The other day my dear sweet hubby told me that the sheet was torn on his side of the bed. I thought it was just a little tear, but alas, no, it was HUGE!
My first inclination was to just throw it away, but a bit of common sense got the better of me. I paid about $40 for this Cal King sheet about three years ago and I love the FEEL of it. Can you relate? Sometimes sheets just aren’t comfortable! I could at least try to get a little more life out of it. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?
There’s a couple of similar ways to repair a torn sheet, but I was in a rush and wanted to use materials I already had on hand.
To fix this little mishap, you’ll need the following …
- a torn sheet
- either single-sided or double-sided lightweight fusible web (interfacing)
- matching solid fabric
The first thing you want to do is lay it out on a flat surface, preferably your ironing board, and try to match up the tear as closely as possible. I started on the wrong side of the sheet, but it doesn’t matter which side you start with, since we’ll be doing the following steps to both sides.
I had single-sided fusible web on hand, so that is what I used. I cut four 4″ strips.
I laid two strips down over the tear, overlapping the pieces by about an inch. Make sure that the fusible “dots” are against the sheet or else you’ll end up with a huge mess on your iron.
Carefully press the web to the sheet, making sure that the tear is fairly centered under the web. You’ll want to make sure that the tear is pretty closed up, or you’ll iron the web to your iron board, and that will be a huge mess!
Go over it a couple of times to make sure it’s well fused.
Turn your sheet over and repeat on the other side, pressing the fusible web to the tear.
I didn’t just want to leave the fusible web bare on the sheet, so I cut some white fabric strips 4-1/2″ x width-of-fabric wide. Then I pressed the edges in about 1/4″ around.
NOTE: If you are using double-sided fusible web, then you’ll want to first attach the web to your fabric strip, then remove the paper backing and fuse to the sheet. Turn in the edges of your fabric prior to fusing … it’ll be much easier in the end.
Pin the fabric strip in place over the web. I did this on the right side of the sheet.
Starting on the top right corner, stitch along the edge to secure the folded edge, removing the pins as you go.
Continue sewing all the way around, stopping and pivoting at each corner.
And there you have it … an easy and quick way to repair a torn sheet.
Since I already had the sheet off the bed, I went ahead and laundered all the bedding, then gave the room a little bit of a Spring makeover.
Bet you can’t even tell where the tear was, can you?
So the next time you have a tear in your sheet, or even a pillowcase, don’t be too quick to throw it out. In about 15-20 minutes it can be as good as new! And if it’s too far gone for repair, cut it up into smaller pieces for rags or save it for a painting drop cloth!
Partying at …
Savvy Southern Style
Thank you so much for posting this! We have an queen plus bed that Sleep number use to make. It is 6″ wider than a queen. They don’t sell the sheets anymore. Top sheets are fine, the bottom sheets where my husband sleeps on his back is getting worn. I did the fusible interfacing awhile back now going to patch it with old soft pillow case material. Was good to see what you were doing and I wasn’t too far off track mending otherwise beautiful sheets!
I wonder if you would be able to give me a suggestion how to repair the very top of a flat sheet which is unravelling.
We do have a sewing machine but I have not used it for many years.
Thank you.
I made the top sheet into a bottom sheet by sewing elastic around the perimeter after cutting to approximately fit the mattr Ss shape. This works because bottom sheets wear out, leaving xtra top sheets
I have a worn area about 4″x4″ and almost thread bare top sheet . I do not have a sewing machine. My thought was to buy a pillow case close to the blue color of the sheet and use stitch witchery. Do you have a better idea?
I wasn’t so smart either, I used hemming tape and then it didn’t stay so I used an iron on patch. That has worked great until now. It has another rip now, so I am going to try your idea. I now you can’t keep patching them consistently, but I paid close to 60. for these sheets and I love them and hate the thought of putting out the money for another set or throwing them away. Thanks for the advice and after this I will dispose of them if they tear again…God bless!
Would this work for a thread bare sheet? I just pulled my sheet out of the dryer and there are 3 tears close together. The sheet is obviously thread bare in that spot. Any suggestions?
Hi Keelie …
I definitely think it would! I would also recommend doing the fusible web and coverup on both sides of the sheet.
Hope that helps!
Blessings …
Lani
I got a hole in my fitted sheet and sewed it up then used it to cover the boxspring as I don’t like dust ruffles.
Oh I wish I would have seen this a week ago… I had the same issue….but I did throw it away:( I won’t do that again after seeing this…thank you for sharing!
Aww Tammy … I’m sorry 🙁
If it happens again and you can’t repair it, remember, you can always cut it up to use for rags, or even save it for a dropcloth.
Have a wonderful Easter!
Hugs & Blessings …
Lani
Oh I always patch my sheets! They are so expensive and I am very particular about the feel so it takes me forever to find sheets I like. I even have a note pinned to one fitted sheet that says “I strongly dislike this sheet!” So i only use it when I have to :-). Your post reminds me of the old-fashioned term – sides to middling – from grandma’s day. She would spend a day reconstructing worn sheets by sewing the two side seams together and recutting thereby using the much less worn sides as the middles. We are such a throw away society it’s a shame. Thanks for your method, it is better than mine.
Good morning Suzi!
Yes, yes, yes! That was one of the things that made me think twice about discarding this sheet. I love the way it feels. I have another sheet set that is very uncomfortable. I originally was going to try and just sew it back together, but upon closer inspection, it looked like this area of the sheet was a bit more compromised and would probably tear again.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
Have a wonderful Easter!
Hugs & Blessings …
Lani
I wasn’t so smart the other day when I DID throw out a torn sheet, but the tear was bigger. Husband said we could have used it for rags for painting this week. Thump on a head to me twice. Happy Easter.