The complete guide
How to Choose a Kids Quilt Cover Set That Survives Real Life
The problem with kids' bedding
Most children's bedding is bought twice. The first set gets picked in a hurry because a child pointed at a picture in a shop, and the second gets bought three months later once the first one has shrunk, faded, torn at a seam, or turned out to be the wrong size for the quilt that was already in the house.
That second purchase is usually the sensible one. It takes into account the washing machine, the size of the quilt insert, and the fact that children change their minds. This guide is about making the first purchase the sensible one instead.
A mermaid quilt cover set is a popular pick for a good reason. It has enough personality to make a child feel the bed is theirs, without being tied to a cartoon that will be out of favour by next winter. Add a reversible print and you get two looks from one purchase, which buys you more time before the inevitable request for something new.
What you are actually buying
A quilt cover set is not a quilt. This catches people out more often than you would think. The set here is two pieces, a cover that goes over your quilt insert and one pillowcase. The warmth comes from whatever quilt you already own.
That separation is useful. A single cover works across the year because you can swap a light summer quilt for a thicker winter one underneath and leave the bedding looking the same. It also means washing is simple. You strip the cover, wash it, and the quilt itself stays clean inside most of the time.
The fabric here is polycotton, 52% polyester and 48% cotton, at 138 thread count. In plain terms that is a smooth, light, everyday weave. The cotton side of the blend handles the softness and the breathability. The polyester side handles the creasing and the drying time. For a child's bed, the drying time matters more than almost anything else, because the set often needs to be back on the bed the same day.
Getting the size right
This is the part worth slowing down for.
The quilt cover measures 135 x 200 cm. That is a shorter single size. A lot of New Zealand single quilts are made at 140 x 210 cm, which means this cover is about 10 cm shorter than the longest common single quilt here.
That does not make it the wrong product. It makes it a cover that suits specific quilts, which is true of all bedding. It is a good fit for:
- a 135 x 200 cm quilt, which is an exact match
- a 140 x 200 cm quilt, where the width fills out nicely and the length is correct
- a smaller junior quilt used on a toddler bed, trundle or low bunk
If your quilt is a full 140 x 210 cm, this cover will be short at the foot of the bed. You will notice it.
The fix takes two minutes. Pull the quilt out of its current cover, lay it flat on the floor and measure it corner to corner. Do not measure the mattress, because mattress size and quilt size are different things. Do not measure the old cover either, since covers shrink and stretch. Measure the quilt itself.
The pillowcase is 50 x 75 cm, which is a standard pillow size, so that side of the set is straightforward for most households.
Who this set suits
It works best for children in the single bed years, which is roughly from the move out of a cot through to the early teens. The mermaid print sits comfortably in that range.
It also works well for a few specific situations. Bunk beds often take slimmer quilts, which pairs neatly with a 135 x 200 cm cover. Trundle beds and daybeds are the same. If you have a guest room that mostly hosts visiting grandchildren, a single set like this is more practical than buying something formal that gets used twice a year.
The reversible print earns its keep in shared rooms too. Two children, two beds, same set, flipped the opposite way, and the room looks coordinated rather than matched to the point of boredom.
Choosing between options
If you are weighing up this set against others, there are really only four questions that matter.
The first is size, which we have covered. The second is fabric. Pure cotton feels lovely and breathes well, but it creases hard and takes longer to dry. Polycotton gives up a little of that pure cotton feel in exchange for faster drying and less ironing. For a child's bed that gets washed weekly, that trade usually makes sense.
The third is the closure. Buttons, as used on this cover, hold the quilt in place and are simple enough that a seven year old can manage them. The pillowcase uses an envelope flap, so there is nothing hard or fiddly near a sleeping child's head.
The fourth is how many pieces you need. Some sets come loaded with extra shams and cushion covers that end up on the floor by the second night. A two-piece set is honest about what gets used.
Care that keeps it looking good
Wash it before the first use. This softens the fabric and clears any manufacturing finish, and it is worth doing on its own in case of colour release from the blue print.
After that, machine wash at 40 degrees with similar colours. Button the cover closed first, because an open cover will swallow socks and tangle itself around other items in the drum. Avoid bleach entirely, as it attacks both the colour and the fibres.
Tumble drying is fine on a low setting. If you prefer the line, dry the cover inside out. Long hours in strong direct sun are the fastest way to fade any printed bedding, and New Zealand sun is not gentle. Taking the cover off the line while it still has a touch of moisture and smoothing it straight onto the bed usually removes the need to iron at all. If you want it properly crisp, a warm iron on the reverse side does the job.
Store spare sets folded inside their own pillowcase so the pieces stay together, and make sure everything is fully dry before it goes in the cupboard.
A practical tip most parents learn the hard way
Buy two sets, not one.
Children get sick at inconvenient hours. Drinks get knocked over. When the only cover you own is in the washing machine at eleven at night, the whole house has a worse evening. Having a second set in the cupboard turns a crisis into a five minute bed change.
If two sets feels like too much at once, a plain second cover in a matching blue costs less and does the same job. The mermaid set stays the favourite and the plain one covers the gaps.
The short version
This is a two-piece single bedding set with a reversible mermaid print in blue. You get a quilt cover at 135 x 200 cm and one pillowcase at 50 x 75 cm. The fabric is polycotton, 52% polyester and 48% cotton, at 138 thread count, with buttons on the cover and an envelope opening on the pillowcase. Machine wash at 40 degrees and tumble dry on low.
Before you order, measure your quilt flat on the floor. If it is 135 x 200 cm or 140 x 200 cm, or if you are using a smaller junior quilt, this cover will fit well. If your quilt is a full 210 cm long, look for an New Zealand single size instead.
Delivery is free across New Zealand on orders of $99 or more, and no GST is added at checkout.