Duvet Cover, sort of....
 

Hello. New here, and new to quilting.
I am in the mental exercise phase of starting a project that I'm pretty sure is going to involve learning to quilt.

A little back story. My husband and I have decided to redo the soft furnishings in our bedroom. We really want the curtains to match the bed covering, including throw pillows, bedskirt and shams. Initially we looked into what was available commercially and were less than thrilled with the offerings, so we decided that I would make it all myself (and probably spend a lot more money, but at least it would match our style).

Here's the hard part, and let me see if I can explain this properly.
For the comforter (using that term lightly) we are wanted a solid, single piece plus a relatively thin border. These first two sections will cover the whole top of the mattress with about an inch overhang (maybe more, haven't decided on actual dimensions other than finished size). Two more borders around three sides, plus full binding will constitute the "drop". After careful consideration we want to use Quilter's Dream wool batting. The problem is, I don't really want the amount of quilting (tied or stitched) that this batting requires. What I'd really like to be able to do is is just stitch in the ditch of the border seams. So, I was thinking, could I sandwich the batting with something like muslin, quilt that as required but do not finish it, then take this sandwich and place "fashion" top and backing, stitch in the ditch and bind as usual, thereby creating a kind of permanent duvet?
Would that work? I'd been doing all the sewing on a domestic machine (or maybe do the quilting by hand).

I don't see why not! But then why not just make it an actual duvet cover? You could remove for washing more easily and not have to wash the batting. You could make it reversible as well. Just MHO.

I would be concerned that the unquilted area (if I am reading this right, you would have the large area that covers the mattress unquilted on top?) washing and using it, would put a lot of stress and strain on that area... Looking forward to what others have to say on the subject...

If I understand you correctly, you will quilt a plain muslin sandwich and then put that into a duvet cover that you'll make? And then sew in the ditch of the cover to attach it to the muslin sandwich? A friend of mine used the wool batting and it really puffed up like a comforter because she hadn't quilted it closely enough, so I see this happening to you unless you quilt the sandwich very closely. Then you also have the entire center of your cover loose and unattached.

Thank you Linda, for the feedback. As for why I don't want to just make a duvet cover...
1: I've used duvets and covers before and was unimpressed with them. The duvet rarely fit the cover just right, and never stayed in place
2: I very highly dislike most methods I've seen for closing the cover, it doesn't look clean enough for me.
3: I have a California King mattress, and even when I find a commercial California King duvet, it does not have the right drop.

Ok, so, 1 and 3 could be solved by making the duvet myself and putting ties in the corners.

I think your project would work. You are in essence making a "comforter" inside your cover. The only thing different from a duvet cover would be that you are sewing it to your middle "comforter". Hmm - pretty ingenious, I must say. I, like you, find that duvet covers are a bit of a pain in getting it to fit and then putting it back on when it is washed (ok a lot of a pain).

Come back and let us know how it worked out. This sounds great!

ArtsyOne, yes, exactly. If I remember right from my research, the Dream wool needs minimum 8" quilting, while trying to work this out, I figured a 4" grid set on point. You are right, the large center area of the top would be loose. I am still in the planning stages and we have discussed the idea of making a couched lace or appliqued center medallion. We are just uncertain as to whether this will end up looking too busy. We will lay the whole thing out full size in tissue paper before I start. If we do use a center medallion then we can use the edges to help anchor the top.

Thank you sewmary. That is why I join forums, to bounce ideas off people.

I don't see why it wouldn't work - sort of like a semi-attached quilt at the borders only, with all the actual quilting hidden on the layer beneath?
What sort of fabric are you going to use for the large expanse of the top? I would be concerned at the amount of creasing there may be - quilting does eliminate the need for that iron once it's made! :)
Can you iron the batting if the top gets creased?

I was planning on silk dupioni for the top, or maybe satin, if I can find a pretty silver (not grey) in the right width. I don't know if the batting can be ironed, actually, I'm not even sure the fabric can.