Tutorial: How to Make A Crib Sheet

A couple of months ago Joann Fabrics had a BIG sale on their clearance fabric. It was 50% off the clearance price. Well, I couldn't pass that up. I am always looking for cheap fabric for sample products, pattern testing, and home decor projects. I was shocked when I came across a Diego print on clearance for $4. With the 50% off it came to a whopping $2/yard. I could not just walk past it. My little guy loves Diego. So, I bought two yards to make him a crib sheet.

Unless you can find a crib sheet on clearance, one sheet ALONE will cost close to $10. This one cost me about $5... and it's in a cute print!


New bedding is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to change the feel of a child's room or a nursery. When you can create the bedding yourself, not only do you get the prints you want, but you have a feeling of pride and satisfaction every time you walk in that room! PLUS, you get to show off your handywork to all your friends when they come over!

You can find my tutorial for the crib skirt here.

This pattern is for a standard sized crib mattress. It also works for the standard toddler bed {which uses the same size mattress}.

Want to make your own? Here's how.

You will need:
• 2 yards of 42-44" wide cotton fabric
• 2-1/4 yards of 1/4" braided elastic {available at your sewing store}
• sewing machine, pins, scissors, thread
• hot iron and ironing board


Make sure your fabric has been washed and ironed. Then cut a piece that is 67"x43". {If your fabric shrinks to only 42" that's fine too, but the wider the better!} To cut mine I fold it in half like a hot dog and measure out 37". Then slide it down to measure the other 30" and cut there. If you are great at cutting straight lines, then use your measuring tape and cut away!


Next you are going to make the corners. The same way I did here. Cut a square out of scratch paper that is 7-3/4"x7-3/4". Line it up on each of the 4 corners of the rectangle you just made, and cut out around your square removing a 7-3/4" square from each corner.


Take one of the corner of your rectangle. You now have essentially two NEW corners for every original corner. Place right sides together and fold the new corners together so that the corners line up and you have a fold at the top.  Then sew it all the way down. You can refer to this tutorial if you need help. Make sure to double stitch at the top where the fold is. You don't need to worry about doing it on the bottom {where the corners meet} because you will be stitching over it in a couple of steps.}



Your finished corner should look something like this when you turn it right side out.


Repeat those steps for each of the 4 corners of your sheet. You are creating the pockets that hold the sheet on to your mattress. Once done, use your iron and press each of the pockets to seal the stitches.

Now you are going to create the casing for your elastic. I used my handy ruler to iron a fold all the way around the edge of my sheet that was 3/8" wide. If you don't have a ruler, you can use your elastic to create the right sized casing like I did here.


Once you have gone full circle, you need to fold it over again creating a nice finished edge to your casing. You don't need to measure this time, just fold your fabric over making sure that your new fold isn't any wider than your first fold.


This time around I pinned my casing as I ironed... that way I didn't have to go back around a third time! I am all about making things easy!!


As you pin, choose one of your corner pockets as your starting point. Place double pins on either side of the pocket seam leaving yourself about a 1-1/2" gap between them.


Now you are ready to sew your casing. Set your inseam width to 5/16". Start at one of your double pin sets and sew all the way around to the other set of double pins. This creates an opening around the bottom of your sheet 5/16" wide that you can now slip your elastic into.


Use a small safety pin and pin one end of your 2-1/4 yards of 1/4" elastic. Insert the safety pin into your casing via the 1-1/2" opening. Then, kick up your heels, settle into a good seat and start sliding the safety pin through your casing scrunching up the fabric behind the pin as you go. It has a long trip around that sheet, so put on a good movie, make sure you go to the bathroom before you start... okay, it doesn't take that long, but it took me about 15 minutes to work it all the way around.


Once you see the safety pin popping out of the opening where you started you can let your sliding and scrunching muscles take a little rest.

Line up the two ends of your elastic - but make sure your elastic lays flat... you don't want it all twisted inside your sheet - and sew the ends together about 1/4" from the ends. Then fold the edges over and sew them down, holding them in place. You can add a third stitch between the two if you like ... just to be sure.


Lastly you need to sew that opening closed. Simply refold your casing back to where it was and sew it closed making sure that you don't sew through your elastic.


All that's left now is to put it on the mattress! As you stretch it to get it around the corners of the mattress the fabric scrunching will even itself out.



If you try this tutorial out, please send me a picture of your finished product! I would love to share it!!

Are you working on updating a room in your house on a budget? What do you have planned so far!?

{This pattern is for personal use only. Please do not use it to sell crib sheets. Feel free to link to this post on your blog if you wish to share it with your readers. THANKS!}

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Want to learn how to make your own crib sheet using soft muslin fabric like Aden and Anais crib sheets? Check out my post of where to buy the fabric and how to use it to create your own super soft and light weight crib or toddler bed sheets! 



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