How To Turn Your Flat Sheets Into A Comforter For Your Bed

Posted on: 20 August 2015

Not everyone prefers to sleep in a bed made up with both a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. You might consider the top flat sheet to be a nuisance and unnecessary in your bedding. Instead of tossing out your flat sheets, you can turn them into something useful. These basic sewing instructions will help you turn two unused flat king size sheets into a comforter for your bed.

In addition to two king size flat sheets, you will need:

  • Sewing machine 
  • Matching sewing thread
  • Bag of comforter batting, 90-inches x 108-inches
  • Package of quilter's safety pins
  • Straight sewing pins
  • Scissors
  • Matching skein of yarn
  • Yarn needle
  • Measuring tape
  • Fabric marking pen

These instructions will help you make a comforter measuring approximately 108 x 90 inches, which is close to a standard king size comforter of 104 x 93 inches. A standard king size flat sheet measures 102 x 90, so you will be trimming one end of it by six inches. 

Assemble Your Comforter

  1. Spread the two flat sheets together, with their right sides together. If your sheets are a solid color, they won't have a right and wrong side. If your sheets have a print, you will be able to tell which side is their right and wrong sides. 
  2. Open your package of comforter batting and spread it over the sheets. Line it up evenly with the king sheets, then trim off the excess six inches from its length with your scissors. This will make the batting 90 x 102-inches to fit the dimensions of the flat sheets. 
  3. Using the straight sewing pins, pin together the two sheets and the batting to secure them while you sew the layers together. Space the straight pins approximately every three to four inches. 
  4. With the marking pen, mark a twelve-inch section along one edge of the sheets you will not sew through. This will give you an opening where you will pull your quilt inside-out.
  5. Using a 1/2-inch seam allowance, sew around the edge of all three of the comforter's layers, leaving the 12-inch section open. Pull the straight pins out as you sew through the comforter's edges.
  6. Next to the corner's stitching, diagonally snip off the excess fabric and batting. This will help make your comforter's corners neat-looking and sharp when you turn it inside-out. Make sure you don't cut through any of the stitching on the corners as it will cause your comforter's corners to come undone.
  7. Reach through the 12-inch opening between the two sheets and pull the fabric and batting inside-out. This will leave the batting sandwiched between both sheets.
  8. Use the point of your scissors to gently poke each of the comforter's corners to a straight point.
  9. Holding the comforter on both sides of the unsewn section, pull the 12-inch section tight until the edges fold inside. Secure the pieces together with the batting with some straight pins.
  10. Stitch it closed using a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

Tying Your Comforter

  1. Spread your comforter out on a flat area. Hold the comforter's three layers together by pinning safety pins, spaced approximately 18 inches apart. 
  2. Cut off a four-foot long piece of yarn and thread it through a yarn needle, so the yarn is a double strand two-feet long. 
  3. Begin at one corner of the comforter and insert your yarn and needle down through all three layers, then back up through all three layers. Keep your yarn's stitch at 1/3-inch or smaller. When you pull the yarn all the way down then back up, leave two inches of the yarn's end poking out of the surface of the comforter. 
  4. Tie both sections of yarn together into a double knot. 
  5. Repeat this process tying knots all across your comforter, spacing each knot approximately four inches apart.

You will now have a soft comforter from unused king size sheets. You can also visit sites like http://www.kinglinen.com for pattern ideas or for more bed linen.

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