Baby Crib Sheets

Crib sheets are very easy to make and make great baby gifts.  You will end up with a sheet of much higher quality than the ones you buy in the stores for two reasons:  you can use a high quality 100% cotton sheet as your fabric (most store bought crib sheets will not be made from this quality of fabric) and you can apply elastic around the entire sheet (not just at the corners like most purchased sheets) which allows for a better (and safer) fit.  These sheets also fit toddler beds.

Here are some easy to follow instructions for creating your own crib sheets.  You can start with any fabric that is at least 45 inches wide but it must measure an actual 45 inches.  I recommend that you prewash any fabric first since these are designed to be tight fitting and any shrinkage after they are made will make it very difficult to place on the mattress.  I also recommend 100% cotton fabric for the baby’s comfort.  My favorite source for fabric is other sheets.  You can often find very good quality sheets on clearance at stores and online.  My favorite shopping spot is The Company Store (and Company Kids).  Their sheets are very high quality and you can often find something useful in their clearance section.   You can get two crib sheets from each double or queen sized flat sheet.  If you are willing to unstitch the hems on a twin sized sheet you can sometimes get two crib sheets from that size, too.

Standard crib mattresses are 27” x 52”.  (Here is a handy website to bookmark that has standard bedding and mattress sizes.

• Begin by cutting your fabric 70 inches by 45 inches. 
• Cut an 8.5” square from each corner of this rectangle.
• With right sides together, match the two cut edges of each square opening and stitch, forming a boxed corner.  I use my serger and a three-thread stitch for this step which roughly makes a 3/8” seam.  Repeat for all four corners.
• You will need 2.5 yards of 3/8” elastic.  Make sure it is the sew-through variety.  Butt the cut ends together and zigzag over the join, forming a continuous circle of elastic.  Mark the elastic into quarters (fold in half on the seam and mark the other fold, refold so seam and mark match and mark the new folds).
• Mark the sheet into quarters.  You will want to mark the center of each raw edge between the corners.
• Pin the elastic to the wrong side of the sheet, matching the quarter marks on the elastic to the quarter marks on the sheet.  Stretch the elastic between two of the marks and serge the elastic to the edge of the sheet.  Repeat for all four quarters of the sheet.
• Turn the edge under encasing the elastic.  Stretch flat and zigzag through the sheet and elastic around the entire edge of the sheet.