How to Sew a Fitted Sheet from a Flat Sheet

See how easy it is to sew a fitted sheet out of a flat sheet.

We have a pop-up trailer with two bunk ends. I’ve been trying to find a fitted sheet that will fit on the thin RV mattresses. We do have memory foam toppers on each mattress, but it is still thinner than a regular bed. I’ve been doing some research and have discovered that jersey knit sheets fit well on RV mattresses. The trick is using a fitted sheet one size down from your RV bed. Our trailer has one king and one queen. That means I need a queen fitted jersey knit sheet and a full fitted jersey sheet. I searched high and low and can only find jersey sheets in a set. I’m too frugal to buy two sets, so I decided to sew a fitted sheet. I found a full size jersey sheet set on sale for under $11, which was an amazing bargain.

How to Sew a Fitted Sheet

Supplies

flat sheet
3/8″ elastic
measuring tape
scissors
sewing machine and thread

Directions

Determine the size you want your fitted sheet to be. I looked up sizes here.
Cut the flat sheet to the desired size. I only cut off the top edge of my flat sheet.
Cut out a 10-15″ square in each corner, depending on your desired size. I only cut 7″ for the RV mattress.
Serge or fold/hem any raw edges. I just had to serge the top edge.
With right sides facing each other, serge or stitch the square edges of a corner together. Repeat for the other three corners.
Starting along one side, attach the elastic with a zig-zag stitch, pulling the elastic tight as you go.
Continue attaching the elastic all the way around the sheet, tacking the end when you reach where you started.

That’s all it takes to sew a fitted sheet. The sheet fits nicely on our king bunk end. White is not the ideal color, but it was the only color on sale. I will be dying the sheets to match the throw pillows I am making for our trailer. You can see our trailer and read about our camping adventures at Let’s Camp S’more.