Fitted Crib Sheet Tutorial with French Seams

Crib sheets are easy, fast, and fun to make. They also make a great gift alongside a matching quilt. Just purchase an extra 2 yards of a matching fabric when selecting fabrics for the quilt to make a matching crib sheet. 

Fitted Crib Sheet Tutorial with French Seams

This is a tutorial for a standard US fitted crib sheet that will fit a 28" x 52" crib mattress.

Supplies

 - 2 yards of fabric 44/45” wide

 - 2 yards of 1/4” elastic

 - 2 safety pins

 - Wonder Clips

 - Ruler larger than 8” square or a piece of paper cut to 8” square 

1. Cut fabric to 68” long. Leave the 44/45” intact with the selvage on. 

2. Fold the fabric so that all 4 outer corners are on top of each other. Place the ruler to measure an 8” square. Mark both sides with a pen & then cut with scissors. I suggest cutting with scissors for this step instead of using a rotary cutter so you don’t accidentally cut too far into the fabric at the inside corner.

3. Start with one corner and match up the pieces, wrong sides together. Pin fabrics together. (I know this seems backwards, but it is how we will hide all the raw edges.) Sew with a scant 1/4” seam. Backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam. Trim any loose threads.

4. Press the seam to one side.

5. Now fold the corner seam fabrics right sides together to encase the original seam. Pin the fabrics together and sew a 3/8” seam. Backstitch at the beginning and end of this seam.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 with remaining 3 corners.

7. Now we need to create a casing to house the elastic. Fold up 1/4" and then 1/2" and finger press followed by clipping in place with Wonder Clips. You could press with an iron here, but perfection in this step isn't needed and I like to save time, so you can just skip pressing with an iron and clip this in place.

Fold 1/4" up and finger press

Fold additional 1/2" up and finger press

Clip in place

8. When you get to the corner seams you need to keep them all going in the same direction... this will be essential when you go to put the elastic in. I pressed them all to the right as shown in the photo below.

9. Create the casing by sewing just inside the top edge of the fold and removing clips as you go. Backstitch at the beginning and end of this seam. Leave a 2" opening in the casing to thread the elastic through.

10. Cut elastic to 2 yards long and put a safety pin on each end. The second safety pin is there to make sure you don't lose the end of the elastic by accident. (I did this once...)

11. Use the safety pin to thread the elastic through the casing. Make sure you go in the same direction as the corner seams so that you don't get caught at the corners. (I had that problem too...)

12. Thread the elastic all the way through until you are back at the start. Pull both ends out and overlap them by 2" as shown and clip in place.

13. Use a zig-zag stitch to secure the ends of the elastic. It is important to use a zigzag stitch so that it will stretch along with the elastic.

14. Pull & Push the remaining elastic into the casing by easing it around the entire sheet.

15. Stitch the opening closed. You may need to stretch this area as shown to finish the seam since the elastic will want to pull it tight. Backstitch at the beginning and end of this seam.

16. Adjust the elastic so it is even around the entire sheet.

17. Wash the sheet, put it on the crib, and enjoy!

© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/