.
Always use an alpaca duvet inside a cover. The cover protects the shell and the fleece from dirt, and you can wash the cover as often as you like.
One shared duvet or two separate ones?
In Denmark, where I live, many couples sleep under two separate 140×200 cm duvets, even on a 160 or 180 cm bed. Two duvets make sense when one person feels the cold and the other sweats, when one of you moves a lot in the night, or when you go to bed and get up at different times. Each of you can then choose a different warmth, for example an all-season duvet in 140×200 cm for one and a winter duvet in 140×200 cm for the other. Choosing the warmth is covered in all-season or winter duvet.
A single shared duvet looks tidier on a made bed and keeps you warmer when you sleep close together. In that case, pick the size from the table for one shared duvet above.
A duvet for a child
The 70×100 cm size is meant for a child's cot. Safe-sleep organisations such as The Lullaby Trust in the UK advise keeping duvets and pillows out of a baby's cot, so buy a child's duvet only when your doctor or health visitor says it is the right time, usually after the first birthday.
If you are in the United States
American beds and comforters use different sizes. For US customers we make the alpaca comforter in US sizes, Twin/Single and Full/Queen.