Fabric Big Enough for a King Sized Comforter

sized mattress is 76" X 80". In order to have a 15" drop, you would need fabric at least 111.25 inches wide. If you cannot find what you want, how about buying king size flat sheets and using them for yardage? Another possibility for fabric in wide sizes is to use tablecloths. There are some wide fabrics here: ?keywords=extra+wide You don't have to have a seam down the middle. Buy enough narrower fabric for TWO lengths (plus drop and seam allowances), cut in half, split one length lengthwise and sew to each side of the center piece. That way the seams are over toward the sides, not in the center.

HTH, NAYY,

Beverly

For cotton, try any on-line quilt or fabric store, and search for "backing." Quilt backings come 108" wide or sometimes more. Some of them are quite beefy, more so than plain muslin.

For example:

I have ordered from marshall dry goods, and was very happy with the order. I think I ordered from fabricshack, but I'm not sure. As with Erica's site, I may have just drooled!

As far as wool, Erica carries it, but only 54" wide.

For fleece, look at

I haven't bought from them yet, but might give them a try.Good luck!

Iris

Typically bedspreads are made in 1/4-1/2-1/4 -sections with the 1/2 amount you need in the center. I also suggest that you do 120 x 120 to give yourself adequate tucking and "covering." I made ours with 1/3 beige in the middle, 1/6 black, the 1/6 gray on both sides (gray, black, beige, black, gray). Sometimes I put it on stripes top to bottom, sometimes I put it on stripes side to side. Have some fun when making something like this.

Jon

I am over 6 foot tall and have noticed several things that are aimed only at those of normal height.

Because of this, I am considering making things to sell, aimed at tall and large people, starting with bedding. In order to do this competitively, I need to get cloth that is wide enough to not have a seam in it so that it is of equal quality to blankets that are of normal size.

I am especially interested in wool and cotton.

I need to buy cloth by the yard instead of buying some king sized sheets and trying to find a way to add to them and still maintain quality.

Thanks for all your help so far, it has been useful.

Look for sheeting somewhere like Dharma Trading. Sheeting comes in lots of different widths, starting at about 98" wide and working up to about

130" wide, and lots of colours. If you are thinking there may be a big market for the stuff you want to make, you should consider buying in bulk.

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Following this thread i had a few thoughts and questions.

does a seam reduce the quality ? or maybe i should ask how does a seam reduce the quality of the top bedding ? (i understand about sheets :} i am talking about the top bedding )

I agree that one center seam down the middle of a king size comforter made possibly by taking two 60" fabric and just stitching the sides together would be visually unsightly (like a bulls eye) but a simple change like [30" side + 60 " center +30" side] taking same two 60" fabrics splitting one and seaming to each side of the other would create a very differnt visual affect that may be less unsightly and that is two seams... taking this further a wider middle panel cut from 110" width fabric with drop seams that fall on the edge of the bed may be even less unsightly.

As for wide fabrics it seems one could get some company somewhere to make a custom fabric to your specs, i do not know it is not my domain but i have stumbled across lots of chinese textile mill web links that advertise making custom fabrics. I am guessing there would be a hefty yardage requirement though.

there others here that know all about that sort of need.

another $0.02

robb

I'm with Robb on this one. IF you use the formula he's given of 30" 60"

30" you can get a great looking comforter. You have to think in a way that would make a comforter interesting. Combine colors or colors and prints and you can come up with something unique and very attractive. I've made comforters,duvets and throws and have always used the 1/3, 2/3 formula. Success comes not only from making something that meets a need but also by being creative in meeting it. Juno

I'm going to chime in and agree with Robb and Juno. Having seams down the sides with the ratios don't detract from the quality nor appearance in my opinion. Actually, they _add_ interest instead of one huge piece of material. Seams also help filling from shifting as does the quilting. Take a look at comforters and quilts at stores and see how different prints and ways they are sewn together really add visual interest to a comforter or blanket.

When I was a child, I had a bedspread that had the seams right where the sides of the bed were supposed to be, and it made it really easy for a young child to make her bed neatly by herself. I don't know if they do that any more, though.

A bedspread is different than a blanket. A bedspread with a seam is fine. Most of them have them. If you want a supersize blanket, you may have to weave your own.

And using more standard widths of fabric will be more economical, which means that you will sell more.

I grew up with seamed summer sheets at my aunt and uncle's cottage -- made of floursacks joined with flat felled seams. Yes, both top and bottom sheets. And I certainly never minded. Actually, they were better sheets for sticky, hot summer weather than most.

But what I really thought I'd mention is that there's a single seam method for widening fabric that does not involve a seam straight down the middle. Page down to "The Story of the Diagonal Seamed Back" on John Flynn's pages:

In a blanket it would be noticeable and undesirable because it would be different then the other blankets on the market. In the insulation of a quilt it would feel like a seam and be undesirable. In the decorative cover of a quilt it could be hidden in the pattern as you describe, but in a cheaper quilt that had only one fabric it would not only be undesirable visually but would also be just that much more work to charge for, driving up the cost of the finished product.

Look at some of your blankets and such and think of what it would look like if it had a seam or two instead of being just one nice sheet of fabric.

Agreed, as to the outer layer of a comforter. That part can use different colors to hide the fact that it was to small a material. However, look at the expensive down filled comforters. The ones that have just one color (not everyone wants or can afford a multi colored one) and you see that they all are just one sheet of cloth with no seam. You can also feel the seam in the wool insulation and that would be undesirable, as would a blanket with a seam. Look at your bedding and see how much of it has a seam. People will expect the same with my bedding, and each seam adds to the time it takes to make it and adds to the cost of the finished product.

Thus, seams that are not part of the pattern add to cost and subtract from the quality of the finished product.

It seems to me that your only choice then is to contact manufactures and see what it will cost to have fabric made to your specifications. One other choice is to contact some of the online companies that carry fabric in wide widths and see if they can help you. You are looking for a specialty fabric for a specialty market. So it seems to me you're going to have to go to the source for fabric. Juno

You previously wrote: "Because of this, I am considering making things to sell, aimed at tall and large people, starting with bedding. In order to do this competitively, I need to get cloth that is wide enough to not have a seam in it so that it is of equal quality to blankets that are of normal size."

I think you're spinning your wheels, if you intend to make a product which competes esthetically and costwise with the major manufacturers. Even if you can find the colors and/or patterns in super wide fabric, the cost will not be competitive with companies which buy in huge quantities and thus at a much lower price, not to mention the ability to reduce production cost by orders of magnitude.

You are talking about making bedding for king-sized beds. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of commercially made blankets/comforters/sheets for that size bed.

"Results 1 - 10 of about 61,900 for King Size bedding ensembles." Just my .02¢

Beverly

We don't have wool batts the size of king size comforters. However, you could put several together to make one. Our woolen batts used for quilts are just a bit smaller then a twin sheet. So, four of them would probably be enough for a king size comforter with probably a little extra to be doubled-up around the edges for that extra warm feeling.

If you want pictures of our woolen batts, let me know. All of our woolen batts are natural colors and have been cleaned without harsh chemicals or dyes.

Regards,

Rick Boesen Olivet, MI

Yes, I am making bedding for king sized (and smaller) beds. But there is no competition with what I am wanting to make, because none of the market ones now are long enough for a person over 6 foot tall. All leave my feet sticking out. Thus, I will corner the market for that area. There is also nothing for large people, as in extra wide, so I will also corner that market.

Like the big and tall shops. Sure, there are lots of clothing stores, even wal-mart. But nothing in them for people of exceptional height or weight. Thus the area I wish to exploit.

If nothing else, I can at least make myself things that actually fit me and are as nice as the ones that don=92t fit me.

I already had a bed made for me, so my feet don=92t hang off the end any more.

Possibly. It just looks odd to me that every king sized sheet and comforter that I can buy has no seams, yet the only cloth that is available is smaller then the sheets.

I really don=92t think that every sheet and blanket maker also makes his own cloth from scratch. I think they buy it somewhere. Just finding that place is the problem.

I just want to thank all of you for your assistance in this little project of mine.

Even those that don=92t quite understand why I want it. You have been quite helpful.

One way for you to possibly think about it is like this.

Suppose that the only bedding that you can get is for a baby bed. The only bed that you can buy is a baby bed. Lay on one, and cover up with a baby quilt.

Try that out, and you are now welcome to my world.

Sure, you can sew a bunch of baby bed stuff together to make you one thing, but I bet that most of you would like to own things that are equal in quality to the rest of the people, so that method is not quite as appealing as simply finding the larger sized cloth.

Sure, I am not as much bigger then normal as you are bigger then a baby, but at least you can see what I am talking about.

I am simply wanting to supply myself (and others of extra large size) the same quality and comfort that is supplied to everyone else.