I don’t know about you, but my kids refuse to use a flat sheet. I’ve tried off and on since they were about 2, but the flat sheet always ended up wedged to the foot end of the bed. So we only use a fitted sheet for their beds.
Kids will be kids. It’s always nice to have an extra sheet or 3. Today I’m going to share with you how I sew my own fitted sheets from a flat (or a piece of fabric).
This really came in handy when we made the custom bunks for the Winnie. Since all 4 beds were odd sizes, I needed to custom fit all the sheets or deal with tucking lots of extra fabric under. I hate tucking and readjusting sheets. A mama’s got enough to do in my humble opinion.
Back to my fitted sheets…
My big kid’s mattress tops measure 27″ X 57″. The mattress thickness is 4 inches. You need to know all these measurements specifically for your own bed to fit the sheets properly. I don’t want to get hate mail because you followed my measurements. That and I doubt anyone has the same size bunks that we do. We like to be different.
But given my bed size example, here is how you figure out the size of your fitted sheet.
Width of Sheet
27 (width of the mattress)
8 (thickness of the mattress multiplied by 2)
+ 4 (for hem and overhang )
39 inches
Length of Sheet
57 (length of mattress)
8 (thickness of mattress multiplied by 2)
+ 4 (for hem and overhang)
69 inches
So you’ll want to take fabric or cut your sheets to the measurement that you find you need for your particular bed.
Cut Out Corners
Next you need to cut out notches so you can make your corners. As I said, I have a 4 inch thick mattress and I have allowed for 2 extra inches on each side for the hem and under tuck (if that’s a word). So I cut out a 6 inch square from each of the 4 corners of the piece of fabric.
Time to Hem
Now is the easiest time to hem your sheet. I tend to sew like a madwoman and go as fast as my machine will allow. I don’t want to have to fuss with any corners which is why I recommend sewing the corners together AFTER you have hemmed the edges.
I fold over my hem 1/4″ and then another 1/4″ and sew along the edge. I loathe pinning and have a dislike for the iron so I just do this turning under by hand as I go along with the sewing machine. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
Sew the Corners
Corners need to be sewed together next. Simply line those cut out corners that are missing the 6″ squares and sew a 1/4″ seam from the point down to the edge. Now you have a nifty corner for your sheet.
Attaching Elastic
In order to get the sheet to fit around your mattress, you need to attach elastic to the edge.
On the top of the sheet, I start on the left side about 8 or 9 inches from my corner seam and zig sag stitch a 1/4″ piece of elastic to the edge. Once I’ve got the elastic attached with a couple of stitches at the beginning, I pull that elastic VERY tight as I let the machine pull the hem of the sheet through. You just want the elastic pulled tight so it will scrunch the fabric and give you fitted corners.
I do the top of the sheet as one big strip and finish about 8 or 9 inches on the other side of the right corner.
And that is it. So easy and it makes making beds a breeze.
I’d estimate that one sheet takes less than 10 minutes to sew custom fitted sheets from start to finish. Worth the time in my book!
Oh, how funny–I thought my kids were the only ones that hate flat sheets! 🙂 Love this; definitely will “Pin it.” (BTW, I took your advice to try Pinterest, & I’m so glad I did. 🙂 )
Yay! You’re on Pinterest! I’ll have to look for you!
I don’t cut out the corners as it tends to lead t fraying, just stitch the marked out squares on the inside of the sheet to make a triangle, flat against the sheet.
For cots I made fitted sheets that slotted over the entire matress and folded over and poppered shut at one end, so they could be pulled on and would not dislodge however wriggly the baby.
Hi bookmooch,
We’ve washed our fitted sheets plenty over the years and haven’t had fraying. Before making the sheets for the RV, I made fitted crib sheets. I love your idea for making a secured sheet for baby!
I always use French corners when making crib or change table sheets. Now that my grandsons are older, I will do the same for their twin beds.
No corners fraying, and the finish is awesome looking.
For a neat finish, you can also make French seams or pink the allowance on the inside.
Great idea Varia! Thank you for the tip!
I’m going to make the fitted portion at one end of sheet only. We must be restless sleepers because the flat sheet always comes loose at the foot of the bed. The select comfort mattress also contributes to this when raising the mattress at the foot of bed.
Great idea Karen!! I’m sure that’ll work great!
Thank you so much for these instructions. My daughter doesn’t use the fitted sheets either. Because of some special medical needs, I end up changing my daughter’s sheets often. It sure will help being easily able to make good use of that flat sheet that just takes up space in the closet now.
and I Like your sewing instructions. Seems our sewing styles have a lot in common! (Pinning and ironing – bahh humbug)
Ha! Yes, I LOVE shortcuts and if I don’t have to pin or iron – I totally skip those pesky steps! Glad this could help you!
yay! I love you.”It doesn’t have to be perfect” and “I loathe pinning and dislike Ironing” bravo. You are my kind of sewer and mumma. Thanks for the measurements too, other tutes I have looked at have been so wishy washy that I couldn’t make sense of exactly what size to cut my sheet!
We are kindred spirits Kim…I like easy. 🙂 Thank you!!
Hi,
I love this idea but I have a question. My husband put a regular queen size mattress in our 5th wheel which we love, but it’s so big that the top sheet keeps coming on tucked when we raise the bed for storage. I like Jerry Seinfeld am a tucky. I like my sheets tucked in. To much loosey goosey and it drives me nuts at night. So what I as thinking of doing is taking our regular queen size flat sheet and turning it into a 1/2 fitted sheet. Just the bottom fitted to go under the bed. Do you think this would work with an already queen size flat sheet or should I buy a king size flat and do that?
Hahahaha! You are a funny lady Kim! 🙂 I think a queen would work for sure since there is quite enough length for tucking. As long as you don’t fold the top of the sheet down (the part that your pillows rest on) you should be good to go. Hope you get your sheets nice and snug!
Love it!!! Tried another one on Pinterest and had had a horrible time. This one is perfect!
So glad it worked for you Wendy!
Someone gave my son an almost new King mattress, but being on a VERY limited budget, I went to the thrift store, bought a flat King, followed your instructions and WaaaLaaa..one King size fitted sheet. Didn’t have to hem anything..thanks for the instructions!!!
YAY! So glad it worked for you! I love being thrifty!! 🙂
So I’m 23 and as much as I enjoy using laundry I hate having to always wash my sheets! I currently only have two fitted sheets for my new queen sized bed. So I’ve been sewing for a long time (it was the only thing my mom could get me to do to when I was younger with all of my energy) but I’ve never done anything with elastic.
Do you have any more detailed notes for adding the elastic part? Should the zig-zag just go over the elastic or actually puncture it? Also, do you cut a piece or just start at one point and then just pull it tight and sew all the way around and cut at the end? Sorry for so many questions!
Not too many questions. 🙂 The zig zag should actually puncture the elastic. I work with the full length of the elastic and cut it to size when I’m done sewing it on. Hope this helps!
If you wrote an article about life we’d all reach enelghtinment.