Bed Sheets

[Vera]

I changed out the sheets/pillowcases of our King-sized bed today. It is always a struggle getting the fitted sheet on correctly because some manufacturers put the elastic band on all four sides. You are already overwhelmed by the size and now you can't tell which side is which (top/bottom/sides because the elastic keeps it crunched. Of course, the first try on putting it over the mattress leads to putting the side at the top until you realize it won't stretch to the bottom of the mattress so off it comes, and you make a 90-degree turn. If there is a design on the sheet, then you can tell what is top and bottom. Also, the pillowcases need to be about an inch wider. Trying to get a King pillow into the cases is a royal pain. You have to take the end of the pillow and pull it into the pillowcase, which is longer than standard. Older fitted sheets only had the elastic at the top and bottom making it easier to fold for the linen closet and the pillowcases weren't as tight. Am I the only one who struggles with this? Years ago, I bought a set of hotel sheets and believe it or not, they were the worst of them all and boy did they wrinkle, and they were expensive. Sometimes new isn't always improved. I know there is a brand called Boll and Branch. Anyone have that brand? Am I alone in this gripe???

[Sabine]

I changed out the sheets/pillowcases of our King-sized bed today. It is always a struggle getting the fitted sheet on correctly because some manufacturers put the elastic band on all four sides. You are already overwhelmed by the size and now you can't tell which side is which (top/bottom/sides because the elastic keeps it crunched. Of course, the first try on putting it over the mattress leads to putting the side at the top until you realize it won't stretch to the bottom of the mattress so off it comes, and you make a 90-degree turn. If there is a design on the sheet, then you can tell what is top and bottom. Also, the pillowcases need to be about an inch wider. Trying to get a King pillow into the cases is a royal pain. You have to take the end of the pillow and pull it into the pillowcase, which is longer than standard. Older fitted sheets only had the elastic at the top and bottom making it easier to fold for the linen closet and the pillowcases weren't as tight. Am I the only one who struggles with this? Years ago, I bought a set of hotel sheets and believe it or not, they were the worst of them all and boy did they wrinkle, and they were expensive. Sometimes new isn't always improved. I know there is a brand called Boll and Branch. Anyone have that brand? Am I alone in this gripe???

I hear you Vera, I feel frustrated every time I wash the sheets and try to get them back on, I hate the process.
Last time I bought sheets, king size sheets, I bought Boll and Branch , and I am not impressed, at all. Expensive and still frustrating. They are 100 % cotton and they feel like almost flannel, they don't move , they stick to the mattress cover. Not sure I explain it right. And yes, they have elastic on all 4 sides. Supposedly the right corner goes to the right side of the mattress, the right corner is where their label is attached. Good luck finding it. If I hadn't spend so much money on those sheets I would go buy some new ones, some with some different texture.
I have always bought cotton sheets with some polyester , and I will go back to that.
I don't understand why you get standard pillow cases with king size sheets? It is a struggle to get the pillow cases on the pillow forms, even if you have a standard pillow ??

[Sabine]

I am going back to these sheets:

Get a great night’s sleep on these smooth sheets crafted of Supima® cotton, the finest American-grown cotton available. Our easy-care, 450-thread count Supima® cotton wrinkle-free sateen sheet set is heavy enough for cold temperatures and sleepers, but lightweight enough for year-round use—it’s a dream to sleep in not to mention it looks gorgeous on the bed.

I get a catalog from a store called " The Company Store " that's were I saw those sheets , come in different colors.

[Vera]

Sabine - You misread when I talked about trying to put the pillow into the pillowcases. They are both King, not standard. I just said the King pillowcase is longer and harder to get into the pillowcase due to its length. I am sorry to hear that the Boll and Branch weren't that great. I won't be buying those. I wish manufacturers would go back to putting the elastic on the top and bottom only. Having it on all four sides just leads to confusion on which way the sheets go if they are plain and not patterned. I will look into the Company Store - thanks for the tip.

I just looked at The Company Store website and I found the sheets you were talking about. It doesn't show or say if it has the elastic on two sides or all four. If it is four, then I might as well just use what I already have. Do you know?

[Sabine]

No , I don't know, I don't remember . You could call customer service and ask them.
I got standard size pillow cases with my king size sheets , I should have returned them. Too late now, they have been washed . Maybe that was a mistake on their part ?

[MudderBear]

Well, I don't know if this will help you or not...maybe the issue is just with the brand of sheets you have. I found out that 'most' times there is a tag on one bottom corner of the fitted sheet - that goes on the bottom right hand side of mattress. Has saved me a lot of frustration!

[Vera]

MudderBear - I don't buy any particular brand of sheets. When I change the sheets next time, I will look for the tag and see if that helps. It is those four sides with the elastic that drives me nuts. Try folding that fitted sheet if you are folding to put into the linen closet. I have about four or five sets of sheets - two which are flannel and the other three for warmer weather. Sabine and MudderBear - thanks for your help and suggestions.

[Chayote]

I know exactly what you mean, Vera. John has a Queen sized bed which is almost square... *almost* is not good enough. Every time the bed is made it starts off the wrong way around. In our case the tags have worn off completely... nothing left. I also have difficulty working out which are the queen sheets against the double bed sheet, and then I have difficulty distinguishing between the double bed sheets and my king single sheets. We have three beds in the house, queen, double and king single... worst nightmare. Doona/duvet covers have the same difficulty with size... I have some queen size and some king size because I like to use a doona that is one size bigger than recommended. On my king single, I use a queen doona. On John's queen bed, I use a king doona. On the guest bed which is the double bed, I use a queen doona.

I now have a home helper who changes the bed linen and I leave out the clean set for each room. Incidentally, she doesn't do a good job of the beds and John and I tend to tweak them after she leaves. Sometimes she gets John's bottom sheet around the wrong way so it then becomes a major tweak. I have what I like to call the 'princess and the pea affliction' because I can't stand having the slightest crease in the bottom sheet and that happens when each corner is not pulled over the corners properly. Because it's so hot in South Australia, I ask her to put a doona cover on my bed without the doona inside it, so effectively I'm sleeping under just two layers of sheeting material and most of the time it's folded back to the end of the bed.

I've kept saying I need to mark the bottom sheets with "top" or "bottom" or "side" in order to take the guess work away. Being the world's worst procrastinator, of course I haven't done it.

Pillow cases are not a problem here because we just use standard pillow. My sister gave me a very special pillow case for Christmas... it's made from mulberry silk and supposed to be luxurious on which to sleep. I haven't opened it yet... the thought of having a pillow slip that costs $100 each, I'm not sure if I want to love it, thereby needing to buy more. So far, now at the end of January, it's been on my desk (still in the box) since Christmas.

[Vera]

I received a sale ad in my Sunday newspaper from Macy*s today and they have the type of sheets that Sabine mentioned. The brand is Charter Club and are Suprima Cotten with a high thread count. I will try to get out tomorrow and look at these sheets. It is a 17-mile drive for me, but I can do other errands at the same time. Not sure if anyone at the store can tell me if it has elastic on all four sides or just two. My older sheets that only have two sides of elastic fit so much better on the King bed.

[muzette7]

I prefer elastic on all the sides, they seem to stay on better for over stuffed mattresses. I will say on a whim I bought a set of plush sheets I saw on tik tok. I figured hubs would hate them because they seemed like they might hold heat. Surprise surprise, they are the coziest sheets ever and hubs loves them.

[CharleneG]

muzette, I bought some Sherpa fleece sheets on QVC about a year or so ago because it was so cold. I wasn’t sure we’d like them but boy was I wrong! They are wonderful for cold nights. I sent some to my son and DIL too and they love them in the winter.

[Vera]

I went to Macy's today and thought I was in a third world country. Lots of empty shelves. Found the sheets that were advertised and there were only two sets of King left. I guess they have been on sale for a while, and I only got the ad yesterday. They had a sample bed made up on the floor and sure enough it had elastic on all four sides and the corners were awful but granted it was a store sample bed. I didn't get anything. We have a double pillow top (top and bottom of mattress) and I dislike how these new sheets fit. My older sheets with only elastic on two sides are 100% better. Guess there will be no new sheets this time around.

[AllieK]

I so agree. The pillow cases are too narrow for fuller pillows, like feather pillows. I also cannot fold the newer sheets with the elastic on all 4 sides. My answer? Wash and dry the sheets and put them back on the bed. No use folding them. I'm not sure about these new sheets, but on mine, the tag will always be on the right bottom of the sheet, as you are looking from the end of the bed.

[Vera]

AllieK - I will have to look for the tags, I guess. I never put the same sheets on the bed twice in a row. One set goes on and the one taken off is in the laundry and then I wash, fold and put away. I think I have four or five King sized sets with two being flannel. You are right about the fuller pillows. The cases need an extra inch wider.
Charlene - I will have to look into Sherpa Fleece Sheets. Thanks for the info.

[Sabine]

I so agree. The pillow cases are too narrow for fuller pillows, like feather pillows. I also cannot fold the newer sheets with the elastic on all 4 sides. My answer? Wash and dry the sheets and put them back on the bed. No use folding them. I'm not sure about these new sheets, but on mine, the tag will always be on the right bottom of the sheet, as you are looking from the end of the bed.

Totally agree with you , folding those sheets is just not worth it for me. I wash the sheets, dry them and put them back on , no folding for me, I gave that up a long time ago.
You are right about the tag on the bottom sheet, on the right side , if you are looking from the end of the bed. That took a while for me to figure out and I still probably would not have figured it out myself, if I didn't read it on the computer, on you tube. Thank you " You tube "