Lobolita

Making a fitted sheet isn’t very difficult, if you remember to give yourself enough extra fabric to extend down to the bottom of the mattress all the way around. I cut my fabric 7″ wider and longer than the mattress measurements, and I could probably have added another inch to make it really secure.

1. Cut fabric to appropriate measurements.

2. Round corners for elastic.

3. Fold over 1/4″ of the raw edge to the underside and zigzag around, catching the raw edge as you go. You could roll it twice for extra durability, or serge it for an even more professional finish, but who am I kidding? Zigzag is good enough for me.

4. The tricky bit: sew stretched elastic around the top and bottom thirds of the sheet. Because a cradle is such a small thing, I didn’t just add elastic to the corners, but sewed it all the way around the top to provide extra tension. Sewing elastic on with a machine takes both hands and a little practice. If you’ve never done it before, try it on some scraps before you tackle the real thing. First, tack down the elastic with a secure, medium-width zigzag. Then, pulling the elastic taut on top of the fabric with your dominant hand, use your non-dominant hand to guide the fabric through the foot of the machine as you sew.

5. Voila, the finished cradle sheet.