Sometimes when we buy a new mattress or new sheets, we’re surprised by the problem of them not fitting quite right, resulting in our fitted sheet popping off our mattress all night long. I had this problem when I tried to oh-so-chicly switch to silk sheets.
Besides keeping your sheets on the bed, these tricks will also help to keep your sheets perfectly tight and wrinkle free. So here are a few of our favorite hacks to make sure you’re not waking up on top of your foam mattress while your sheets are bunched up by your feet.
Using Suspenders To Strap Your Sheets On
You may have mastered folding a fitted sheet, but the new problem may be that you’re not exactly sure how to keep your bed sheets from slipping. Suspenders are a great solution to this problem. There are suspender clips on Amazon that you can buy for pretty cheap. They clip onto either side of the corners of your fitted sheet, creating some more tension across the corner so that they stay in place a little more successfully.
Another version on Amazon includes three clips all attached so that the corner can be secured on the sides, as well as down the middle. There are options with plastic or metal locking clips. Our recommendation is to place them about 6” out on either side of the sheet’s corner seam. Keep in mind that you will need to lift up your mattress corner to achieve this, so hopefully your bed isn’t too thick or heavy. If that is the case, you might want to go ahead and wash your sheets and get them nice and clean before attaching the clips so you won’t have to lift up your mattress again anytime soon.
Some other versions of sheet suspenders on Amazon are much longer so they can cross diagonally from one corner to the other. You’ll need to flip your mattress completely over for this one, and then clip one side of the suspender to the top left corner and fasten the other end on the bottom right corner (or whatever pattern you prefer).
Keeping Sheets Tight DIY
If the suspenders you’re finding on Amazon just aren’t cutting it for you, you can make your own! All you need is some elastic and safety pins. We recommend your elastic be on the thicker side (about an inch thick or more) so that it’s nice and strong.
- Measure out 6” down on either side, and clip your safety pins in place.
- Then measure the hypotenuse (the line between the two safety pins, but we wanted to sound smart about it). This is how long your elastic will need to stretch, so cut it a bit shorter to allow it to stretch tight. You’re going to need four of them. One for each corner.
- Then, to finish the job, simply lift up the edge of your mattress and secure the elastic with your safety pins on either side of the fitted sheet.
Measure out 6” down on either side, and clip your safety pins in place. Then measure the hypotenuse (the line between the two safety pins, but we wanted to sound smart about it). This is how long your elastic will need to stretch, so cut it a bit shorter to allow it to stretch tight. You’re going to need four of them. One for each corner.
Then, to finish to job, simply lift up the edge of your mattress and secure the elastic with your safety pins on either side of the fitted sheet. You now have your own suspenders to help keep your pesky sheets on the bed.
Other Tips For Keeping Your Fitted Sheets Tight
If none of these devices sound good to you, then we recommend you take a look at your sheets.
Make sure your sheets are the correct size. They might be popping off because you’re trying to put full size bed sheets onto a queen size bed. If you pulled your sheets out of the linen closet and have long since tossed the packaging, you might have misremembered the size, so why don’t you go ahead and just check the tags.
Additionally, your bed sheets might have a hard time staying on because your mattress is too thick. This happens a lot with thick hybrid and coil mattresses. You might need to upgrade to “deep” sheets, which can handle up to 15” thick mattresses. You can shop for deep pocketed sheets on Amazon.
Standard sheets can usually only fit mattresses that are 7-14” thick. If you have a crazy, insanely deep mattress or for some reason feel the need for your sheets to extend over your box spring, look for extra deep sheets, which can span 16-22” thick beds.
Lastly, check the material of your sheets. They come in a lot of different materials, and by switching the sheets, you’ll solve your problem. Sheets that are satin, silk, or have bamboo in the materials tend to be slippery. You may want to switch them to a cotton or linen sheet, which will hold onto your mattress better. Consider comparing your options to see if you can find the best sheets for your mattress. Plus, buying new sheets may be a good idea anyway if you have white sheets that you just can’t seem to get white again.There are various brands to choose from, including Tuft and Needle, Purple, and Boll and Branch.
Linen and cotton are not slippery materials, so these types of sheets hold onto your mattress better than materials like satin or silk.
Silk and satin sheets can be used, but if they slip, you will want to doublecheck that the sheets are the correct size and consider using suspenders to keep them on the mattress.