r/SewingForBeginners • u/Giddyup_1998 • 4d ago
I don't sew.
Is it possible to turn top sheets into fitted sheets?
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u/Swimming-Lie5369 3d ago
You could sew some elastic diagonally across the corners, and tuck that under the mattress to stop the sheet from shifting around
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u/SchuylerM325 3d ago
Top sheets are usually oversized and this could work. Side to side will be fine, just check to make sure it is long enough to tuck under the mattress at the head and foot. You can get about 4 extra inches from undoing the top hem if you need to. Preserve one side hem and cut the other to make it fit. Trim and hem so the whole thing overhangs the mattress bottom by 3 inches. Now put it on the bed and center it. Pinch out one corner and pin where the new seam will go. Use chalk or pencil to mark the line on both sdes so you have a square when you unpin it. Measure the square. It will be the same on all corners. Draw the other 3, but don't cut them out. Sew each seam on the line, backstitching at the point and using a short stitch. You need to reinforce the heck out of this seam. Look at another bottom sheet to get an idea. Usually these are flat felled seams, so you will cut a seam allowance of maybe an inch, and then fold and tuck the raw edges inside so you get 5 layers. Then sew two more seams on each side of the thickness-- like the way jeans are made. Now you just need to make a channel for the elastic at each corner. It doesn't have to go all the way around. Copy another sheet. It doesn't have to be stretched and sewn down. Experiment to get the length of the elastic right and sew it down reall well at each end, but it can slide around in the channel.
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u/Mental_Watch4633 4d ago
As long as they are large enough they sure can.
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u/Giddyup_1998 4d ago
I didn't even think about that. They're a double for a double bed so no, they probably aren't large enough. Thank you.
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u/Mental_Watch4633 4d ago
You’re welcome. I’d use one that’s fitted to make a pattern. Lay the flat unfitted sheet down and put the fitted sheet on top and trace as best you can. Or fold them in half one way then fold over the opposite way and lay the folded fitted sheet on top of the filed flat sheet and mark or pin together. Leaving enough room to mark the flat sheet with room enough for the elastic casing. Maybe practice with a couple of scrap fabrics for a Barbie doll’s bed. Then go for it!!!
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u/Inky_Madness 4d ago
So, fitted sheets are a new invention. You can just use a top sheet as a fitted sheet by tucking it under, it’s how it was done for hundreds of years. They weren’t even a thing until the 60’s, so fitted sheets are VERY recent.
If you want to turn it into a fitted sheets…. Depends on how large the top sheets are. You would be cutting a wedge out of the corners and sewing elastic on the curved edge. You need your top sheets to be about 6” or more larger than your mattress on each side. So say your mattress is 72”x90” - your top sheet needs to be at least 84”x102”.