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sheets

Fitted sheets

Fitted sheets are sized by the name of the size of mattress they are intended to fit (USA mattress sizes are used below). In recent years mattresses have become increasingly deeper, and more people are using thick mattress pads of sheepskin, down, and so on. Many fitted sheets are not deep enough to fit these newer styles.

The “height” of a fitted sheet is determined by the depth of what makers call the “pocket.” Pockets are usually shallower on fitted sheets for twin beds (say, 8½ inches) than for the larger sizes (say 10½ inches). Fitted sheets are available with pockets as deep as 12 or even 14 inches.

Mattress size	Width in inches	Length in inches
twin	39	75 or 76
long twin	39	80
full or double	54	75 or 76
queen	60	80
king	78 or 79	80
California king	72	84

Flat sheets

Dimensions below are after hemming; some packages are marked with the size before hemming. The table below shows for each size, column 2) the dimensions of a typical sheet of that size, and in column 3) the dimensions of the largest marketed sheet we know of.

Mattress size	Typical in inches	Largest in inches
twin	70 × 100	76 × 106
long twin	70 × 106	76 × 114
full or double	80 × 100	85 × 106
queen	90 × 100	94 × 114
king	100 × 104	110 × 114

sources

The finer grades [of linen] are expensive, but to select fine linen sheeting is a mistake. After one night's use, it rolls and wrinkles, so as to look as if it had been worn a week. A thicker, medium grade, no matter what make it may be, is more serviceable and pleasanter than the finer. That may be reserved for pillow-case linen.

Good grades, though rather coarse, may be procured at sixty cents the yard, while one dollar the yard buys an excellent quality. The twilled or satine linen is probably the most durable, as it is the most expensive sheeting of the kind. It comes in various widths, to be used for sheets, bolster and pillow cases.

Linen sheets ought to be at least two yards seven eighths in length (though three yards are better) after they are hemmed. This allows that tucking under at the bottom and turning over at the top, which are needful for the comfort of the sleeper. The upper hem will depend, for its width, on the fancy of the housekeeper. A three-inch hem, with a two-inch at the bottom, to my eye look better than a narrower finish. If there is hemstitching below the former, all the better.

Hester M. Poole, in Household News, vol II, Jan. 1894, page 701.

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