How can I put a duvet cover on without fighting the corners?

Try the inside-out roll method. It keeps the duvet and cover together while you turn the cover right-side out, instead of making you push the duvet into a loose cover one corner at a time.

1. Lay the duvet cover flat on the bed with its opening at the foot. Turn the cover inside out first, so the opening and any ties are easy to reach.
2. Lay the duvet on top of it. Match the duvet’s top edge and corners to the corresponding cover corners.
3. If the cover and duvet have matching ties or loops, fasten them at the corners now.
4. Starting at the head of the bed, roll the duvet and cover together toward the opening at the foot.
5. Reach into the cover opening and take hold of both top corners. Pull the cover over the rolled layers, like turning a sleeve right-side out.
6. Unroll the bundle back toward the head of the bed. Close the cover, then smooth it and check the corners.

The key is to line up the corners before rolling, then pull the cover over both sides of the roll together.

Here’s a simple top-down outline. Imagine the head of the bed at the top of the page:

HEAD OF BED [cover top-left corner] —— [cover top-right corner] [duvet top-left corner] —— [duvet top-right corner]

The cover is underneath and inside out; the duvet is on top. Match the four edges as closely as you can. If the cover has ties or loops at the corners, tie each one to the corresponding duvet loop before rolling. If it has no ties, just keep the corners aligned with your hands as you begin.

Then roll both layers together from the head toward the opening at the foot. Keep the roll reasonably even from side to side. If one layer slips, pause and realign it rather than trying to correct a twisted roll at the end.

After rolling, the cover opening should be at the outside end of the bundle, at the foot of the bed. Reach through that opening and move your hands toward the two top corners of the cover—the corners that were at the head before you rolled. Hold one corner in each hand, then draw the cover over the roll evenly.

A quick check: both sides of the cover should travel over the bundle at the same time. If you pull just one side, the duvet can twist or bunch up. Once the cover is over the roll, keep hold of those corners as you unroll the bundle toward the head. The duvet should spread inside the cover as the roll opens.

Don’t close it immediately if the corners look off. First, find each duvet corner through the cover and guide it into the matching cover corner. If you attached ties before rolling, check that they’re still fastened. Then hold the two top corners and give the duvet a gentle shake or lift to help it settle; avoid a hard yank that could pull one corner out of place.

Finish with this mini-routine:

1. Check that each duvet corner reaches its matching cover corner.
2. Run your hands along the long edges and ease out any folds.
3. Close the cover using its buttons, zipper, ties, or other closure.
4. Smooth the top and look once more at all four corners.

If it is still bunched, open the closure and adjust the nearest corner rather than starting the whole process again.