Found Fabrics - hiding from the heat vol. 2 (crib sheets)

Today, I decided to make some of my favourite things: crib sheets. I don't know why, but I just love making crib sheets. They're simple, pretty quick, and so weirdly rewarding. Ok,  guess I do know why. Anyway, I don't get to make them very often as they take a fair amount of fabric so they aren't really cost-effective to sell; I made so many when Rowan was born that I haven't needed to make more; and there are only so many you can give as gifts....

That being said, today I got to make a set. See, although we have a stack of fitted sheets for the crib, I only ever made one flat sheet and it's flannel. And it's hot here right now. Very hot. And poor Willow, who (like her mum) loves being tucked in at night, has been melting under a blanket. Poor wee thing. So, today, she got a nice set of cotton sheets so I can tuck her in!

No credit to me for the pillowcase (bought) or the quilt (a gift from a wonderful friend)

Tutorial Time!

You will need 3.6m (3.9 yards) of fabric, 1.2m (4') narrow elastic. 

Fitted Sheet:

Take a piece of fabric 70"x45". 45" is a pretty standard width for many fabrics, especially cottons, so this means you don't have to cut the long sides. Huzzah.

Cut 9" squares out of each corner. I do this by folding it in half and in half again, then cutting all the corners at once. 

New cutting mat! Thank you Fabricland Ultimate Sale!

Next, sew the two cut edges together with a 1/4" seam, creating a box corner

I serge my edges; you can zigzag them, pink them or leave them raw.

Finish the raw edges of the sheet. This should only be the two short sides, the long sides (if you had 45" fabric) are selvages and so don't really need to be finished.

Now cut 4 pieces of elastic at 1' each. Put the middle of each piece on the seam in each corner. Sew it down, stretching the elastic fully. 

I like to do this by sewing out from the centre of the elastic, but this means that you do have to sew one side of the elastic blind.

Blind!

 You can also stretch the elastic out fully, then pin it in place.

And there you have it! A fitted sheet!

Because my elastic had no guts (it was crazy soft and stretchy),  I did my 2' on each end as one piece. If you are using regular braided elastic, you'll need to do the 1' pieces

Flat sheet:

Start with another piece of fabric 70"x45" 

Hem one end at 1" (folded in half)

Hem the other end at 3" (fold under 1/2")

And you're done!

Update: Willow is sleeping well tonight! Cotton is a wonderful thing...