How to make your own fitted sheets

Guest post by Liz Gubernatis

finished fitted sheet in useIn our house, we have lots of blankets. We have lots of pillows. We don’t have lots of sheets. Regular flat sheets are super easy to make — you just hem the edges of your fabric. Fitted sheets seemed more complicated — and yeah, there are a few more steps involved — but they’re super easy to DIY.

This tutorial takes you from two yards of a quirky cotton fabric to a fitted sheet for a crib-size bed. Crib sheets in quirky fabrics make awesome gifts for kids and new mamas. Also great for large dog beds, too!

But at the end of the post are measurements that you can use to makes fitted sheets for larger, adult-size beds. Same process — and all DIY win. Here’s how it’s done.

Materials and Tools:

  • 2 yards of fabric (quilting cottons are a great fabric for this)
  • 1 package elastic (recommend 3/8 inches wide)
  • Sewing machine
  • Coordinated thread
  • Ruler

Step 0: Pre-wash your fabric. I’ve been a lazy seamstress much of my life, but this is one step NOT to skip. Pre-washing your fabric lets it pre-shrink. If you wash it for the first time after you’ve completed your project, it’ll never fit the same way again. Wash first, and measurements will be accurate forever. Just run it through your washer/dryer with the same settings you’ll use when it’s dirty for the first time.

Finishing the raw edges of your sheet

Step 1: For a crib sheet, your cotton fabric is the correct width selvedge to selvedge. You’ll want to measure the length and cut to 70″ (usually taking about 2-3 inches off your total 2-yard cut of fabric). Once at 70″ you’ll need to finish the raw edges. Fold over ¼ inch, then again ¼ inch, and stitch down using a straight stitch.

Measure and cut an 8" square from each corner

Step 2: To make the fitted pocket, we first need to remove a square from each corner. For our crib sheet, this will be an 8″x 8″ square. Measure and cut out a square from each corner.

Match up the edges of the square to make the pocket and pin in place

Step 3: Fold over the edges of your square right sides together, lining up the cut raw edges and pin together. Repeat at each corner.

zig-zag stitch the pockets closed with a small seam allowance

Step 4: Stitch this seam closed with a zig-zag stitch, backstitching at both ends to secure it. Use a small seam allowance – sew close to the edge, but not over it. Repeat at each corner.

pocket inside and outsideYour completed corners will look like this on the top side.

cut 4 - 12" pieces of elastic
Step 5: Cut 4 12″ lengths of elastic.

pin the elastic at center and ends 11" away from center
Step 6: Fold a piece of elastic in half to find center. Pin center to the corner seam. Measure down 11″ from the seam on each side and pin the ends of the elastic.

elastic pinned and not stretched yet - looks weird
Elastic pinned and not stretched yet — looks weird.

Your pinned elastic should look like this. Repeat at each corner.

Step 7: Using a zig-zag stitch with a long-ish stitch length (4 or 5) tack down one edge of the elastic and backstitch to hold.

Then, holding the seam/pin in one hand and the tacked edge in the other, stretch the elastic to match the fabric and pull through as you sew, attaching the elastic to the sheet. When you get to the corner seam, adjust your hands to pull through to the other end and backstitch to hold at the end. Go slowly and with patience — the long stitch length will let the elastic do it’s magic.

Finished elastic on fitted sheet
Your finished elastic should look like this. Repeat at each corner. Ta-Da! You’ve made a fitted sheet!

Applications:

Other sized beds can be made with this method by using flat sheets as your base fabric. You can also seam fabric together, but you’ll usually feel the seam in the finished product, so your mileage may vary.

[related-post align=”right”]To make fitted sheets in larger sizes, you’ll want to measure your bed (mattresses are all a little different depth-wise). Here’s how:

  • Length = depth of bed + length of bed + depth of bed + 4
  • Width= depth of bed + width of bed + depth of bed + 4
  • Square to cut out of corners = depth of bed + 2
  • Elastic: 12 inches stretched out to 22 inches is usually good. You can go with a wider elastic on larger sheets if you’d prefer.

Tips:

Hold the elastic taut and gently pull through as you sew.

If your corners aren’t perfectly square on the outside (say your raw edge is a touch wonky after finishing the hem) that’s okay. Make sure your square will be, by lining up to the edges rather than the fabric corner. In other words, close enough is good enough, and a quarter inch isn’t going to ruin anything.

Your Turn!

What are you going to make a fitted sheet out of?

Comments on How to make your own fitted sheets

  1. I am new to this site! I am looking forward to sewing flat sheets into fitted sheets this weekend, as I only have ONE fitted sheet left in my linen closet and about EIGHT flat sheets that I never use! Many thanks for the tutorial. I went to Youtube first and was able to find only two videos on sewing this project. One of them the teacher used a white sheet with white thread and a white background… Hello? What was she thinking? I wanted to learn how to do this and using all the same colors didn’t help at all! Then I went to Pinterest and found your tutorial and a few others. I was grateful that you used different colors on the fabric, as well as, the elastic and the stitching so that it gave me a better visual. Many Thanks for posting. I super appreciate it and will let you know how I made out with your tutorial!

  2. Just to let everyone know, I made two fitted sheets already! One is cotton and the other one flannel! Yes, a mistake here and there, but a learning experience for me and a constructive and useful one nonetheless!

  3. The kids have twin beds and I just exchanged my old double bed for a king. Instead of getting rid of the double sheets, now I can make them fit the kids’ beds. Yeah! Turning the flat sheets into fitted sheets? Brilliant! And whoever suggested turning a flat sheet into a half-fitted sheet so it doesn’t get pulled up is also a genius. Thanks everyone for your GREAT ideas!!

  4. I have a question about the added 4″ to both your length and width formula, and the 2″ added to the cutout square I assume this is to allow for the “tuck under” portion of the sheet? So, therein lies my real question….once made, how much DOES the sheet actually tuck underneath , onto the bottom surface of the mattress; is it more than 2″?

  5. Hi there! I pinned this tute at least 3 years ago and finally tonight made a fitted sheet for a twin bed from a queen size sheet that my husband brought to our marriage 30 years ago! It’s beautiful and perfect and your directions are so good! One thing I did differently (after the first 2 corners)- I measured and marked the points where I would cut out the square. Then I joined those marks, making a triangle, drew a line, and sewed along the line. THEN I cut off the triangle. That way I didn’t have to fool with cutting a square and worrying about cutting too far. Anyway, after all this long time, you have probably moved on, but I am just getting started! My family uses only the fitted sheets, so I have a shelf full of flat sheets just waiting to fulfill their destiny!

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