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I've looked around town and on a dozen internet sites trying to find a twin extra long comforter. I can find sheet sets, but not a comforter in a solid color (for a boy). Do the dorm beds need an extra long comforter too? Thanks!

By Hautbois (Hautbois) on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:21 pm: Edit

Since our sons are somewhat tall they have extra long twin beds here at home. I've never seen an extra long comforter, and we've always bought the regular ones. They seem to work just fine.

Edit addition: I did a search on google "Extra Long Comforter" and I was supplied with a number of links ... in case you really want that extra long! Just go to google and I'm sure you'll find them then.

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:23 pm: Edit

I had trouble finding the sheets, but eventually located them at Domestications. I think a regular comforter should work. It just won't hang down on the end the way it does on the sides. There may not be any room for any hanging down anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it.

By Bigdaddy (Bigdaddy) on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:32 pm: Edit

DD and I finished shopping for bedding today (So I feel like an expert ). Bed Bath and Beyond had loads of comforters in solid colors. Signs posted in the store said that twin comforters will fit the typical dorm bed. It is primarily sheets that have to be extra long.

I know that BBB has an online operation; I'm sorry I don't know the web address, but I bet a simple Google search will find it.

BTW, BBB will ship whatever you buy in the store to the college for you. They charged us about 20 bucks. But we would have to ship it anyway because we live in California and DD is going to school in Illinois.

By Tabbycat (Tabbycat) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 12:20 am: Edit

We also did the sheet search for boarding school. The Egyptian cotton ones by Nautica at Bed,Bath, and Beyond are awesome - SO soft. BTW, you only need the fitted extra length sheets. I was told that the top sheets would be fine in a regular twin size. Ditto the comforter. Hope this was accurate info! We'll find out in about 3 wks!

By L_Wonder (L_Wonder) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 12:38 am: Edit

*sigh* I have been used to sleeping in a full size bed for a year and now I am headed back to grad school and a shrunken bed. What was I thinking? (and where did i put those sheets?)

By Farawayplaces (Farawayplaces) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 01:45 am: Edit

Thanks, everyone!

By Elleneast (Elleneast) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 10:55 am: Edit

Linens & Things also have all of the dorm bedding out on display.

If you want to really splurge, take a look at the Garnet Hill catalog (www.garnethill.com). Some of their sheets come in extra long. I couldn't bring myself to pay their prices but if cool bedding is a priority, some of their things are really neat.

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 10:57 am: Edit

I just spent all day yesterday shopping for dormitory bedding and other things on "the list" that my daughter cannot do without...

All the bedding for Twin XL (extra long) is not very easy to find. It is generally available only during July and August.

I found Twin XL sheets at JC Penney and WalMart. In packages that contain a fitted sheet and a flat sheet, the flat sheet is an ordinary twin size--and is meant to be a "top sheet"---not a bottom sheet.

Comforters and foam egg crate toppers in the regular twin size work just fine with a Twin XL mattress.

Which brings us to the Twin XL mattress pad... this baby is hard to find---and when you do find one, it will probably be at an extraordinary price! We lucked out and found one in a small local store just before closing time--for just $13. Since that is quite a low price for Twin XL Matress Pad, I will give the manufacturer's name (so you can search for it): "Beauty Sleep" from the makers of Beauty Rest.

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The whole Twin XL bedding thing is a device thought up by colleges to weed out students who are not truly determined to go to college. Any student not persistent enough to locate the proper sized bedding will be doomed to spend the first semester trying to sleep on a sheet too short for their mattress, will not get a full 8 hours of rest, and will flunk out. This is the basis for "survival of the fittest (sheet)" and is well-documented on many campuses.

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Staples sells "academic year" day (or week) planners---$5 and up. Here's a good way to get that unorganized freshman onto the right track...

I also recommend a "milk crate" file holder. When combined with a dozen or so "hanging files" a student has a good place to organize and store paperwork.

By Hautbois (Hautbois) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 11:12 am: Edit

Actually it's really easy to find XL sheets in our area. At this time of year most of the stores begin featuring the things, in fact. Mervyn's has the sheets on their shelves all year 'round. Target usually has a big college display about now (I haven't been there yet - hoping to go tonight while our daughter is at tai chi class.) One thing about Target, though; you get what you pay for! Fabric is a bit cheaper. Colors fade. So the question I'm going to have to ponder is "Will this last for the 2 years our D will be on campus ... or even longer should she decide to apply to be an RA?"

Time will tell!

And ... my silly story ... I *very foolishly* let her get all of this "stuff" last year, because she found what she just loved. I said "Whatever you get now, and use on your bed at home, will have to go with you to college!" Of course, being a pushover, I'm now thinking "Awwww ... get her something new! The kid saved you $28,000 in college expenses with her scholarship. Be a good mom. After all, who's going to find your rest home when you're ancient.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 11:23 am: Edit

I will relate our experience assuming that it is duplicated in at least a few other schools. Reed College bookstore offered a dorm package that included extra long sheets, comforter throw rug & much, much more! , with the freshman orientation stuff. The sheets were 50/50 however, scratchy!, so we found stuff at B,B, & B, online ( they have a special dorm site with shopping list and the ability not to ship till you tell them to.
( We also found a few things at their physical store, pillow with arms, for studying, a shower carryall, mesh laundry baskets)
The dorms at Reed, especially freshman year, were very warm, she didn't need a lot of bedding.


* I love Garnet Hill. I haven't bought anything lately, but I used to get flannel baby clothes there, very soft and wore well.

By Sluggbugg (Sluggbugg) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 12:19 pm: Edit

Garnet Hill has a great selection of printed and solid XLong sheets. We searched several online linen sources, but the sheets were usually solid neutrals or pastels and did not include duvet covers. We ordered 2 printed duvets and 2 standard pillow cases with coordinating, solid-colored fitted sheets. They also had mattress pads, and some other cool accessories (rugs, I think). The patterns and colors are more grown up than what you typically see for dorm rooms, and they are good for both males and females. Most college guys I know are just as comfortable sleeping on a bare mattress in a sleeping bag all year. Daughters like mine, however, appreciated the selection!

The quality is excellent, and the prices are reasonable for good, comfy, durable linens. These sheets will stand up to typical college freshman use, i.e. random washings in college laundry facilities and double-duty extra seating in the room.

By Nymom (Nymom) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 01:43 pm: Edit

I bought all my son's stuff online at linens and things. The selection is great, prices are low ($9.99 for XL mattress pad) and if you hunt around online there's all sorts of discount coupons available. Shipping is free if you spend over $150.

By Boysmom (Boysmom) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 02:00 pm: Edit

When we got to UMich last fall, my son had forgotten his comforter, so we made a quick run to Meijer and found they had TwinXL ones in styles he was quite happy with for only $9.99. Granted it was a college town, but I imagine they carried them in all their stores.

My question is does anybody know of anyplace I can buy a fitted TwinXL (not the whole set) besides Linen & Things? He doesn't use top sheets and I have plenty of pillow cases so I don't want to buy the whole set, but the only fitted sheet I can find costs more than the entire set.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 02:33 pm: Edit

My son sleeps in an XL twin at home --- I have found fitted sheets sold separately at Macy's around this time of year. They do also have an online store. We also bought him a queen size comforter which he finds is a better "fit" for his bed and his XL body. (He's 6"1' and just turned 13 last week!)

By Shennie (Shennie) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 05:35 pm: Edit

All of kids beds at home are XL twin. I get bedding for all of them and dorm beds as well at jcpenney.com. They have sheets, blankets, comforters, and mattress pads. You can be a standard length blanket or comforter and they will work just fine on the XL twin. Penney's is reasonably inexpensive, decent quality, and usually delivers in less than a week. Last summer I bought 2 sets of sheets, a blanket, a comforter, a mattress pad, an egg crate thingy, 4 bath towels, 2 wash clothes and 2 hand towels online and my bill was under $150. I never left the house and it was delivered to my doorstep. What could be easier?

By Sopranosmom (Sopranosmom) on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 10:09 am: Edit

I got all my son's XL sheets at LL Bean -- either in person or online. He went to school in the north and really loved their flannel sheets! If you are close to their seconds store in Freeport, Maine, you can find odd, returned, mismarked, etc., XL sheets -- both in flannel and percale. Sometimes I've found them on sale in their online store as well. Outside of college students, I don't think there is much call for the XL size so you can get them more cheaply. Their stuff is great quality!

By Thedad (Thedad) on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 01:06 pm: Edit

Thanks for the rec.

Odd question but with screen names you can't tell...are you Sopranosweety's mom?

By Massdad (Massdad) on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 01:08 pm: Edit

Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal, of all places, had an article on this topic a few years ago. It seems there were projections that kids would keep getting taller, so colleges should buy xl beds to accomodate them. The kids didn't, but the beds did.

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 01:28 am: Edit

My grandmother's high school graduation present to me was bedding - Laura Ashley sheets, pillows, etc. Although it was normal-sized, it fit well enough as college beds are so thin: the extra side materials kind of works out along the length.

**On comforters: get a full-sized one. It fits quite well on a twin bed, hides whatever is underneath it, and will fit on a futon if you go that route sometime later in college (as many people do).

By Sopranosmom (Sopranosmom) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:41 am: Edit

To TheDad -- no, I'm not sopransweety's Mom. The soprano is the last of my three to go off to college. My D checks out this forum infrequently -- I, however, lurk around a lot! I find it interesting to see how others go through the process.

By Katwkittens (Katwkittens) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:49 am: Edit

For my oldest DD, when she went away to college with the XL twin bed, we were able to get the stuff at JC Penneys. However, since we lived close to an Outlet (the B & M outlet stores are listed at Penney's website) we were able to get a great set at a very reasonable cost. We bought 2 bed in a bag sets 250 thread count for 19.99 which included the comforter, shams, skirt, XL fitted sheet, top sheet and pillowcase. And we did what the above poster did, bought 1 XL twin set and 1 Full/double set, both were 19.99 each. So she ended up with 3 pillowcases, 3 shams, 1 full comforter, 1 twin.....
Then I emptied the bags and sewed the twin flat and double flat together to make a duvet cover for the twin comforter, so she wouldn't need the top sheet, it never stays in place on those college dorm mattresses anyways. We overstuffed the shams with cheap bolster pillows so she could place them along the length of the bed against the wall in order to create a sofa like effect when not being used as a bed. Since she had 2 comforters and the full was placed on top it hid the nasty metal bars so she didn't need the bedskirts for that....instead I just used the bedskirts for valances instead. Since they are already hemmed and the drop is about 15-16 inches it was the perfect length already, just cut off the extra material and sewed a rod pocket hole, that's it. She ended up being nice and toasty during the chilly nights....worked great. She just took the duvet off when she washed her pillowcases and fitted sheet. Mattress pad we purchased was a regular twin but with deep pockets so it worked well and we were able to put on a really nice one so it made the bed much more comfortable, also the feather bed we placed between the mattress and pad didn't hurt either.

Used the extra left over material from the full flat and full fitted for extra throw pillows and a couple of bulletin boards, frames and some other girly stuff!!!!

All the kids in her dorm wanted a room just like hers! And it wasn't bad for $40. It is going on its 3rd year of use and looks brand new.

By Aparent (Aparent) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 11:59 am: Edit

Well, I want to echo the plugs for Linens & Things, which is reasonable and offers nice selection. Also want to mention, though, that last year after going nuts bargain-hunting everywhere with ds for all the stuff he would need, his college sent some info about a complete linens package available through them (I think through the bookstore). Prices were just as good as all my bargains (and believe me, I am good at finding bargains lol), he liked the selections, the comforter was extra long (a regular one is adequate, though you do need the extra-long sheets, but the extra inches of comforter were very nice), and the whole thing came in one handy package. I ended up bringing back his regular-length comforter and a couple of other things and ordering from the school's service. So...I suggest checking the school website before you make the same mistake I did.

By Sluggbugg (Sluggbugg) on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 07:48 pm: Edit

Just finished ordering towels and an X-Long mattress pad from JC Penney.com. They had 2 kinds of X-L mattress pads: Sealy Posturpedic ($45) and an Expand-A-Bed ($25). The Sealy had more padding than the EAB. Target currently has X-L fitted jersey sheets. They're going fast, though.

Kwkittens, you are downright inspiring! $40 - Wow! Hats off to you, from one linens enthusiast to another. Did you get her towels monogrammed? I couldn't help it! Penney's was offering, and I kept thinking about how stuff gets "borrowed" by other students. I promise not to have my son's underwear monogrammed when he goes off to college in 2006!

By Tsdad (Tsdad) on Sunday, August 03, 2003 - 07:59 pm: Edit

USC has a deal with some company where you can order bedding though them. It will be on campus on move-in day. It's much more expensive then buying locally, but we're not going to ship it across country. We also don't want to drive around LA looking for this stuff on the one day we'll be on-campus with our son.

The school gets a (small?) cut of the profit.
See www.rhl.org, (800) 957-4338.