Fold a Fitted Sheet
Fitted sheets can be tricky and frustrating to fold because of the elastics in the corners. This article will teach you how to fold one.
10 Second Summary
1. Hold the sheet lengthwise.
2. Fold one corner over the other.
3. Tuck the remaining corners in.
4. Shake the sheet, then smooth it out.
5. Fold the sheet so that it that lines up with the border created by the fitted sections.
6. Fold the sheet into thirds or quarters.
Steps
- Hold the sheet lengthwise in your hands. Tuck your fingertips into the corner seam at the two far ends of the sheet. This means that you should have a hand in the one of the "foot" corners and one of the "head" corners, on the same side. Make sure the sheet is inside out the whole way around (even in the corners you're not holding), with the tag-side facing away from your body.
- Fold one corner over the other. Bring the tips of your fingers together and flip one of the corners over the other, switching it to be facing right-side-out. You should now have both corners on one hand.
- Grab the next corner. You should now have a short loop of the edge on one side of your arm and a long side on the other. Put your fingers on the hem that is touching your arm (the lower of the two that you should have), and follow it down the long seam, until you reach the next corner of the sheet.
- Tuck this corner. Pick up this section of the sheet and tuck it underneath the first two corners, so that the right side of the fabric is touching the inside of the group you're holding.
- Grab the final corner. All of the corners at this point should be folded together except one.
- Tuck this corner. This corner will also be placed underneath the three corners in your hand, so that the wrong side of the fabric is touching the inside of the group you're holding.
- Shake the sheet. You should now have a long edge of the fitted fabric on one side of your arm and a short side on the other. Grabbing the short side fold or corner with your free hand, give the whole sheet a firm shake to help straighten it out. You're trying to form a square or rectangle with the sheet, of which the L of the fitted fabric will form two sides.
- Smooth out the sheet. Lay the sheet down on a flat surface and smooth it out into a square. You may need to "pleat" the fitted corner in order to get it to lie flat. Smooth as many wrinkles as you can.
- Keeping the corners together, fold the sheet in a way that lines up with the border created by the fitted sections. This will likely be in thirds, but it may be in quarters, depending on the size of the sheet.
- Fold the sheet into thirds or quarters. How you fold it depends on your own preferences, the thickness of the fabric, and the size of the sheet.
- Straighten your fold. Straighten and tuck as needed to flatten the fabric. This will prevent wrinkles.
- Finished. You're done! We recommend keeping all pieces of the sheet set together by also folding up the flat sheet and the pillow cases and then bundling the group together with a ribbon or twine. This will keep your linen closet tidy and space efficient. It also looks nice when guests come over!
Tips
- If you can buy two or three matching sets at the same time, then top sheets, bottom sheets, and pillow cases (of the same size) will be interchangeable. It's hard to find the same pattern on a different day, so keep that in mind and aim to buy them all at the same time.
- For extra convenience you can also store all sheet sets inside one matching pillowcase. Closets stay neater and all needed items stay together.
- Color-code your linen closet; for example, blue sheets for crib-sized mattress, yellow sheets for twin-sized mattresses, and beige sheets for king-sized mattresses.
Things You'll Need
- Fitted sheet
- Folding space
