How to Turn Flat Sheets into Fitted Sheets for any Mattress Size

How to Turn Flat Sheet into Fitted Sheet

Our children have grown out of cots and it was time to move them to their own mattresses/beds. My brother and SIL got them lovely girlish and boyish Flat Sheet set from Ideas, Gul Ahmed. My children loved those but those sheets hardly stayed on bed in their place. They moved and bunched up whenever children played or slept. It means having to tidy bed every now and then, otherwise the room looks like mess. It was a hassle.

So we decided to buy fitted sheets but the prints were not up to our liking(no faces, no animals, no cartoons), we got plain ones. The sizes were not perfect fit either. Also, there is hardly any fabric to go under the mattress. The mattress shows as soon as you sit or lay down. And sometimes it would come off as elastic is not tight enough.

Finally, I took the matter into my own hands and decided to turn flat sheets into fitted myself. What kind of 
Expert Sewing mother would I be if I didn’t do it myself? A sane one, I suppose!

Anyways…This tutorial will show you how you can do it yourself without coming up with formulas and what measurement goes where as I have done all the necessary Mathematical stuff myself and have compiled it into a printable sheet which is available for FREE here!

Hooray!!! All you have to do is to take measurements and fill it as I describe below. You can even print one for each of different sizes of mattresses you have at home and refer to it whenever you fancy to make fitted sheet yourself! No need to measure your mattress again and again! And no hassle of doing math every time you need to sew fitted sheet! How cool is that!

I am working on a Single bed size but you can adapt it to Double, Queen or King size bed. Method is same, only measurements will be different.

What you will Need:

Mattress (of course)

Flat Sheet (or fabric of your choice)

Free Fitted Sheet Measuring and Marking Guide Download

Pencil

Measuring Tape

Ruler

Scissors

Elastic 1/4 inch wide

Thread

Iron

Sewing Machine

Pinking Shears or Serger to finish the seams(optional)

Bodkin (or something to thread elastic into casing)

Before you begin:

Wash your sheet with water and little bit of detergent to let it shrink before sewing. It will also soften it up. Let it dry completely. Print out Free Fitted Sheet Measuring and Marking Guide PDF.

Note: All measurements in this tutorial are in inches.

1^st step : Lets Measure Mattress

First write down the size of your mattress i.e. Single, Double etc. Mine is Single.

Then take these measurements of mattress - Length, Width and height. Note these down in their sections.

 

Add the values on next section for Length and Width. This is how big your flat sheet (or fabric ) should be.

Note: if your flat sheet is smaller than this measurement, you will need to buy a bigger size next time.

Divide the Length and Width with 2 to get the Sewing values of L² and W².

Divide L1 and W2 by 2 to get the Cutting values of L3 and W3.

2^nd step Putting Markings on

With right sides together, fold your sheet in half and then half again.

Start measuring from folded side to edge with your measuring tape, draw markings on the length of sheet and width of sheet. Move your measuring tape and place marking every few inches. 

Join markings with a ruler. Now you have 4 lines, L2, W2 which are for sewing. Your sewing guide is where the two lines meet till the edge of fabric.

 L3 and W3 are cutting/trimming lines.

Trim away the fabric at cutting lines. (I trimmed fabric in the end, that was a mistake. It is better to do it now)

Fold your sheet on W2 (all four layers included) and give it a good press with iron. 

This way a crease will form on all four corners and you do not have to measure and mark on each layer. Trust me, I have done that, and it is a headache!

Fold the sheet on L2 line and give it a good press without straightening out the first crease.

Next step is important!!!

Without moving your fabric to somewhere else, (and keeping your sanity intact) draw lines on all those creases on wrong side of fabric.

Now open up your sheet and lay it flat on floor, work on one corner at a time. With right sides together, fold the corner so markings of length and width matches. Your corner will look like a triangle now.

Secure the fabric with pins on the line so it would not slide here and there while sewing.

Follow the same method for other three corners.

You are ready to sew now!

3^rd Step: Sewing

The hard part is almost over and we can sew something now. Thank God! You must have thought how difficult I have made it, I apologize!

Thread your machine in matching color, and start sewing corner on marked line, starting at fold. Remove pins before it reaches the foot. Back-stitch at beginning and sew it till edge. Back-stitch to secure the end. Trim the thread tails.

Sew the rest of three corners in same way.

If you have serger/overlocker, finish the seams with it.

If not, then use pinking shears to trim these to half inch.

If not, then trim with regular scissors and zigzag on edge.

Press all seams. 

Then turn fabric to right side, fold your seam to one side and press seam again. It will neaten the corner of your fitted sheet.

4^th step: Elastic Casing

Fold the edge of sheet 1 inch towards back, turn raw edge inside about ¼ inches. Pin in place for few inches. You can start from anywhere. Start sewing on edge of small folded side. Back-stitch at beginning to secure.

Sew all the way till 2 inches from beginning of casing. Back-stich, and trim thread tails.

5^th Step: Measuring for Elastic

Math again, sorry!

Take your elastic, mark one inch points on it i.e. starting and ending of 1 inch.

Keep a straight ruler on a table in front of you. Now stretch your elastic with both hands as far as you can go, keeping first marking at 0.

Note down where does the second marking go. Mine is 1.5 inches. It will be X value.

You need your fitted sheet to go over the mattress and I have learned it the hard way – too little elastic means TORTURE for yourself every time you put sheet on mattress because mattresses DO NOT FOLD(except for folding mattresses, which we are not talking about right now)

Write that measurement in Stretched Elastic X box.

See your mattress measurements again, L and W and fill the boxes and take out the Total.

Divide Total with X value = 146 inches is my answer.

This is the measurement you need for cutting of your elastic. This is the maximum length needed. Cut your elastic unstretched.

Secure one end of your elastic to bodkin and thread it into casing. If you are afraid that other end might get lost in casing, secure it with safety pin to the beginning of casing.

When you have gone all the way through the casing and out of it, make a knot at the end.

6^th Step: Time to Try it out

Put your sheet on mattress, check if elastic is okay or is it too lose. If the fabric is not smoothing underneath, it means it is loose.

Make another knot on elastic few inches away from first and try it out once again. The sheet should be put on and taken off easily. If not, adjust the knot. Trim the remaining elastic if there is excess than 1 inch.

And that is how you have a Fitted Sheet for your Bed, customized to your Mattress Size. Now you do not have to make bed every 5 minutes. A fitted sheet is a sure way to tidied bed. With this tutorial you can sew Fitted Sheet for any size of Mattress.

Can you see the laundry hamper in the corner? Now its no more in the sight as I have made a Hanging Laundry Bag that is behind the door. Want to learn how to make it? Click here.

What is the Next Home Project you want to tackle with? Let me know in comments.

Also did you like this tutorial?

I am hoping you do!

Let me know in Comments!

🧵✂