How to Fold a Fitted Sheet

How on earth do you fold a  fitted sheet ? While most  bed linen  folding is refreshingly simple, getting a fitted sheet nice and neat for storage can be a herculean household task. Those handy elasticated edges that help it hug onto your mattress so well cause such trouble when trying to fold it up. Even the most houseproud among us can give up with a heavy sigh and just scrunch our fitted sheets into a ball.

Don't give up yet, though. With our magic tips, you'll be a fitted sheet folding pro in no time. Or, if you’re a visual learner, just watch our fitted sheet tutorial below. 

Scrunching or rolling up a fitted sheet is easy peasy. Do you really need to learn how to fold it properly?

Well, you don’t absolutely have to, but there are definite benefits to folding up your fitted sheet nicely. Including:

• Keeping your linen closet organised so things are easy to find

• Reducing wrinkles (and therefore ironing)

• Saving storage space

Lay your sheet flat on the bed, elastic side up. A flat, spacious surface is always best for folding bed sheets.

In each hand, take hold of the two sewn corners closest to you. Grab the corners from the outside of the sheet and push them inside out so your fists are hidden by the elasticated corners. Sort of like you’re wearing really big oven mitts. 

Then, holding firmly on to those corners, match them to the opposing corners and push your fists inside the elasticated corner so the corner seams are aligned, one pair inside the other.

Your sheet should now look folded in half, with the elasticated edges forming a neat 3-sided rectangle within the main rectangle of the sheet. Now match one pair of corners with the other pair, tucking one inside the other to make a neat parcel of all four corners. Holding tightly to these corners, shake out the folded sheet to make sure no sides are caught up.

Lay your sheet back flat onto the bed (it should make a square or rectangle depending on the size of your sheet).

Now you can ignore the elasticated edges and, using the outer corners of this folded sheet, keep folding until it's the size you need it to be for neat storage. 

In the video, we folded ours three times, lengthways, starting from the edge with the elastic. Then we folded it into three, again, to make a neat rectangle.

Tadah! A little practice and you'll be a pro and your laundry cupboard will be the smartest on the street.

A bigger sheet, such as a king-size sheet, might seem like a bigger problem, especially if you’re quite petite yourself. However, if you follow our steps above using a flat surface like your bed or perhaps even your dining table, your sizeable sheet will fold up a treat. 

So, now you’re ready to create the organised linen closet of your dreams using your new folding skills - and maybe take on the how to fold a fitted sheet challenge on  TikTok , too. 

But don’t just stop at learning how to fold a  fitted sheet  by yourself. Want even more advice on keeping your bedding in tip-top condition? We’ve got all sorts of laundry hacks, styling guidance, and more on  The Bedspread .