18 September 2024
Many people are forsaking a top sheet and just sleeping with a duvet as a cover. Other people find that the fitted sheet wears out faster than the other components of a set because the elastic doesn’t hold up or other issues. Whichever, that often leaves us with pillowcases and a top sheet. Pillowcases are easily transferred from one set to another, but what to do with a top sheet? The most obvious answer is to use it as a drop cloth during a painting project. It can also be used to cover a riding mower or outdoor furniture during the off season. Here are some ideas to mull over. Note that some of these ideas will need the use of a sewing machine.
Bedroom
Upcycle two sheets of an appropriate size for your bed. Position them with right sides together and sew three sides. Then you can either sew a row of snaps at the top so that you can remove the cover for laundering or you can hand stitch it closed. This is also the process you might use to turn a sheet into a pillowcase or sham.
With an appropriate rod, you can turn your sheet into a window cover/curtain. You could also turn it into an outer shower curtain.
Odds and Ends
Create a tube and fill it with something like old newspapers or other filler. Cut to the appropriate size, it can be a great barrier at the bottom of doors. For an exterior door, it will help reduce the amount of cold air that seeps in during the winter. It is also a great noise blocker.
Make a bag to hold all those plastic bags you get at some stores. Then they are all in a single, neat place and ready to take back to the store for recycling.
Keep it in the car. Sometimes you need something to sit on to avoid ruining the vehicle’s upholstery. This is perfect. You can also use it as extra insulation if your car breaks down in the winter. Place it on the ground if you need to change a flat.
Dining
Cutting squares and hemming the edges will give you some lovely cloth napkins to impress your guests.
This time cut a rectangle, circle, or oval. A little padding and you will have lovely placemats.
Measure your dining table or side table and allow for the amount you want to hang down, plus enough to create a hem. Then sew away and you have a tablecloth.
Crafting
If you sell at craft fairs, a flat sheet makes a nice cover for your table.
Leftover sheets make great fabrics for quilters. For this purpose, it doesn’t even matter if there are worn spots because you only need to use the good, solid parts of the material. If you are not a quilter, check around. There are groups, sometimes at churches or community centers, who make quilts to give to those who have suffered a trauma.
Dogs, especially pups, like chew toys. Cut any old sheet into strips and then braid them together. In this case it doesn’t matter if there are stains or holes. Don’t have any pooches in your household? Donate them to animal shelters and pet rescue organizations.
If you are looking for stuffing to help restore or create pillows, stuffed toys, or similar items, cut sheets into squares about 1 or 2 inches on a side. This may be tedious but can be done until your hand hurts and then picked up again later. You can then cut them into even smaller pieces. They make washable stuffings and you won’t need to head to the fabric or craft store.
Outdoors
There are times, especially in the spring, when a sudden cold spell threatens to harm delicate plants. Old sheets make a great protection for a frost. If the prediction is for a heavy frost or hard freeze, go for heavy plastic or a tarp. In any event, be sure that the covering is secured with stakes, bricks, or rocks so that a sudden gust of wind doesn’t send it flying.
Convert it into a liner for a sleeping bag. It is much easier to wash a liner than the entire bag after a sojourn in the woods.
If none of this appeals to you, cut it up into smaller pieces and toss a cotton or linen sheet onto your compost pile. However, microfiber, nylon, or polyester fabrics won’t break down as easily and you will need to donate them to homeless shelters, or animal havens, or just put them in the regular trash.
