Modern beds are equipped with comfortable mattresses. Their height is significant, so the traditional flat sheet laid on such a bed is inconvenient. In bedding stores, the sizes of the sheets on an elastic band in most cases comply with European standards. What if your bed is different from these sizes? Or, as an option, the mattress is made to order. There are also no comfortable, non-stray sheets for cots. In this article you will find tips on how to sew an elastic sheet for adults and cots.
Sheet fabric
For sewing sheets, fabrics are selected whose width is 2.5-3.0 meters. If the width of the selected material is less than necessary, then two strips of fabric are sewn with a bed seam. The most suitable sheets for sewing are natural absorbent fabrics such as cotton, bamboo, linen and some types of mixed materials. If desired, you can sew a sheet of flannel, flannel or terry cloth. Usually, they sew sheets and pillowcases to small children in a crib.
In addition, a material that has tension does not require shrinkage. If a natural fabric is selected, it should first be washed in soapy hot water at a temperature of no more than 40 °, rinsed, dried and ironed with a not too hot iron. Next, you can make a pattern of a sheet with an elastic band and engage in sewing it.
If you do not soak the fabric, you need to take a larger amount, given that it will certainly shrink after washing. Cotton products have a shrinkage of 4% in length and 1% in width.
Materials and tools for work
Before starting work, you need to prepare everything you need, namely:
- fabric, depending on the size of the mattress, taking into account shrinkage;
- sewing machine;
- sewing supplies ;
- an elastic band for the sheet (the quantity depends on the variant of its location).
For sewing from simple fabrics, an ordinary sewing electric or foot machine is suitable for work. It is more difficult to sew a knitted or terry cloth on it. Such fabrics are sewn on a sewing machine that uses the overlock function.
Dimensions of the mattress
The mattress has three overall dimensions: length, width and thickness. It is necessary to take measurements with one measuring tool in order to avoid measurement errors: with a centimeter tape or a meter ruler. After measuring the mattress, you can begin to calculate the size of the fabric for sewing a sheet on an elastic band. Orthopedic mattresses usually have a size of 160 × 200 × 20 centimeters.
It is not difficult to calculate the required amount of fabric for sewing a sheet on an elastic band. It is necessary to add two lengths of sidewalls (40 cm) and a fabric on an elastic band and a backing (20 cm) to the length of the mattress (200 cm). The width of the fabric is calculated in the same way. This is the width of the mattress (160 cm) plus two lengths of sidewalls (40 cm) and fabric on an elastic band and a backing (20 cm).
Having made the appropriate calculations, you should begin to create a product pattern (photo 1).
Sheet Sewing Instructions
The pattern of the sheet on an elastic band must be done so as not to spoil the fabric by shifting the corners, this will lead to a skew of the sheet. Dimensions are applied to the fabric with a chalk or a piece of dry soap. For cutting, a special cutting knife or tailor's scissors are used. Sew the resulting blank sheet in the corners, making a stitch at a distance of 3 mm from the cut. Necessarily on the received seam, a zigzag is performed on a conventional sewing machine or an overlock on a machine having special functions.
You can stitch with a seam at the corners of the sheet. In this case, the fabric is sewn on the front side, turned inside out, and a seam is made on the wrong side. The photo below illustrates this seam. The next step will be the substrate around the perimeter of the bottom of the sheet.
Gum stitching options
There are several options for placing the elastic in the drawstring of the sheet:
- The elastic is sewn only at the corners of the sheet, that is, from the angle of the sheet on both sides (20 cm each), the elastic is stretched in the drawstring and fixed at the ends with a machine seam back and forth or with a needle and thread so that it does not break out.
- The elastic is sewn along the width of the sheet with a rotation of 20 cm from each edge and is fixed (the sample in the photo below).
- The elastic is sewn around the entire perimeter of the sheet. It is believed that the length of the elastic should be 1/2 the length of the perimeter of the sheet. In this case, the perimeter will be 200 × 2 + 160 × 2 = 720, which means that the length of the elastic should be 360 cm. The elastic is threaded into the drawstring with a pin. The threaded gum is overlapped and hidden in the wings.
The sheet sewn and worn on the mattress looks neat, will allow you to sleep peacefully, as it will not stray even with a restless dream.
Crib sheet
A sheet stretched over the mattress is an ideal option for baby bedding in the baby's bed. All the parents of the babies know how playful their children are and how the seemingly tucked sheet under the mattress is constantly knocked out of there. Consider how to sew a sheet on an elastic band on a crib.
For sewing on a mattress in a crib, it is better to take tender calico or 100% cotton. For the winter version of the sheet, you can take flannel, flannelette or terry cloth.
Cut a baby sheet
The dimensions of the crib are usually standard - 120 × 60 cm. The height of the mattress for the crib is small - 10 cm. We use a pattern for a large bed (photo 1). We calculate how much material is needed to make the sheet:
- Sheet length: 120 cm (mattress length) + 20 cm (mattress height 10 cm × 2) + 10 cm (substrate 5 cm × 2) = 150 cm.
- The width of the sheet: 60 cm (width of the mattress) + 20 (height of the mattress 10 cm × 2) + 10 cm (substrate 5 cm × 2) = 90 cm.
A sheet with an elastic band on a child’s bed is made according to a similar scheme as for a large bed. A cut equal to 150 × 90 cm is cut from the fabric. To correctly cut the corners, you need to fold the fabric in half and double again. It turned out addition 4 times. The fabric should be perfectly evenly folded. We measure 60 cm along the long side and 30 cm along the short side. A square with a side of 15 cm is drawn on the resulting marks. We retreat 1 cm (for a line of corners) and draw parallel lines. The resulting square is 14 × 14 cm.
The corners of the sheet are stitched in the same way as for the sheet on the large bed. Tucked up material to form a drawstring. For baby sheets, it is recommended to insert an elastic band around the entire perimeter of the mattress, as shown in the photo above in the article. With a material width of 3 meters, you can buy 180 cm in length and sew 2 baby sheets with an elastic band.
In this case, only angular squares will be “lunges”. By the way, if the material is bright, colorful, needlewomen from them can make wonderful potholders for the kitchen.
The advantages of sheets
Whether you purchase a sheet or sew it yourself, you focus primarily on the merits of this product. The material that is purchased for sewing the sheet is natural, high-quality and durable. These are linen, cotton and bamboo fabrics. The pleasant soft surface of the product has a comfortable rest.
The high density of these materials allows washing not to lose their quality and not to shrink. A sewn-in elastic band around the perimeter of the sheet or in any other way prevents the sheet from traveling around the mattress during sleep. And an important detail: such a sheet does not require ironing, as it is stretched and fits perfectly on the mattress. If, nevertheless, there is a desire to iron it, this can be done by putting it on the mattress.
If the information on sewing a sheet on an elastic band turned out to be useful to you, do such a laborious and quite doable job right now, while there is a desire to do something with your own hands.