Sewing for your nursery can be so much fun! This tutorial will show you how to make a crib sheet, and you will be amazed at just how easy it is.
It seems like options at the store are so limited, especially when you have a certain color scheme in mind. When you look to fabric, your options seem endless! So for the price of fabric and a little bit of time, you can make a crib sheet that fits exactly what you envision for baby’s nursery.
~ Supplies ~
2 yards of fabric (44-45″ wide)
(I used Blue Floral from Kensington by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake)
2 yards of 1/4″ elastic
Matching thread
Fabric Marker
Ruler
Rotary mat and cutter
or
Scissors
Pins and safety pins
Iron
The first thing I suggest doing is washing your fabric. Because a crib sheet is something that will definitely be washed, you don’t want it to shrink after making it and then not fit the crib mattress. That would be a very sad thing. So wash and press for less stress later. 🙂
Cut your fabric to 69″ in length.
The width will be untouched at 44″-45″, whatever your fabric measures.
Take your fabric and fold it in half length wise.
We are going to cut out 8″ squares out of the corners, but first we need to mark the square. This is where you use your ruler and fabric marker. If you don’t have a fabric marker, a regular one will probably be just fine.
After marking your 8″ square, cut it out with a rotary cutter or scissors. Do this to the top and bottom corners.
When you are done, you will have four 8″ squares cut out of each corner.
Now we are going to start sewing. We will sew together the edges of the corners and make french seams. These will enclose the raw edge.
Take one square and put the edges WRONG sides together. Then stitch down the edge with 1/4″ seam. After it’s sewn, cut down the seam to 1/8″.
Turn the corner so wrong sides are out (right sides touching) and press the seam.
Stitch down the seam again using a 1/4″ seam, completely encasing the raw edge.
It’s so beautiful! The french seams make my heart happy. 🙂
Do this to all four of your corners.
Now we are going to make the casing for the elastic. Fold the edge of the fabric over 1/2″ and press all the way around. Then fold it 1/2″ and press again.
Next is sewing the casing we just pressed. I put two pins in to mark where I want to begin and end. You want to leave an opening to thread the elastic through.
Sew along the casing, pretty close to the edge giving plenty of room for the elastic.
Cut 65″ of elastic. Attach a safety pin to each end. When I get to the end of my elastic, I pin it to the opening so I don’t have to pay attention to it and it doesn’t get lost as I am threading the beginning of the elastic around.
Thread your elastic into the opening and pull the closed safety pin around until it comes out the other side.
When you finish threading the elastic through, overlap the beginning and ends about 2-3″ and sew them together using a zig zag stitch. I went back and forth about 3 times to make sure it was super secure.
Put it back into the casing and smooth it out.
Starting where you ended, stitch the casing closed.
Yay! Your crib sheet is all finished and wasn’t that easy?!
Take your crib sheet and pull the fabric around so it’s all nice and even. Then take it to your crib mattress and put it on and jump for joy at how perfect it fits your decor!
I made my crib sheet in a set with this adorable Ruffled Crib Skirt. The Ribbon Retreat Blog has a tutorial just for you so make sure to check it out! It would be cute for a girl and boy!
Thank you to The Ribbon Retreat for letting me show you just how easy a crib sheet is! If you are doing a whole theme around a certain fabric line, I suggest buying tons of it! If it’s super cute like this line, you may find other projects to use it for and when you go back to buy some it may be gone. That’s the hard thing about these cute designer fabrics. You can make curtains, pillows, art work, baskets, and so much more (I have a bow banner idea floating around!) :). So keep that in mind and have fun decorating your nursery!
~ Shirley
Thank you Shirley! I LOVE this crib sheet, and you are so right…when you are decorating your nursery, buy LOTS and LOTS of the fabrics you love! You can always create the most adorable matching room decor to make your nursery perfect for it’s new occupant. 🙂 Shirley is wonderfully talented and has shared some AMAZING tutorials with us in the past. For more fun projects by Shirley, click here.
Are you inspired to decorate or makeover your nursery, or a room in your house? The Ribbon Retreat has the most gorgeous fabric for you to choose from, for ALL of your home decor needs! Are you ready to decorate for Halloween? We also have Spoooooooooky ribbon to decorate for all the upcoming Witches and Goblins.
What is your favorite home decor project?
Happy Creating & Happy Decorating!
68 Comments
I LOVE this!! I was sitting here thinking why is she doing this to me!!! Not a bad thing, now I am really ready to do something super special and sweet for my baby girl’s crib. Thank you for this tutorial!!!
Hi Tiffanie! Thank you so much for your comment! Hehe! Didn’t Shirley do such a great job on this fun and ADORABLE tutorial. Good luck making this for your sweet baby girl. Have a wonderful rest of your day! Michelle 🙂
This was a great tutorial! I was so nervous about attempting to make a sheet but this was GREAT!! Easy to follow instructions. Thanks SO MUCH!!!
Hi Katie! Thank you so much for your sweet comment! This tutorial is awesome and the finished product is amazing! Congrats on making your own crib sheet! You are awesome! Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
I love this tutorial, you did a very good job. Can you tell me the size of the mattress e.g. length, width and height
of the mattress? Thank you,
Hi Margareth! Thank you so much for your sweet comment! The standard size for a crib mattress is 28″x52″ which is what this crib sheet will fit. Thank you again for your comment and for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
I’ve been wanting to make my own crib sheets for a while now but have been kind of nervous about trying it. Thanks for the tutorial!
Hi Jennifer! Yay…I am so glad that you like our Crib Sheet tutorial. Good luck making yours and have so much fun sewing! Have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
I found a lovely fabric that is 42 inches wide. Would this be too small? I know your pattern says 44-45. Just wondering, thanks!
Hi Samantha! Thank you for your question! Unfortunately Shirley thinks that, yes the 42″ fabric would be too small. When using the 44-45″ fabric, she kept the selvege edge on, so there isn’t much give. You could possibly piece it together to make it long enough. It would be along the edge and wouldn’t be noticeable. Once you fall in love with a fabric, it’s impossible to go with something else, right!?! Good luck, have a wonderful day and Happy Sewing! Michelle 🙂
Love how easy this is. But 69 was a bit short. Its tight fitting but slips off because it dose’nt tuck under well enough. Simple solution (by adding another inch or two on length) for such an easy project! Thanks so much!
Hi Christy! Thank you for your question! Shirley says, “My crib mattress measures 52″ long. My sheet is pretty tight, but works great. I am so sorry that yours didn’t quite work. Yes I think that adding on the length could help. Can you measure your mattress and let me know what you got? I would like to add these measurements to the post so someone else can change it if they need to. Thanks!” Thank you so much Christy! I am so glad you liked this fun crib sheet! Have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Thank you! I love the French seams! I made a flannel crib sheet for my LO, as it’s dropping in temps here and all the flannel sheets that I found in store are scratchy and ugly. Yay for DIY, perfect fit, and fabric of my choosing!
Hi Jen! You are so welcome! I am so glad that you like this fun project. Ohhhhhh, yes…flannel sounds divine and hooray for DIY!!! Have a wonderful day and thank you again Jen! Michelle 🙂
Hi, I just bought some 43 inch width material. I’m concerned that after washing and drying the fabric, that it will not be wide enough. Do you think starting with a 43 inch width fabric is too narrow? I can add an additional inch or two to the width if needed. Thank you.
Hi Mandy! Thank you so much for your question. Shirley thinks that yes, it could be too narrow. Her sheet is a tight fit and giving yourself an extra inch or two may be helpful. You will want to cut out a little bit more of the corners so corner to corner remains the same distance. We hope this helps! Good Luck and have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Thank you so much for your reply! It is appreciated and I’m excited to start making my sheets!!
Adding one inch to each side of the fabric will give you the necessary width. I’d think you could use strips cut from any leftover fabric OR you change the steps just a wee bit to bind all edges with double-folded one inch bias tape. Then, run the elastic through the folded tape. Voilà your 42-43″ fabric is wide enough!
I absolutely love this! I work in my church’s daycare, and those sheets get alot of use and need some updating. My problem is the size. The mattress is 24 x 38 x 3. Any idea on the size to cut the fabric, and how much elastic? I’m not a very experienced sewer, so figuring that out on my own just isnt working :). Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen! Thank you so much for your question. Shirley suggests, to make the bassinet sheet or any crib sheet that is different from the norm, I would measure the top of the mattress and then the sides. Let’s say the mattress is 24″ x 36″ and the sides are 4″. Let’s add 3″ (to go under the mattress) to 4″ and we get 7″. We need to add this all the way around the mattress so the amount of fabric we would need is 31″ x 43″. In my tutorial we cut 8″ squares out of the corners. My mattress sides measures 6″ (that’s 2″ more than the sides measure.) So take your sides 4″ and add 2″ to get 6″. We will cut out 6″ squares from the corners. As far as the length of elastic, I would just take an old bassinet or crib sheet and measure the elastic in those. If you don’t have one, then just eyeball it and measure on the mattress. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If it is too loose, undo it and cut off more elastic. Keep in mind I have only made crib sheets to fit my mattress. I would probably attempt making one with cheap fabric first to make sure it will work for your mattress. I hope this helps!
Thank you again Karen! I hope this helps with your sewing! Have a wonderful day and Happy Sewing! Michelle 🙂
These meSurements don’t add up to me. If the mattress is 24″ wide and the sides are 4″ high and you cut your fabric at 31″ wide…wouldn’t that be too small? 24″ wide plus the two sides 4+4 is already 32″…shouldn’t the measurement be 24 + 7 + 7 = 38″and 36 + 7 + 7 = 50″. So your material would be cut at 38″ x 50″?
Hi Donna! Thank you so much for your question and clarification! Shirley apologizes so much because her math was wrong and you have totally corrected her…so thank you so much! We love it when our readers save the day! Have a wonderful day and thank you again and again! Michelle 🙂
Hello! Thank you for this simple crib sheet tutorial! I am excited to begin sewing, but before I do I was wondering….my mattress height is 5.5″…would you still recommend cutting 8″ squares or should they be larger?
Hi Kelsey! Thank you so much! I am so glad you like this fun tutorial and are planning on making one! Shirley thinks that it isn’t a big enough difference to really matter. She would still use the same measurements. She also suggest maybe using a little bit less elastic to pull it tighter under the mattress. I hope this helps Kelsey! Good luck and thank you so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Thank you for the great tutorial! I made crib sheets for my son’s news “vintage auto” room, and they came out great! Photos here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152753652301267&l=8e25c40ee4
Hi Lori! Yay! Great, great job! You are so awesome. Thank you for sharing your pictures with us. Have a wonderful day and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
I just made my first ever crib sheet and it was so easy, your directions were super easy to follow. I read a few comments from people whose fabric wasn’t wide enough so I was a bit concerned when I measured mine at just 42″. So when I was sewing my long sides I did my two folds at 3/8″ instead of the 1/2″, just to give myself a little more leeway, and it ended up fitting perfectly.
Hi Andrea! Yay! You are so awesome. I am so glad you made one of these crib sheets and that our tutorial worked for you…and that you love it!! Thank you so much for your tip! That is going to be so helpful for our readers. Thank you again Andrea and have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
I consulted several “Do it yourself” crib sheet posts but yours made the most sense to me. Altho more bothersome to do, the French seams make a lot of sense for the corners. I’m pleased with my result — but don’t look TOO closely. Thank you.
Hi Robin! Yay! I am so glad that you found our tutorial and that it worked for you! I bet your sheet looks amazing, and I am so glad you are pleased with your results. Thank you so much for sharing and have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Thank you for this awesome tutorial! I plan to make a satin crib sheet for my curly-haired little one this week, and this sure helps me figure out how to do it. Thanks again!
Hi Kelly! Thank you so very much! I am so glad you like this fun crib sheet! Good luck with your sewing and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
Your tutorial is nice, however, after the step where you cut out the four corners, since your photos are so close up and you don’t specify in your instructions, what part of the fabric are you actually sewing? It’s really hard to follow with the photos so close up. Could you please do a tutorial with a step by step for beginners who are clueless so that we don’t have to guess what you are talking about? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Nena! Thank you for your question! The easiest way for your to better understand this fun tutorial is to watch our YouTube video that will show more step by step instructions for this crib sheet. You can find our YouTube video right HERE! This video is awesome and will help answer any questions that you have! Good luck and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
Thank you so much for this tutorial! Expecting a baby girl in 8 weeks and my nursery is vintage eclectic style and I’ve been wanting to repurpose my vintage bedding I have been collecting throughout the years and I just made the most adorable crib sheet from an old pink daisy queen sheet!
Hi Kim! You are welcome! Congrats on your new little girl. I love your nursery inspiration. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Hi! I just followed your directions to the letter, and my mattress is the standard size, my fabrics wears 43″ wide and 69 ” long. Squares wet cut at 8″x8″, & I used 64 inches of elastic. But I’m quite aggravated that the sheet is way too loose and frankly looks unattractive. The corners puff out really far. Could it be that I need to cut my corners more, or maybe use less than 69″ length?
Hi Hannah! Thank you for your question. Shirley suggests measuring your mattress and then letting us know what those measurements are. At that point we can go from there and get an idea on how to better help you! Thank you Hannah! Michelle 🙂
Hi so looking forward to making some sheets! Thank you very much for posting the instructions. My mattress measures
53 x 30 x 6 could you please let me know my specific cutting instructions? Thank you.
Hi Mary! Thank you for your question! Shirley suggests the following to make any crib sheet that is different from the norm…”I would measure the top of the mattress and then the sides. Let’s say the mattress is 24″ x 36″ and the sides are 4″. Let’s add 3″ (to go under the mattress) to 4″ and we get 7″. We need to add this all the way around the mattress so the amount of fabric we would need is 31″ x 43″. In my tutorial we cut 8″ squares out of the corners. My mattress sides measures 6″ (that’s 2″ more than the sides measure.) So take your sides 4″ and add 2″ to get 6″. We will cut out 6″ squares from the corners. As far as the length of elastic, I would just take an old bassinet or crib sheet and measure the elastic in those. If you don’t have one, then just eyeball it and measure on the mattress. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If it is too loose, undo it and cut off more elastic. Keep in mind I have only made crib sheets to fit my mattress. I would probably attempt making one with cheap fabric first to make sure it will work for your mattress.” I hope this helps!
Thank you again Mary! I hope this helps with your sewing! Have a wonderful day and Happy Sewing! Michelle 🙂
I love this tut. thanks for posting it. question about the fabric you used. did you use a cotton or a knit to make your sheet? I’ve done several in the past out of flannel, but I’m not finding a flannel I’m liking to use for this next go ’round, so I’m wondering which to go with this time. Thanks!
Hi Kendra! Thank you so much! I am so glad you love this fun tutorial. In this tutorial, Shirley used cotton. I think you would love it! Good luck and thank you so very much for stopping by! Have a great day Kendra! Michelle 🙂
Help! I bought several lengths of fabric to make sheets and pre-shrunk them. They are now only 42-43 inches wide. Mattress width is 28 and depth is 6 inches for a total of 40 inches. I can reduce size of casing or use fold over elastic (?) but concerned they will be too narrow to fit securely. Advice??
Hi Mary! Thank you for your question. Shirley suggests piecing on one side (long side) of the fabric. That will have a seam, but it wouldn’t be visible if you put that side on the back of the mattress (against the wall). Sorry it took so long to get back to you. What did you end up doing? 🙂 Thank you again Mary! Have a great day! Michelle 🙂
I just used this tutorial to make a crib sheet for my new nephew that is soon to be born- it was so easy! Thanks for such great, clear instructions and the pictures were also helpful. It’s so great to have this information for free! Thanks again!
Hi Cherise! AWESOME! Thank you for sharing. I am so glad you love your new crib sheet and that this fun tutorial worked so well for you! Have a wonderful day and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
Just waned to thank you for helping me to make our Granddaughter a crib sheet to match the drapes that I made out of sheets, great directions : )
Hi Beverly! You are so welcome! Thank you for your comment! I am so glad you made this project for your granddaughter! Have a wonderful day and thank you for sharing! Michelle 🙂
That being said, then you made me want to make the ruffled crib sheet next. So, I either don’t have as much patience as you, time as you cause I work full time or because I am just plain lazy, but I found a faster less material using idea. I used the elastic from the fitted sheets of the flat sheets that I made the drapes from and just sewed it onto the strips to make the ruffles. Fast and easy with I think, the same effect.
Wow Beverly…what a great idea! You are so awesome and talented! Thank you so much for sharing! I bet your granddaughter loves all of her new additions to her room! You are amazing! Have a great day Beverly and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
Just wanted to say that this tutorial is SO wonderful! I didn’t think making crib sheets could be this easy and I made mine in a little over an hour. So excited for our second baby girl’s nursery! Thanks so much for the tutorial!!
Hi Heather! Thank you so much for sharing your success! I am so glad you loved this fun tutorial and the adorable crib skirt! Have a wonderful day and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
I love this tutorial! I finished the first of two sheets today for our baby boy due in a couple of weeks. Two things I noticed: 1) after I pre-washed my fabric, it was only about 42″ wide, but it wasn’t an isssue. 2) I only ended up needing about 60″ of elastic for a tight fit on our mattress (52.5″L x 27.5″W x 5.5″H). Otherwise, I followed this exactly. It was my first time doing French seams, and I love the way they turned out. Thank you!
Hi Sara! Yay…grrrrrrreat news and grrrrrrrrrreat job! I am so excited for you! Thank you for sharing your findings with us in regards to pre-washing your fabric. You are awesome, and I am so glad your crib sheets turned out so awesome! Have a great day! Michelle 🙂
Big question!! I have used this tutorial for my first grandbabies bedding I made. Totally excited I came across your directions because they are wonderful and they come out so professional. I have shared this with several friends.
My dilemma now is that I have a second grandbaby in route and I washed the fabric…Michael Miller fabric!! The material is not meeting selvage to selvage. What do I do??
Can you please help this Grammy B??
Hi Christa…Grammy B! Thank you so much for your question! Shirley says…”Oh no! Let me make sure I am understanding correctly, now that the fabric is washed, there isn’t enough? Or is it crooked? If there isn’t enough, I would add fabric along one side (piecing it together). This side can go on the back of the crib where it won’t be seen. I hope this helps, if not, let us know. :)” Thank you Grammy B and good luck! Michelle 🙂
Fantastic directions. Just finished two soft pink flannel crib sheets for my precious granddaughter coming in June, maybe May, who knows? It only took me about an hour to cut and sew each one. Hit a clearance sale on flannel and made two sheets for $5.00. They sell for $20.00 each on-line. Guess I’ll be spending that $35.00’savings on more fabric! Also, the 8 corners I cut out to make the sheets, I am doubling them and making wash cloths for bathing baby. Thanks so much. ?
Hi Kathy! Wow…how cool is that?!? You are a rock star! Thank you so much for sharing your success with us and way to go on the great deal for fabric! Wahoooo! Have a wonderful day and thank you again! Michelle 🙂
I love this tutorial, but I had one piece of flannel shrink so much that I should have bought a little more than 2 yards!
Hi Pat! Wahooo and booooo! I am so glad that you love this fun tutorial, but I am so sad that your flannel shrunk! Have a wonderful day and good luck making this fun crib sheet! Michelle 🙂
Just have a quick question, if my fabric is 54in and the mattress is 52x28and 5 in thick. Should I cut the extra width off? Thanks for your help. Sandy
Hi Sandy! Thank you for your question. Shirley suggests cutting the excess off but keeping a little bit more than the standard fabric width just in case, like 2-3″. Shirley’s is a really tight fit, so this may give you a little leeway so it’s easier to get on. I hope this helps. Thank you Sandy! Have a wonderful day. Michelle 🙂
Hmmm… I made the sheet for the standard size crib and it’s too small. Now what can I do? Open up the french seamed corners, add a square back in, add yardage for the length and width to be bigger and sew the elastic back in? What a mess.
I notice that twice you mentioned adding 4″ all the way around, but Donna Torkelson made a correction to adding 7″ all the way around. Then later on, in response to “Mary”, the 7″ was only added in once.
I’d add a photo of the too-small sheet but don’t know how to do that.
Hi Sylvia! Thank you so much for your question. I am sorry for the confusion. Shirley would actually like you to email her. Her email address is shirley@theribbonretreat.com. She would like you to send her the measurements of your mattress, in hopes that she can best answer your question. Thank you Sylvia and have a wonderful day!!! Michelle 🙂
I love this tutorial! I found it just in time to accompany quilts to make full crib sets for several special babies coming soon! I take the 8″ squares from the crib sheet and make a cute pillow or mini blankie for them (whichever the mom-to-be prefers for her little one!).
Hi Michelle! Thank you! I am so glad you love our tutorial and that you had so much success with it! You are amazing! I love your pillow and mini blankie idea. That is so awesome! Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day! Great job Michelle! Michelle 🙂
I have never made a crib sheet before and I was so nervous! I usually have a terrible time following along with tutorials and overthink everything and end up doing something wrong, but not with this tutorial! It was so well written! Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial. I just made 4 fitted crib sheets for my son. I wanted to make something for my son and I knitted a lot of stuff for my baby girl so I wanted to make something special for my son. First of all the ones I found were horrible and second I made this myself and with a 100% cotton fabric.