I started sleeping sans top sheet in '88 when I lived in Wisconsin and I've never looked back. With a duvet cover what's the point of a top sheet? Right now I'm just counting the days to when I can retrieve the down duvet and flannel covers from their summer storage and get to snugglin'.

Top sheets are terrible! I've never understood why people use them. With only a duvet, it takes me about 10 seconds to make my bed in the morning. I certainly don't envy anyone who has to tuck in a sheet every morning!

I was raised with a duvet and no top sheet (mom is from Europe) but my husband insists on a top sheet AND a duvet.

I'm not even sure what a top sheet is. When I was younger I slept under a half-torn sleeping bag with the pins still in.

Are we talking about those beds you visit sometimes that have so many tight sheets to pull away you don't know where the mattress is?

i live in socal so top sheets(and light coverlets) are the way to go since you don't need a duvet 10 months out of the year.

Duvet only for most of the 80's. Now I feel smothered under all that bulk. Top sheet only in the summer and an added blanket or two for the winter.

What the heck is a top sheet?

When I lived in Sacramento and Tokyo, I slept under duvets only...
...but here in SF where it's cold most of the year I need the extra layer of a blanket so it's a top sheet, blanket and duvet for me - besides, I like the layered appearance.

Top sheet and a light blanket in summer, but only a duvet and flannel bottom sheet in the cooler months.

Top sheet and lite blanket most of the year, to hot in Hawaii (low country) to have a duvet, and a heavier blanket in the winter. The people in higher elevation most likely make use of one.

I did away with top sheets years ago in college when I was sleeping on a futon, and I've never gone back. I thought I was just being rebellious and lazy - my grandmother was the queen of hospital corners; my mother's not far behind. I never knew it was a European thing. Here I've been cosmopolitan this whole time & never knew it!

Husband and I each have our own blankets (saves us from fighting over one and losing any sleep/warmth/comfort) and we meet in the middle in a big mash of blankets - enough for everyone! In the summer I use the duvet cover without any comforter in it as a heavy sheet/light blanket (I live in NE Ohio).

I'll never go back to top sheets and hospital corners - what a waste of good energy!

I stopped using a top sheet about a year ago. It no longer seemed necessary. I don't think I've ever paid $200 for a duvet cover, though. The most I've paid is $70, and I have a few of them. I like having a few different colors and designs (sunflower yellow, blues, deep reds) and I've bought mine from Overstock.

Lets see how many people have to ask before someone takes pity on us and answers the question....What.Is.A.Top.Sheet??

A top sheet, dear friends, is a second flat bed sheet.

So, in that scenario, you're basically using two flat sheets, one being the top sheet and the other being the bottom sheet.

: )

Top sheet/blanket/duvet combo for me. I love the way it looks, and I love the warmth of the layers. Plus, I would hate to have to wash and restuff my duvet every week. What a pain.

My husband was a "duvet only" man until I converted him. He's so grateful. (At least, that's what he tells me.)

FYI: There's a top sheet in every single one of the example photos -- for those of you who have never heard of a top sheet.

A top sheet is a flat sheet. The perfect rectangle sheet that comes with a set of sheets.

What it a top sheet? In the US, sheets are often sold in sets that include the bottom sheet, with elasticized corners that fit over the mattress, a top sheet, and a pillowcase or two in the same material. The top sheet is flat, unfitted, and is tucked under the mattres at the end of the bed. "Hospital corners" is a way of tucking in the sheet really tight.

Blankets and a bedspread, or a comforter or a duvet go over the top sheet as needed for warmth.

The top sheet is the flat sheet that comes with the fitted sheet in a package of sheets. You normally get one fitted, one flat and two pillow cases. It never even occurred to me that people would not use them...

Now, a question in return: what the heck is a duvet? Is it the same as a comforter? And if so, why does it need a cover?

Duvet only always strikes me as kind of dirty because you know people aren't washing that cover every week.

What's all this breathless gushing about sleeping sans top sheet? You'd think it was a profoundly liberating experience!

I'm with creative license-- top sheets are handy because they keep duvet covers cleaner, necessitating less frequent washings. Since duvet covers are frequently more expensive than sheets (and made of finer fabric-- mine, at least), they'll suffer far less wear & tear is they're washed & dried less frequently. Plus, they're a nuisance to restuff.

I hate top sheets!! Thank you for highlighting their unnecessary nature :)

topsheet and duvet! 1. i am cold without that extra top sheet layer. 2. i hate having to wash the duvet every week. My husband unfortunately is a duvet only man so the top sheet exists only on my side and we had to carefully choose the duvet to be easily washed (and now have a more decorative quilt on top that isn't washed)

Top sheet and duvet here -- who wants to wash the duvet cover frequently. And in summer, just a cotton blanket, with top sheet, of course.

The whole point of the top (flat) sheet is so you don't have to launder the duvet as frequently and wear it out. Besides a down comforter with duvet, I also have some vintage quilts I use. If I washed them every week they would fall apart. A $20 sheet can be changed and laundered every few days. Plus they are easier to fit in small washing machines.

a duvet is a comforter cover. you put a comforter inside it and button, zip up or fold the duvet closed. that way you can change the look of your bedding without having to buy a bunch of bulky comforters, nor do you have to be stuck with the design of one comforter.

i have a comforter i haven't used in a few years and at least five duvets. one voile cotton duvet is so light and airy (west elm) that it is the perfect warm weather cover. better than any topsheet or thin blanket. and i have to say putting a duvet on as the last layer over a pile of thin blankets can be the last great layer. even without a comforter in it, it seems to seal the heat in.

Oh, for TWEETS, a duvet is a cover that goes over a comforter to protect it, or to change the look of your bedroom.

Top sheet and duvet. I hate wrestling the down comforter into its cover, so less frequent washings of the duvet cover are nice. Also, if I get hot in the middle of the night, I can push the duvet off for a while and still have a little bit of cover.

This is weird!

Spot on home body. Our radiators can get super hot and it's nice to have just the sheet when the comforter is to much.

I mean too much!

I like a top sheet - mostly since I tend to get too warm at night and kick off the covers. But I like being covered with something and the top sheet is usually just enough.

My husband and I used to always fight about how tight to tuck the top sheet--I liked it VERY tight while he wanted it looses. Then we did a trip to Scandinavia and discovered the joy of duvets--we have never looked back. No more fights--we both love the ease of the comforter and the ability to move feet--and no more having to straighten and tighten the sheets during the night for me, since a duvet and cover seem to straighten themselves. The covers get washed once or twice a week (during summer) just like the rest of the bedding. It was a wonderous discovery (and I am only partially kidding here).

Okay, but this is something I was wondering when I was in Ireland this summer--do hotels wash the duvet cover/comforter every time there's a new guest? It was freaking me out, actually, because it seemed that they couldn't possibly wash all those duvets every single time.

That would be my main problem with sleeping without the top sheet. My duvet cover is white and expensive and I don't want to wash it all the time.

A duvet is the down or polyfill filled quilted blanket that usually requires a duvet cover. As far as I can tell, it's because it's less washable than a comforter. A comforter is going to probably have a layer of cotton or poly batting in it that doesn't move inside its containment (couldn't come up with a better word). There's a lot of gray area...

With regards to top sheets...I grew up just using a duvet and cover. But considering how big a pain in the butt it is to remove the cover, and therefore how infrequently it gets washed, not using a top sheet seems really unsanitary. But then Europeans have always been slightly less cleanliness-obsessed than Americans...

Ditched the top sheet years ago, it's unnecessary as long as you wash your duvet covers regularly!

I like the idea of only using a duvet cover, but I can't imagine taking it off and putting it back on every week to wash it. Much simpler for me to wash a flat sheet.

I hate the flat sheet! I've recently come to this conclusion after YEARS of making the bed with one, and slowly through the week it becomes rolled and crumpled at the foot of the bed. In Michigan most people use them because the winters are so damn cold.

I didn't realize that was a European thing... I hate flat sheets and always have. I would kick them off when I was little and when I was old enough to make my own bed I just stopped using them. If I can I buy fitted sheets and pillowcases by themselves instead of a whole set. I also only use a duvet in the winter, in the summer its just a coverlet.

I didn't even know what a duvet was until about 10 years ago. Now my husband says the top sheet makes his feet feel claustrophobic so no more top sheet, just the soft duvet and we love it. It helps that we found a really soft Sferra duvet at a great price at a Tuesday Morning.

Had no clue this was a European thing either. I've been using the duvet only for a long time. Don't have to buy the top sheet, makes the bed-making easier, and my feet are free. I don't mind the regular washing, I have as many covers as I do sheet sets (though not fancy $200 ones!). In the summer though I do switch to a light quilt and top sheet. Just switched back to the duvet yesterday and forgot how indulgent it feels.

I never sleep with a top sheet -- makes me feel smothered. I just change the duvet cover when I change my bottom sheet & pillowcases. Easy peasy!

I had no idea until recently that anyone used a top sheet with duvets. I live in England and the only people I've encountered who use sheets and blankets are hospitals, nursing homes and very elderly people.

I guarantee that at least 99 out of 100 people you stop on any british high street would think you were daft for having an extra sheet under your duvet. Duvet covers are cheap and they certainly aren't any harder to wash than a couple of sheets. Most folk change them weekly and have several duvet covers. For example, polycotton twin duvet set from Asda clearance (British Walmart) for under $10 http://direct.asda.com/Blue-Medallion-Duvet-Cover-Set---Various-Sizes/BlueMedallionDuvetCoverSetMaster,default,pd.html

I hate top sheets, they just get twisted all around my legs in the middle of the night... I've been sleeping without a top sheet since I was a teenager.

Do you all actually wash your sheets every single week????

This post makes me feel like a complete freak of nature. I do a flat sheet, a light down duvet, a second flat sheet, and a poly-fill duvet. This is accompanied by a minimum of six pillows (two each of euro, king, and standard) as well as a feather bed. Laugh if you'd like, but anybody who's ever slept in my bed says it's the cuddliest they've ever been in.

The topsheet is the most useless part of bedroom linens. Besides, we, the poor, have always slept sans topsheet.

We use a top sheet to keep the duvet cover cleaner for a longer period of time. Sheets are washed 2x per week. Duvet cover, every 10 to 14 days.

I only use duvet covers but then again I'm European. I have a lot of duvet covers, different patterns and colors. They are so practical. I haven't seen top sheets in our stores for decades.

Completely hate top sheets, have been raised with duvet and duvet covers. Don't know why people consider it a hassle - I change and wash the covers when I change and wash my sheets once a week.

I am rolling around the floor laughing at this thread. Thank-you to all the people who clarified what a top sheet was (er, as far as I understand it it's the sheet between you and your duvet? Right?). And to clarify in return, a duvet is a quilt and a duvet COVER is what you put on the quilt so you don't have to wash your quilt all the time. I, apparently along with the rest of Europe, don't understand why you'd switch from a topsheet and blankets to a duvet and yet still keep the topsheet. Reallly. I just don't understand.

It doesn't sound reasonable to me to wash a huge duvet cover every week.....and does it even fit in the washer with the fitted sheet and pillow cases?

My feet get cold with just a duvet. I have to wake up, rearrange the darn thing so my feet are covered all night long, especially with Himself stealing the covers on a regular basis. I like my topsheet, anchored at the bottom of my bed, protecting my feet from the elements, thank you very much.

I despise washing my duvet cover because that means having to tug the whole thing off and they get the stupid thing back on. I use a top sheet in between me and it. I also just don't tuck in the top sheet except at the bottom of the bed so there aren't huge trapped feet issues. A pretty quilt goes over the whole thing. Oh - and I have a heated mattress pad for ultimate comfort. Feels very luxurious!

@doubtfulguest: I envy you Brits. Duvet covers ARE expensive here, since most people use blankets+flat sheet. I WISH I could get them for a mere $10, because I HATE flat sheets...

I'm a no-top-sheet kind of gal for sure, since childhood (mom's solution for easy bed-making). So when buying sheets, I buy two sets, and use the two flat sheets to MAKE the duvet cover!

It's not difficult to take the duvet-cover on and off, I don't understand the problem? Here's the way to do it:
When you take it off, leave it with the outside facing inwards. Wash it that way and iron it that way if you're one of those people. To put it back on, put your arms inside the opening and grab the two corners opposite of the opening. Hold tight and shake the whole thing so that the cover falls in place. Alternatively have your significant other pull it on. WAY easier than stretching and tightening that stupid top sheet.

Top sheets don't require hospital corners any more than a blanket does. Just because you hate hospital corners doesn't mean you have to hate top sheets.

My 5 and 2 yr old kids sleep without a top sheet because it's easier to make their beds that way and they can do it themselves (not that they do, but that's the theory).

I must sleep with a top sheet because I don't have a removable duvet cover. We use quilts and comforters. I can't imagine sleeping without a top sheet!

What I don't get is why people think it's so hard to make a bed with a top/flat sheet. I give mine plenty of fabric to securely anchor it under the bed so it stays in place all week. The duvet doesn't move on top it so all it needs is a quick pull up and straighten in the morning.

I use a top sheet and a duvet/duvet cover. In summer the duvet gets flipped to one side and the top sheet is all that is needed. In fall/spring, the top sheet and duvet make the perfect combination and in winter I add a blanket to the top.

I think of a top sheet in the same way that I think of an undershirt. That extra layer is where all the warmth gets trapped. Why wouldn't I want that?

@LIfeisgrand: Brilliant idea re: making the duvet. How do you make the fasterner-- velcro or snaps might be easy. I"m a beginner at sewing.

Anny4930 - Sounds like a lot of work, but I bet it's comfy.

I'm with those that like top sheets since they seem more sanitary than having the blanket lay across you. And for anyone who gets warm in the night, it's easy to kick off the blanket and just keep the top sheet.

@ChrisGal, a duvet is not a blanket, it's a quilt that requires a cover, so there is always something between you and the quilt, it's perfectly "sanitary".

I am now having visions of half of America pinned flat to their beds by taut, hospital-cornered topsheets while their fluffy duvets float undisturbed above... LOL

Oof, I get much too hot under a duvet (even a lightweight one) in the summer, so I use a topsheet and cotton blanket when it's hot out (I have trouble sleeping under just a sheet, and the blanket provides weight without much warmth). Spring and fall, it's usually top sheet and duvet (for flexibility) and in winter duvet only.

This whole thread reminds me of an online conversation I had once about pajama-wearing traditions in various western countries. I say, what you wear to, put on, or do in bed is your own business!

So that's a top sheet? And here I thought it was called flat sheet. Dealing with Indiana winter where -30 degree wind chill is the norm, kind of necessary in order to keep alive, as well as frozen pipes preventing laundering.

Having moved to warmer weather I did away with the flat, er, I mean, top sheet; but recently brought it back. It serves as extra protection when my rescue feral kittens try to devour me while I sleep.

Top sheet + Duvet
I was the duvet cover occasionally and the sheets every 1-2 weeks. I don't care what my sheets look like b/c nobody sees them but me so I don't care if they get faded. The duvet cover on the other hand...

Also, there is no way I do hospital corners...I just tuck it in the bottom...sometimes I don't even do that.

"Do you all actually wash your sheets every single week????"

Um, Yeah....
Sleeping in a bed that hasn't been changed in a week or more simply disgusting.

I sleep under as many blankets as I can get. But nevermind that.

Where is that gorgeous bed from in the first shot? Reminds me of the ikea version, but this one is much much nicer.

I think it's hilarious how adamant some people are that there is a superior way to dress the bed. I personally love the snug feeling of sliding into a freshly made bed with a tucked in top sheet (but hospital corners? nah). I am also in San Diego so we end up kicking off our comforter 8 of 10 nights, so (as the other Southern Californians have mentioned) the top sheet is perfect for us. Plus, a set of sheets is about half the price of a duvet cover, so I can have 2 sets to alternate--and not have to hope the washer is open on the day I want to change the bed.

In college I mainly slept without the top sheet and liked that too, but I went back to the double sheet delight eventually.

Uh, does anyone realize that top (or flat) sheets are not some weird American invention? There are plenty of people in Europe who use them as well. FYI.

The first thing I do when I get into bed in a hotel is pull up the hospital corners--I can't stand having my legs constricted and like to be able to stick my feet out from under the covers if I get hot.

I've always slept with just a duvet cover. In response to some delicate folks who are grossed out by this, I wash the cover about once a month, have had it for years and it still looks great. I don't think the lack of top sheet makes it wear out faster. Also, I don't have cooties or smell funny.

My top sheet always gets kicked into a bunch down at the the end of the bottom of the bed. I sleep with a feather comforter, which gets pulled up around my chin and a quilt at my feet, which I pull up to my knees for weight. I've always loved that feeling of weight. I don't have a need for the top sheet, I just use it because it came with the set!

JudyAU Perhaps you don't wash your duvet cover every time you wash your sheets, but I do. It's the whole reason I got a duvet in the first place!

I grew up in a comforter world ...ugg! I actually bought duvets and brought them back with me from the UK in my suitcase because Wisconsin is a virtually duvetless state. I admit, I still prefer a top sheet because I like to have something tucked in around me. Now if I ever wore clothes to bed, then the top sheet wouldn't be necessary (sorry, no 'polite' way to make my point here). It's nice to feel 'safe' and secure.

This isn't an either/or to me -- it's a big old NEITHER.

I can't stand sleeping with a flat top sheet OR a duvet cover. I grew up with both but have found that top sheets just became a twisted mass in the night and duvets shift around too much in their covers so you end up with either a huge lumpy mass or cover only and no warm duvet!

I ditched top sheets in college and more recently dumped all my duvets for quilts. I've found the bed to be much more comfortable now and easier to make and since I make sure to buy all machine washable quilts it's plenty sanitary as well. The quilts just get softer as I wash them over time.

I will admit that I do use the top sheet in hotels -- they can't be washing those bedspreads every time -- but it's never very comfortable!

Grew up in Canada so always had a duvet. Never understood in American hotels why the bedding was so thin and weird - always thought it was a budget thing since it was so uncomfortable. Then I moved to the U.S. and saw that people had that same type of bedding (flat sheet) in their homes! I don't understand how people can sleep like that! But to each their own, I guess. I always throw out the flat sheet that comes in packages.

Lifeisgrand -

Just like you I make duvet covers out of flat sheets. I usually buy one complete patterned/fancy/expensive set (which provides one flat sheet) and then a more inexpensive white flat sheet for the other side of the duvet cover. Snaps make a great closure.

I also make sure to attach fabric ties or snaps to the inside corners of my duvet covers as well as the corners of the duvets/comforters themselves. I use them to attach the duvet more securely inside its cover when I make the bed. This keeps the duvet from shifting around inside its cover during the week.

"Do you all actually wash your sheets every single week????"

Um, Yeah....
Sleeping in a bed that hasn't been changed in a week or more simply disgusting."

Um, double yeah. Sheets get dirty just like your clothes. They need to be changed at least once a week if not more.

Yes,we change/wash our bedding/duvet covers once or twice a week. Clean sheets (and, dare I say, ironed pillowcases) are one of the cheap thrills of life!

I don't see why your bed would be gross if 1) you shower in the evening, just before going to bed and 2) you don't have the heat up too high and don't sweat excessively in your sleep? And I guess just naturally not having much BO helps, too....

I never used a flat sheet (except, uh, as my cover in the summer); I thought it was a hotel-only thing (since obviously it's easier than laundering the comforter cover after every guest) and didn't realize a significant number of ppl actually used them in their homes!

Whatever floats one's boat. This thread has caused quite a stir. Who knew sheets and duvets was such a divisive issue?

People are different. Climates are different. Not everyone has the same sleep needs. I like the idea of not using a top sheet, but I am not about to add the chore of changing out the comforter to wash the duvet to my Saturday mornings. I have nothing at all against anyone who does this : )

I love the simplicity of just a duvet, but it gets a little drafty in the winter time.

For years, after a visit to Europe, I slept under nothing but a duvet... But, it's such a pain in the arse to change the cover after laundering that I started using a top sheet again, to extend the cleanliness of the duvet cover.

Gotta have my top sheet. And a very thin quilt, if it gets a little chilly. It's HOT and HUMID in the south, y'all.

idontdobeige - Just because someone uses a top sheet doesn't mean they do hospital corners. Now to be fair I do like hospital corners but mostly because I don't want to find the sheet in the middle of the night - and if the corners are tight, the sheet doesn't get that rumpled and the bed is easy to make. I also know what a duvet cover is - and find them annoying as heck to put on so I don't use them.

To answer Janetmc... My Mum had a B&B (Ireland) and yes, we did change the bedding every day that there was a new guest in that bed. That's common practice.

What's normal regarding laundering in bedding?... I was under the impression you change you sheets and Duvet cover every week if you're a couple (sharing a bed, more sweat n' stuff???) and every fortnight if you're single (not much going on in the bed, you see);). That's a rough guide, give or take a few days.

As for laundering the actual comforter/duvet within, that would be an annual affair to the local Laundromat, drying a down feather Duvet (like I have) is a long/technical affair.

Fun debate. I grew up with a top sheet and still use one, coudln't imagine not using one, ick. It does get bunched a little, but it's easy enough to take off blankets/covers/whatever and remake the bed now and then. I'd much rather oils go on a sheet than a nice duvet cover or comforter. Duvet covers are to protect the duvet/comforter, top sheet to protect inner side of duvet cover/comforter. Also, less and less stores sell sheets separately now and it's often more expensive to buy them separately than to just buy a sheet set. In the summer when it's hot we just use a top sheet over us, then as the weather cools we add a blanket, then comforters.. but the top sheet is always there and super versatile. I put clean sheets on every week, but we have a lot of sheet sets so there's always options.

Geeze, all you neurotic bedding-washers are making me feel gross! After years of living in apartments with coin-op washers and limited laundry room hours, bedding only gets washed when absolutely needed. Recently moved to a house with our own washer/dryer, but it seems like a hideous waste of water now to wash your sheets twice a week.

LOL, this is a priceless discussion!

The only place I've been forced to sleep with a blanket and a flat-or-top-or-whatever sheet combo are hospitals and ferries crossing the Baltic Sea. I'd NEVER have them at home, blargh, eww for sheet that is at your feet in the morning. Can't stand the feeling of not being able to move either, if it's tucked well under the mattress.

So I use a down duvet-comforter-whatever-thingy, which has a cover sewn on three sides. Not only the bottom side is open however, but also the two top corners, which have small slits making life a lot easier when changing sheets.

And yes, they are washed once weekly. Ten million small friends after one week with "new" bed linen, thirty million after two weeks. Absolutely gross to sleep in the same sheets more than a week!

I'm with NitaDC - the sheets get laundered every two weeks. Any more often than that just seems overkill. Unless you are going to bed without at least washing up, it's a horrible waste of water and the color of the sheets is going to get faded along with the sheets wearing out sooner.

I use a wool blanket under my duvet for extra warmth, and it's not next-to-skin soft so I use a flat sheet with it.

In the summer I use the sheet and a light quilt, I'm almost never comfortable with nothing over me at night, but a sheet is nice and light during hot summers.

Honestly, am I the *only* one who thinks it's funny that there's a top sheet in every single one of these photos???

I think there should be another post soon about bed dressing etiquette... this was lots of fun.

As a child I slept with only a duvet. Once I hit my teens Mom started making me do my own laundry. That's when I figured out that just washing a sheet is easier than having to stuff your duvet back in the cover every time, haha. So now it's sheet + duvet, but I definitely still prefer just a duvet.

People must be tossing and turning a lot to feel so restricted by a top sheet. Mine is tucked in at the bottom, complete with "hospital corners" (although honestly I don't know if I do them properly). I fall asleep and don't move until I wake up again, so making the bed in the morning is nothing more than flipping everything back up. I guess if you tuck the sheet in at the sides, that would be restrictive, but how would you even get in the bed?

In European hotels they do change duvet covers after each client, at least this the case in Finland and other Nordic countries. When I am visiting the US, I find it so disgusting to sleep in hotels with a top sheet and "used" duvet cover that I can barely sleep...

At home we change our bedding, including a duvet cover, at least once a week, and in addition, we wash our comforter and pillows at least 4 times a year. Changing your bedding takes only 5-10 minutes per a bed, it just takes some practice. And nobody uses top sheets here.

.

I grew up without any flat or top sheets. Well, we had flat sheets but we used them as fitted sheets, we tucked them under the mattress. To cover we used duvets (or comforters) with duvet covers. The duvets were usually white filled with sheep wool and a piece of colored silk fabric sewn in the center on one of the sides. Then the duvet would be covered with a duvet cover, but duvet covers had a rectangular, rhombic or circular openings in the middle on one side usually adorned with lace work all around the opening. When the duvet was inserted in the duvet cover through that opening the sewn colored silk fabric would show through the opening. During summer duvet covers would "host" lighter summer blankets.

We would change the duvet covers when we would change the flat (bottom) sheets and pillow cases.

When I moved to the U.S. I learned about the American way of making beds with fitted and flat sheets, blankets, comforters, quilts... At first I thought it was a rocket science, but soon I got used and now I sleep with a flat sheet under my duvet. First of all, it keeps my duvet cover clean for longer. Secondly, duvet covers here in the U.S. are made of tougher fabrics, so it's nice to have a higher-threaded sheet against my body and not the duvet cover. And last but not least, I like to mix and match the bedding items, so it creates a nice ensemble... Though I don't like sleeping with my flat sheets tucked, so I untuck them when I get in the bed...

@creative license

No, you are not alone... :) It is funny indeed.... They should have used some pics from the IKEA web site, they usually don't have top sheets...

Hmm, this is the issue about which my American husband and I (Canadian) had our very first major argument. I lost, and it took me a very long time to get used to the topsheet. I still wash our duvet cover just as often, because the (annoying!!!) topsheet inevitably ends up a twisted lump at the end of the bed, so in effect we ARE sleeping with just the duvet cover anyway. And when he goes away on business, I ditch it all together...
People (including me) get very riled up about precious sleep and anything that could impact it!
I have to say, duvet covers ARE expensive and overly fancy here - I can see why people don't like buying too many or overwashing them...

I can't stand top sheets. They're an uncomfortable nuisance. It used to be that it was easy to purchase sheets and pillow cases separately and avoid them. Nowadays the 'sets" have taken over, forcing consumers to buy things they don't necessarily want. We've got a stack of spare top sheets that we don't know what to do with. Clutter that perhaps we'll toss in the next Home Cure?

Way back when I was little, my mom used two flat sheets on each bed, no fitted sheets, just a flat sheet tucked in all around. To save on laundry, every week the bottom sheet was removed and washed, and the top sheet became the bottom sheet and a clean top sheet was put on, along with a blanket or two and a bedspread.

I use a top sheet and have never had a problem with it knotting up or ending up at the foot of the bed. However, I buy the next larger size of flat sheet (queen size for a double bed) so that there is enough fabric to tuck in. I use "military corners" because Dad taught me how to make a bed and he spent his whole life in the Army.

I've tried just having the duvet and no top sheet, but I usually end up with my feet out in the open, which gets cold in the winter. My down comforter is not warm enough in the dead of winter, so I also use a top sheet and one or two blankets, plus at times, thermal undies if necessary to stay warm.

There are still a few place where you can get individual sheets and not the sheet sets, if you just want the fitted sheet and pillow cases. Garnet Hill, The Company Store and some Land's End sheets are still available as separate sheets and not sets.

What the heck?!? Maybe it's a southern thing, but I've always used a flat sheet...Also, never even HEARD of a duvet or it's cover until about 10 years ago! In fact, I don't know of anyone in my circle of friends that has a duvet. It's always been fitted sheet, top sheet, comforter in my house.

I have love hate feelings about Duvets. I like using them at home but NEVER use the ones at hotels. Usually the higher end hotels use them instead of the blankets, but I am still not convinced that hotels wash each duvet after each hotel guest. They are usually bulky and large and so I can't imagine that they would take the time to wash ALL those duvets every single day.

To add to the confusion, in Australian, duvet is doona.
We (personally, not necessarily nationally) use a top sheet, as no central heating (just our house, again not all) means in Melbourne it can be cold enough in winter to need a blanket underneath the doona (which is heavy wool), so a sheet feels less scratchy.
Sheets can be washed each week. The doona cover, being king size, is huge & an effort to get back over the doona, so tend not to wash it all that often - & it needs a warm day to line dry. Mostly washed during the cat's moulting season or when the little muddy paw prints get a bit much. But then we're the ones with the white doona cover & the black cat...

Top sheets do look nice, and it's a real treat to slip between freshly laundered, heavy linen sheets. But the ironing! Who has time or inclination to iron sheets/bedding? Ikea do very light cotton duvet covers that are easy to launder, and look fine even if crumpled.

Iron one's bedding?
Why on earth would you do that?

(I can maybe see the point for pillow cases, if you have nothing else to do. But...)

To add a little bit more info on European sleeping habits: in middle and northern Europe people usually sleep under duvets (with regularly washed duvet-covers) and no top sheets but maybe blankets on top (in winter). Around the Mediterranean a top sheet and a blanket are common. But here in Europe I've never heard of anyone using a top sheet AND a duvet.

I'm with MissHeliotrope -- Why in the heck would one iron the sheets? I could only imagine you are ruining higher thread count sheets slowly by inducing the heat of an iron.

It's so nice to know that other people do this! I've always kicked the top sheet into a little ball at the bottom of the bed until I just gave up and stopped putting it back on the bed. My family always used Duvet covers so it wasn't really a problem. The only problem is that duvet covers are harder to find and very expensive here. I've always wondered about that - do other people just throw out their comforters when they want to change the look? My Fiance thinks it's so strange that I hate sheets - now I can tell him it's just french!

I adore top sheets and cant sleep without them.
I never tucked them in though, I have to bring them up under my feet and rub them around!

As a mom, I must add that I used the top sheet/duvet with my boys, but they managed to bunch the flat sheet at the bottom of the bed and use the down comforter(duvet) by itself, thus soiling the duvet with sweat stains that were fadeable but not removable....so if one has kids, the advantage of a duvet cover with top sheet is extra insurance against staining an expensive duvet...

Ditto re: it's a climate thing. And perhaps a geography/resources thing. I grew up with quilts: historically scrap material and multiple layers were perhaps more readily available than goose down? And you can't wash those as easily as the bulk comes with the outer next to body part. Question: I do like the look of a "finished" bed: for those that use only a sheet in summer, do you take off a decorative cover each night or just leave it bare during the day?

A duvet is a feather-filled "comforter". Duvet means "down" in French. A duvet cover is a pocket-like cover that you put the duvet in.

Hello all,
Is there a way to find out in general %-wise how many people in the US use Duvet covers? And I mean completely cover there blankets with linen and sleep like that? I have been searching for an answer for this for a while now, so please if anyone can guide me where I can find answers please help me. You can also email me at Viccooper@gmail.com

My parents always and still use top sheets. As small children, my sister and I were restless sleepers and we complained until our mother agreed we could remove them. Nearly 20 years later, we still don't use top sheets. If I'm a guest, I sleep on top of the top sheet.

In Australia we normally call duvets 'doona' covers. I have an Australian Wool filled doona which is lightweight, cool in summer and warm in winter. Growing up, my Mum always used a top sheet on our beds. Now I just use a doona (with cover) and just a fitted sheet with no top sheet. Doona covers are so cheap here, even for really good quality ones. It's more expensive to buy a nice sheet set than what it is to buy the covers.
Also, I don't see how it's hard to wash the doona cover once a week. All you so is take it off, leaving it inside out. Wash it that way then when it is dry, reach your hands up inside and grab the two top corners from the inside, then grab the top corners of the doona and shake the cover down over it. I find its way easier then having to make the bed with the top sheet every day.

In Australia we normally call duvets 'doona' covers. I have an Australian Wool filled doona which is lightweight, cool in summer and warm in winter. Growing up, my Mum always used a top sheet on our beds. Now I just use a doona (with cover) and just a fitted sheet with no top sheet. Doona covers are so cheap here, even for really good quality ones. It's more expensive to buy a nice sheet set than what it is to buy the covers.
Also, I don't see how it's hard to wash the doona cover once a week. All you so is take it off, leaving it inside out. Wash it that way then when it is dry, reach your hands up inside and grab the two top corners from the inside, then grab the top corners of the doona and shake the cover down over it. I find its way easier then having to make the bed with the top sheet every day.

In Australia we normally call duvets 'doona' covers. I have an Australian Wool filled doona which is lightweight, cool in summer and warm in winter. Growing up, my Mum always used a top sheet on our beds. Now I just use a doona (with cover) and just a fitted sheet with no top sheet. Doona covers are so cheap here, even for really good quality ones. It's more expensive to buy a nice sheet set than what it is to buy the covers.
Also, I don't see how it's hard to wash the doona cover once a week. All you so is take it off, leaving it inside out. Wash it that way then when it is dry, reach your hands up inside and grab the two top corners from the inside, then grab the top corners of the doona and shake the cover down over it. I find its way easier then having to make the bed with the top sheet every day.