Nursery bedding has come a long way. Now more than ever, parents have options beyond the plain white, pink, blue and polka dot baby crib sheets that previously dominated the market. But sometimes those adorable trendy printed sheets can be out of your budget or you simply cannot find the perfect Star Wars-themed bedding for your mini Jedi. The good news is that even if youβre a beginner behind the sewing machine, youβll find itβs a snap to DIY a crib sheet as unique as your nursery style.
Materials:Β two yards of fabric (minimum 44β³ width), 80β³ length of 1/4β³ elastic, cardstock (or poster board), two small safety pins, sewing machine, thread, scissors, iron
Please note that the following tutorial fits standard U.S. crib mattresses 27-28β³ wide, 51-52β³ long, and 3-6β³ deep and should not be used on any other size mattress.
Begin with a fabric rectangle that measures 68β³ x 45β³. If your fabric comes 44β³ wide, thatβs okay tooβjust be sure to keep the salvage edges intact for maximum width.
Cut an 8β³ square template out of cardstock or poster board. Align the template with one corner of your fabric, trace and cut out the corner.
Repeat on the remaining three corners until your fabric looks like this.
Run a zigzag stitch around all the raw edges of your fabric to prevent fraying. (I used bright pink thread for easy visibility, but youβll want to use thread that coordinates with your fabric.)
If you are worried your fabric may shrink significantly when washed, you can wash your fabric before moving onto the next step.
Align the edges of your cut corners, right sides of the fabric together. Pin and sew the corner with a 5/8β³ seam allowance. Do this on all four corners. Donβt forget to back-stitch the beginning and the end of your seam for strength.
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Next, youβllΒ need to create a small casing along the edge for the elastic.Β Use a hot iron to crease a 5/8β³ flap around the entire edge of the fabric (wrong sides together). One easy way to quickly iron a consistent crease is to draw a line 5/8β³ up from the long edge of a piece of cardstock. Then fold the fabric against the edge of the cardstock template up to the line, and press with your iron.
After creasing the entire edge, at the center of one long side, mark a starting point (one pin) and stopping point (two pins) that are 2β³ apart.
Because youΒ ironed the casing flap, you wonβt have to pin around the entire sheetβit should fold over nicely on its own as you sew. Starting where you marked the fabric with oneΒ pin, sew all the way aroundΒ the sheet (wrong sides together) with a 1/2β³ seam allowance.
Stop at your two pins mark, leaving a small opening in the casing.
Cut an 80β³ length of 1/4β³ elastic. Pin one end to the sheet (so it doesnβt pull through) and attach another safety pin to the free end.
Insert the free end of your elastic into the casing and thread it all the way through to the other side of your opening.
Overlap your elastic ends about 2β³. Sew them together a couple times with a tight zigzag stitch.
Pull the elastic back into the casing and sew the opening shut.
All done! Your new crib sheet should fit snugly, with the gathered elastic edges tucked neatly underneath the mattress. Never place an infant in a crib with loose bedding.
The best part about making crib sheet, other than its simplicity, is that the possibilities for customization are literally endless! And now that you know how to makeΒ a crib sheet, you also know how to whip up a custom toddler bed sheetβitβs the same size mattress.