Imagine this: You wake up in the middle of the night to find yourself tangled up, linen bedding bunched up around you, and the mattress exposed. You spend half the night frantically wriggling free, sorting through the mess, and tucking sheets back in, all while losing precious moments of needed rest.
But thanks to the fitted bed sheet, that scenario is only the stuff of nightmares. Here’s your full-stop guide to tell you what fitted sheets are and why they’re essential to a good night’s rest.
What are Fitted Bed Sheets?
A fitted bed sheet acts exactly as described—it is made to lie directly on top of and fit snugly around all four sides of your mattress. They were invented in Alberta, Canada, in the late 1950s to help solve the troublesome problem of keeping a flat bed sheet perfectly folded and in place all night long.
Have you ever heard of hospital corners? Before fitted sheets were created, nurses would attempt to tightly fold flat sheets around the bed with precision to keep patients comfortable and protect the hospital mattresses from germs.
Fitted bed sheets were created with elastic pockets that help secure them around the bed and hold them in place, ensuring they won’t go anywhere while protecting your mattress throughout the night. The rest of your bedding pieces—your flat sheet, pillowcases, and your choice of duvet cover, bedspread, or coverlet—fall gently on top, creating the linen bedding set of your dreams.
What’s the Difference Between Flat and Fitted Sheets?
Fitted bed sheets are the first piece to making your bed. They envelop your mattress, providing you with a soft place to land while protecting your furniture from a variety of things that naturally float throughout your bedroom during the night.
Basic flat linen sheets drape over your fitted sheet to cover you in a smooth, delectable sheath of luxury. When you’re lying in bed, they offer a comfortable and indulgent layer between you and any other top layer of linen bedding you might need. This also helps keep your top covers clean, as they rest against the top sheet and do not directly touch your skin.
Bottom line: Fitted bed sheets are your bottom layer, the soothing barrier between you and your mattress. Flat bed sheets are your top layer, the cocoon that cradles you and separates you from your top blanket while you fall into a deep, dream-filled slumber.
3 Great Benefits of Fitted Bed Sheets
When making your bed like a professional, you have to start with the fitted sheet. It is the first piece you reach for when making the bed, and it anchors the rest of your linen bedding ensemble. Here are some of the many benefits of using a fitted bed sheet:
1. Fitted Bed Sheets Offer Protection for Your Mattress
Your fitted bed sheet is literally the protective barrier between you and your mattress. It’s the hardest worker in your linen bedding set, standing guard all night long, keeping your mattress safe from your hair, sweat, body oils, pet dander, dust, and dirt—need we go on? You’re safe and sound with a fitted sheet protecting the bed.
2. Fitted Bed Sheets Provide Comfort While You Sleep
Fitted bed sheets keep you calm, cool, and collected all night long. The protection they offer helps you drift off into a deep, comfortable sleep while cocooned under your linen bedding, and the bonus of knowing those elastic corners are holding snug and you won’t have to readjust any of your sheets during the night keeps you snoozing well until (or past) your alarm.
3. Fitted Bed Sheets are Easy to Wash
Just throw your fitted bed sheets in the wash with your flat sheets, pillowcases, and the rest of your linen bedding. Yes, it’s that easy! At Linenforce, all of our linen goods come prewashed for softness, so you’ll never have to deal with the rough touch fresh linen fabric sometimes offers. Better yet, your linen sheets will get consistently softer with each wash.
What Type of Linen Sheets Should I Choose (Linen vs. Cotton) and Why?
It’s an age-old question: Which bedding fabric is the best? Lately, the debate has come down to linen bedding vs. cotton bedding.
It’s no secret: We’re crazy about linen home goods—and linen bedding in particular. Here are just a few of the many reasons why we’d choose linen for our bedrooms every day of the week:
- It’s temperature-regulating
- It’s hypoallergenic
- It’s durable
Linen is Temperature-Regulating
Linen has the unique ability to thermoregulate—meaning when it’s hot outside, the fibers loosen to allow airflow in, and when it’s cold outside, the fibers naturally contract, shutting down that increased airflow to keep you warm and cozy all night long. It’s literally a win-win for hot and cold sleepers. Our fitted bed sheets will be your linen bedding set's perfectly cool first layer.
Linen is Hypoallergenic
Linen naturally repels bacteria and allergens, keeping them from settling into your linen bedding. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, have pets sleeping in the bed, or live in a busy environment with dust and particles moving through the air, choose linen for your fitted bed sheets.
Linen is Durable
Flax linen fibers are notoriously strong, meaning the fabric naturally doesn’t stretch, rip, or pill, creating linen bedding that stands up to daily use. By choosing linen for your fitted bed sheets, you’ve selected an option that will last for years—even decades—to come.
What are Common Bed Sizes?
Before you can start picking out the perfect color of linen bedding for your sheet set, you’ve got to know your mattress size. In the United States and Canada, mattresses follow a standard sizing and dimension guide that will give you a great starting place when deciding which size bed to buy.
Typically, U.S. and Canadian markets sell four different mattress sizes—twin, full (or double), queen, and king. These days, you may also choose a crib sheet or the longer Twin XL or California King options.
How to Measure for Your Fitted Sheets
Before you can make your bed with luxurious linen bedding, you’ve got to know the size of your mattress. Knowing your common mattress size means you’re already in a great starting place.
But if you don’t know your bed size, take a tape measure or yardstick to measure the length and width of your mattress. That should get you fairly close to your standard bed size. However, it’s important to measure the depth (height) of your mattress as well to know the exact size of fitted bed sheets you’ll need.
Linenforce Offers a Custom Fit
Our luxurious linen bedding options differ slightly in some instances from standard U.S. mattress sizing and fit measurements. Our custom measurements can all be found in our handy size guide for your convenience.
We also know that you might want to customize your linen bedding sizes to suit your needs. We can take care of anything you need so you know, deep down, that you’ve chosen the right linen bedding for your home and lifestyle. Simply request the custom bedding size you need for a perfect fit.
Linenforce Fitted Sheets Sizes
Linenforce offers fitted bed sheets in a wide variety of sizes—you won’t go wrong finding the right fit for every bed. We also offer sheets for more types of mattresses than most retailers, so you’ll certainly find the perfect sheets whether you’re making up a crib in your baby’s nursery or outfitting a full XL bed.
Please follow these specific measurements when ordering:
- Crib: 28" x 52" / 71 x 132 cm
- USA Twin: 38" x 75" / 96 x 190 cm
- USA XL Twin: 38" x 80" / 96 x 203 cm
- USA King Single: 43" x 79" / 109 x 200 cm
- USA Full Double: 53" x 75" / 134 x 190 cm
- USA Full XL: 54" x 80" / 137 x 203 cm
- USA Queen: 60" x 80" / 152 x 203 cm
- USA King: 76" x 80" / 193 x 203 cm
- USA Cal King: 72" x 84" / 182 x 213 cm
When Should I Choose Different Sized Fitted Bed Sheets?
You might opt to use a mattress topper to provide an extra layer of padding or comfort directly above your mattress. If you do choose to use a mattress topper, you may want to choose a fitted sheet with a deeper pocket to provide the best fit for your mattress.
To measure for the perfectly sized fitted bed sheets, put your mattress topper on top of the mattress. Then, use your tape measure or yardstick to gather all three dimensions (length, width, and height) with the mattress topper included. For best fit, add at least another 2” to 3” to your fitted sheet size to accurately account for the extra padding on top of the mattress.
Fitted Sheet Pocket Sizing
For our fitted bed sheets, we offer a deep variety of pocket sizes so your experience will truly be customized! That way, your sheets won’t shift recklessly throughout the night and not one inch of your mattress will be exposed. Linenforce offers 10 pocket sizes from 8 to 18 inches to accommodate your specific fitted sheet needs.
How Should I Care for My Linen Bedding?
It’s important to follow our care instructions precisely to maximize the life of your linen bedding. When washing, it’s important to remember:
- Spot clean or pre-treat stains before washing
- Wash with similar materials and like colors to prevent color bleeding
- Wash on a cold or lukewarm cycle
- Use a mild liquid detergent and a gentle cycle setting
- Dry on low heat only with a gentle cycle setting
- Iron on very low heat when needed
You will want to wash your linen sheets at least once a week for maximum cleanliness. However, you can wash your larger linen bedding items once every couple of weeks (or even monthly) for best results.
How To Fold a Fitted Bed Sheet in 5 Simple Steps
Carefully! Only kidding, of course, but fitted sheets do have a reputation for being tricky to fold. Once you’ve finished the laundry, here are the five foolproof steps to follow to learn how to fold a fitted bed sheet perfectly every time:
- Step 1: Lay the Sheet Flat
- Step 2: Pick Up the Sheet’s Corners
- Step 3: Create a Rectangle with the Sheet
- Step 4: Fold the Sheet in Thirds
- Step 5: Fold the Sheet in Thirds (Again)
Step 1: Lay the Sheet Flat
To start, lay the sheet flat, top side down. Face the corners in toward each other with the elastic edge facing up, creating a circular inner ring on top of the sheet.
Step 2: Pick Up the Sheet’s Corners
Tuck your hands into the back of the sheet's corners on the longest side before shaking out the sheet. Move each hand down the sheet's short edge until you reach the next corner. Pick that corner up and fit it in the other two corners you worked with before so all the corners are over one hand. Make sure you’ve tucked all the corner seams fully inside each other.
Step 3: Create a Rectangle with the Sheet
Shake the sheet to smooth everything out. Put one hand on top of the other, making sure all the corners of the sheet are in your bottom hand. You should be left with two straight edges. Lay the sheet on a flat surface with the elastic facing up, then smooth the sheet into a rectangle.
Step 4: Fold the Sheet in Thirds
Fold the sheet in thirds lengthwise. You should be left with a small rectangle.
Step 5: Fold the Sheet in Thirds (Again)
Finish by folding the sheet again widthwise. You should be left with a tidily folded square.
Once your other sheets and pillowcases are folded, the entire linen sheet set should sit neatly on top of each other (fitted sheet, flat sheet, then pillowcases). The linen bedding set you've built will be ready to wrap all the beds in your house in luxurious comfort your family will dream about all day long.
