I use duvets/covers all the time. With the cotton ones, part of it is having washed it enough so that the sizing, etc. is completely gone and the fibers are relaxing; in my experience, depending on the kind of fabric this can be from a couple to around a dozen washings. The kind of fabric also matters--I find that higher counts tend to soften up sooner and be "neater." Making sure that you hang it so that it dries flat, straight would also help.

One other thing--a duvet and cover will rarely look fresh-pressed--they are supposed to look more informal/casual.

FWIW.

I have several duvet covers and the only on that seems to stay wrinkle free is the Charter Club one I got from Macy's. It's not very exciting to look at, but it doesn't wrinkle. And I SWEAR I'm not a spammer but I just searched for it and there's a President's Day sale. The duvet cover with the monochromatic stripes in the header image of this web page is the one I have. I think this cover has been around Macy's since the 80's, but if it ain't broke...
http://www1.macys.com/shop/bed-bath/featured-brands/charter-club/bedding?id=7524&edge=hybrid

A little bit of fabric softener will help. I normally don't use fabric softener on anything, but found this is a miracle worker with the duvet cover. I use Mrs. Meyers, because it is less chemically and does not smell like a laundry room.

How did you dry it if you don't have a dryer. I've found that hanging things to dry actually makes them less wrinkly then the dryer. Make sure when you iron it it's not bone dry yet. I have http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Havana-Floral-Duvet-Cover-Set/3231682/product.html these now and they're great and get really soft after a couple of washes.

To @kariwk's point about thread count - the one I posted has a 500 thread count - so maybe that's why it always looks so smooth. Try finding something with 400 thread count or higher...

Hi,

I love Matouks 50/50 Italian cotton duvets and sheets, the Portofino and Key Largo.

They wear well, don't need ironing and are tres classy. Expensive yes. However, you can buy first quality Matouk sheets, towels etc. at their Fall River Mass mill outlet store extremely reasonably. It is SO WORTH IT!

Is is the secret of the snazzy Boston Decorators who leave with shopping carts full of great stuff like Lulu DK.

Oh! Matouk's website.

http://www.matouk.com/

I used to work for a department store and it was not like we really had the option of washing or ironing our bedding when people were always laying on them and wrinkling them, so one trick that i learned therewas to mix liquid fabric softner and water in a spray bottle and spray it onto your linens pull them straight and it should work out the wrinkles (even though i no longer work there I still use the trick in my own home)

We had a duvet made of rayon from Bamboo fiber, and it was incredibly soft and mostly wrinkle free.

Make sure the duvet is not completely dry when you iron it and use a hot iron and spray starch.

If you don't want to spray-starch something that's going to touch your skin, you could always steam-iron it by using a wringing-wet dish towel as a press-cloth. Set iron to "dry - no steam" and the iron to max heat. Gives the best creases ever for sewing projects.

I iron mine every once in a while. I don't even bother taking it off the bed or the quilt out. I just plug my iron into an extension cord and iron away.

What about getting a steamer?

@lenzai - We have that duvet cover too but it totally faded after one wash and now looks pretty dingy. So sad... But it doesn't wrinkle!

I agree with Annabel. I got a steamer and it serves many purposes. You can steam your duvet cover, steam your curtains, your couch and your t-shirts! You don't need an industrial one either and wait for one to go on sale. Never pay full price, they all go on sale.

It's not just the fiber content of the fabric, it's also the weight and the weave. in the same way that other commenters say that higher thread count covers would work better, I think that heavier weight fabrics also stay flatter.

Are you hanging the cover out to dry indoors or outdoors? I find that when I hang things outdoors the wind helps shake out the wrinkles, whereas when I hang them indoors they tend to get stiff and wrinkly.

I second the suggestion of using spray starch.

I signed up just to recommend my current cover. I was having the same problem, and due to my obsessive need for neatness and order, I was ironing the bed every. single. day. This was obviously not sustainable, and after some research I ended up with this pintucked cover from West Elm:

http://www.westelm.com/products/organic-cotton-pin-tuck-duvet-cover-and-shams-b340/

The texture makes any wrinkles virtually invisible, and it adds interest to the bed for sure. I have never had to iron it. Good luck!

Adding to Meghan W06, I just bought the organic matelasse duvet from West Eml and after one wash it dried perfectly smooth, perhaps due to the weight of the cotton. The mattelasse is only on the top side, while the side you touch is really soft and smooth. http://www.westelm.com/products/organic-matalesse-mosaic-duvet-and-shams-b572/?pkey=call-bedding

I went with the same strategry as Meghan- buy something that's SUPPOSED to look wrinkled (mine's from IKEA). :)

My grandma always sent her cotton damask duvet cover out to be cleaned; they would come back so heavily starched that you had to peel them apart, like pages in a book. I've tried to find a service like that here, but no luck.

Basically, this is what you need a rotary iron for. Not having a dryer makes me guess you're not going to run out and get one of those either...

Next best suggestion -- what I do since I can't find a laundry or afford a rotary iron either -- is use liquid starch in the final rinse (and make it heavy), and then iron when it is still slightly damp. Works well.

Of course, there are some duvets that are designed not to be ironed. There are a couple of Italian and French linen (yes, linen) lines that are actually not supposed to be ironed -- they have a love soft texture and natural wrinkle to them.

http://www.societylimonta.com/eng/home.html

http://couleur-chanvre.com/home/8-linge-de-lit-chanvre-ecologique.php

why don't you just get it dry-cleaned?

I think some fabrics are just more prone to wrinkling than others. I always buy 100% cotton bedding, and just recently got some pillow shams at ikea that I washed and literally removed from the dryer within seconds of the load finishing. They were more wrinkled than if I'd crunched them up into a tiny ball and left at the bottom of the laundry basket for a month. And, the way they were sewn, they were very difficult to iron. I swear it took me about 5 minutes for each pillowcase! What a nuisance... but I have happily bought other bedding from ikea, so I don't know what the deal is.

A simple fabric softener is to add 1/8th a cup of plain vinegar to the rinse cycle. It won't gunk up your fabrics with what is, ostensibly, lotions - but smooths out the fabric nicely (and does not smell.)

I air on the 'buy something that looks best when slightly wrinkled' concept...but if that doesn't work, I like to add a spoonful of cheap hair conditioner in the rinse cycle. I started swapping it for fabric softener bc my bf liked the smell so much...lo and behold, it softened wrinkles BIG TIME and made his shirts iron like butter. Love it. Just don't use on towels or they won't absorb anything.

I had the same problem when buying new cotton bedding.It always wrinkled after washing.
So my tip is to use fabric softener during washing, NO centrifugation and hang the bedding outdoors to dry.

I have never tried this on a duvet in particular but have tried it on many different types of clothing and it has worked very well: Downy Wrinkle Reducer. Spray, smooth, let dry. I can find it at Target, WalMart, etc; don't know if you're in the US.

I have a few on my beds and I use a front loading dryer. I simply fold it in 1/2 lengthwise, then 1/2 in width wise, then again lengthwise so its flat. I dry it by itself and it comes out wrinkle free.

I always buy 100% cotton bedding and I've learned that some of it wrinkles a lot and some doesn't. The only way I can tell which is to test it. Before you buy it, scrunch it up with your hand very tightly for a minute. Then, check out the wrinkles. If there are none or few, that's the one to buy.

Also, I find that just spraying with linen spray and smoothing with my hand gets rid of wrinkles very well.

Professional laundering helps, too.

My recommendation is to chill out. It's a duvet cover - you're not going to be wearing it to a job interview any time soon.

Over time good quality cotton will grow softer and less inclined to wrinkle, and it'll also feel beautiful against your skin. Keep washing it and let nature take its course.

Ditto dulcebella. I only buy 100% cotton bedding and don’t have wrinkles. Cotton varies dramatically.

I can also vouche for Macy’s Charter Club duvet cover. We have the striped one. It’s incredibly soft and has held up beautifully (we’ve had ours for three years). I actually hate Macy’s; this is the only thing I’ll ever recommend from them.

Hanging your current cover to dry will help enormously. If you use a Laundromat, bring it home damp and hang immediately so it doesn’t get dank.

It's a duvet, it's going to be wrinkled, I'd say get over it.