Totally unimportant.....are top sheets getting smaller?

[Ottakee]

I have made up queen size beds with fresh sheets 4 times in the past 2 days.   

I remember when I was younger my grandmother would have me make the bed the "right way".....nice crisp hospital coreners, fold the top of the sheet down over the blankets a few inches, etc.

Every time I changed the sheets the past few days I noticed that they seem to short to be able to tuck the bottom in and have enough to make nice hospital corners and there certainly wasn't enough to fold over on the top. 

Are top sheets shorter than they used to be or am I just doing this all wrong?

[alisoncooks]

Perhaps they've stayed the same, but mattresses have gotten thicker? (Pillow tops and such.)

[Carol in Cal.]

Yes, newer mattresses are so much thicker than the long time 'standard' thickness, generally, and it's more common to use a topper instead of just a mattress pad underneath the bottom sheet, making the bundle thicker still.  The sheets that I have bought in the last 5 years are much bigger than before, to compensate for that.  This is especially noticeable in the width of the built in corner areas of bottom sheets.

[maize]

I was thinking thicker mattresses as well.

[gardenmom5]

I've no idea- so many claim to be long so they'll fit over "tall" mattresses. dh was complaining - so I went online and looked at the measurements of the top sheet before I'd buy one.

I got the wamsutta dreamzone 725 thread count sheets.  I liked it so much, i went and bought a bottom sheet.  we'll see how it does ,and if I buy another top sheet.

[Spryte]

Thicker mattresses. That makes sense.

I think they seem smaller, too.

[displace]

I was thinking the origin of manufacture may make the sizes differently.  Many countries have different sized mattresses compared to the US.  A sizing measurement would be a better guarantee of a fit.  Maybe companies are cutting costs and trying to make them smaller.  

The thick mattress makes more sense, though.  

[SamanthaCarter]

I think they’re shorter too. I have a couple twin top sheets from my grandmother, probably 30+  years old and they are definitely longer than the others. As for deep mattresses, I know they altered fitted sheets for this, but I’m not sure about the top sheets. Maybe they made them wider. Maybe they took some length from the end to make up for all the extra fabric required? 

[Angie in VA]

We have a beautiful set of microfiber sheets from Costco. I can't get over how LONG and how NARROW the flat (aka top) sheet is. We have oodles of extra material at the top/bottom, but it doesn't go far on the sides. I got them on sale ~1 year ago. Now I wish I'd gotten 2 sets: our size and the next size up. 

And while they look great and are wearing well, I still prefer non-MF sheets. 

Edited September 26, 2018 by Angie in VA
Clarity. At least, I live in hope.

[Carrie12345]

My current favorite sheet set (not separates) has a perfect fitted sheet for my deep-ish mattress. The flat sheet is ridiculously long, but not nearly wide enough. I’ve decided I’m going to start buying separated - queen fitteds and king flats. 

Given the prevalence of deep mattresses, finding fitteds for my kids’ thinner bunk mattresses is now a pain in my butt!

[mamaraby]

I’ve found them longer, but not nearly wide enough. The exception being the expensive set I got on super clearance when our JCPenney closed several years ago. I’ve never bern able to find them since and my set’s seeming threadbare. ?

[Rachel]

Yes! The sheets we got as wedding gifts fit better than the ones I bought in the last year. I commented to my husband the other day that the next time I buy sheets I’m going to get a king sized top sheet for our queen sized bed.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I have been thinking of sewing sheets and pillowcases. They are so expensive now, for an item that is necessary but not standardized in size, fit, or quality. Sewing won't be cheap, but they'll fit correctly and be well made!

[BeachGal]

Mine from Target are too long on the sides and peek out under the quilt. I have to hem them. Or maybe I need a thicker mattress!

[sheryl]

Ahh, right!!! I've been irritated with this too over years.  I find that buying better quality sheets "hold" together better and longer.  I spend good money on our sheets but will buy when on sale.  Also, I dry on low heat now and take out when maybe 90% dried. I'll do a quick fold and lay in laundry basket to continue drying and fold correctly the next day.

I do believe the cheaper ones shrink more which bugs me.  I like a reasonable "drop" on my top sheets. HTH!

[Lady Marmalade]

2 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

My current favorite sheet set (not separates) has a perfect fitted sheet for my deep-ish mattress. The flat sheet is ridiculously long, but not nearly wide enough. I’ve decided I’m going to start buying separated - queen fitteds and king flats. 

Given the prevalence of deep mattresses, finding fitteds for my kids’ thinner bunk mattresses is now a pain in my butt!

This is a great idea!

We already have a king size comforter on our queen size bed and it's absolutely perfect.  A King size sheet may just answer all my issues with the covers not being quite right.  ?  Thanks for the idea.

[KungFuPanda]

13 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I have made up queen size beds with fresh sheets 4 times in the past 2 days.   

I remember when I was younger my grandmother would have me make the bed the "right way".....nice crisp hospital coreners, fold the top of the sheet down over the blankets a few inches, etc.

Every time I changed the sheets the past few days I noticed that they seem to short to be able to tuck the bottom in and have enough to make nice hospital corners and there certainly wasn't enough to fold over on the top. 

Are top sheets shorter than they used to be or am I just doing this all wrong?

Mattresses have gotten thicker. They make the bottom sheets deeper, but I’m not sure everyone has changed the top sheet dimensions. You might need a king top sheet to pull of hospital corners. A lot of millennials don’t even use them. ?

[TechWife]

I think all sheets have gotten smaller. I have king size sheets for a queen size air mattress because the queen size fitted sheet won't fit. Our king size sheets for our king size mattress aren't long enough to go to the bottom of the mattress and they were specifically labeled as being for 15" deep mattresses.

[BooksandBoys]

I think they are getting smaller. We have a thin mattress (sleep number bed, no topper) and I have a hard time making reasonable hospital corners with our newer sheets. 

I intended to add some fabric to them at some point to remedy this, but that will probably never happen. ?

[Pegasus]

7 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

The flat sheet is ridiculously long, but not nearly wide enough.

My personal fix for this is to turn the sheet 90-degrees. I'm short and DH likes his feet to stick out the bottom anyway.  We have oodles of width fabric this way and everyone is happy.

[Wildcat]

I think the sheets are shorter than they used to be, too.

My fitted sheet fits my thick mattress just fine and the flat sheet's 'drop' goes all the way to the box spring but there isn't anything left to tuck under. However, I've noticed that sheets are no longer wide enough to adequately cover us both like they used to while we're in bed and we haven't changed in size. ? As for tucking them in while making the bed, only one of our beds has a thick mattress while the others are regular old-style ones (one is 25 years old, so it's very 'old-style' LOL) and I have the same sheets on them. They still don't need tucking in along the sides like the old sheets did. The only solution is there is less width in the new sheets.

Commercial alert:  I got sick of buying expensive sheets that still felt 'rough' on my skin so I now get my sheets from Amazon for $25-30 for a queen set (depending on the color) and just love how soft they are. They remind me of the cotton sheets I used to have when I was a kid except these come out of the dryer looking like they were ironed. The oldest set has been in constant use for just over two years and they still look new. We have/had (including college campus apartment beds) five sets in various colors (baby blue, dark gray, bright yellow, and maroon) on various mattress styles and the only color I'm not happy with is the baby blue because it's a bit see-through and I can see the stitching on the mattress pad through the fitted sheet.  https://www.amazon.com/Mellanni-Bed-Sheet-Set-Hypoallergenic/dp/B00NLLUMOE/ref=sr_1_5?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1538051487&sr=1-5&keywords=bed%2Bsheets&th=1 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2018 by Wildcat

[Farrar]

Am I the only one who thinks fitted sheets have gotten bigger then? They used to really stretch - now they're made with all this extra fabric to fit under the mattress and they get all loose on the bed easier. Bah.

[Suzette]

On 9/25/2018 at 7:51 PM, gardenmom5 said:

I've no idea- so many claim to be long so they'll fit over "tall" mattresses. dh was complaining - so I went online and looked at the measurements of the top sheet before I'd buy one.

I got the wamsutta dreamzone 725 thread count sheets.  I liked it so much, i went and bought a bottom sheet.  we'll see how it does ,and if I buy another top sheet.