How to Make a Crib Sheet Flat With Elastic

Make a fitted sheet that coordinates with the nursery bedding.

Make a crib sheet that lays flat against the crib mattress with a little bit of elastic to tuck the sheet underneath. Make the crib sheet from a warm flannel or fleece fabric for added winter warmth or make the sheet from a lightweight cotton blend fabric to help keep the baby cool in the summertime. Give the fitted sheet as a handmade gift to a new mother and make a mattress cover for the crib, using the same instructions, from a piece of vinyl fabric.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Scissors
• Cardboard
• Chalk
• Sewing needle
• Thread
• 1/4-inch-wide elastic

Instructions

1. Lay the fabric for the crib sheet on your work surface and cut a rectangle that measures 40 inches by 75 inches from the fabric.

2. Cut a template to make the fitted corners for the crib sheet. Cut the template from a piece of cardboard or poster board and make the template an eight-inch square.

3. Place the square template at each corner of the crib fabric and trace around the template with a piece of chalk. Cut out the squares from the fabric corners.

4. Lay the fabric with the good side facing upward and one of the corners in front of you. Bring the two ends created by the cut out square together and sew a simple stitch to join the edges. Repeat the stitching over the edges at least twice for strength.

5. Rotate the fabric and repeat with each of the corners of the fabric.

6. Cut four pieces of elastic for the crib sheet. Make each piece about six inches long.

7. Fold one of the elastic pieces in half and pin the fold to the joined edge at one corner. Stretch the elastic and pin it to the left and the right of the joined edge. Sew the elastic to the fabric and remove the pins. The fabric will contract to the size of the elastic, creating the fitted corner. Repeat with each corner of the crib sheet.

References

• "Kwik Sew's Sewing for Baby"; Kerstin Martensson; 1990
• "Nursery Decor for Beginners"; Creative Publishing international; 2000