Do you mend bed sheets?

[ohsnap]

I have a tear in a bed sheet.  I usually end up ripping these up and using for rags, but, this is a king size sheet and I am not in need of a mass quantity of cleaning rags at the moment.

I have googled mending bed sheets and have seen instructions for doing it by hand or machine.  I thought of doing a very thin French seam by machine so that it won't be exposed.  But what worries me, and is why I've never attempted to mend a tear in a sheet before, is I'm afraid it would bother me.  That in princess-and-the-pea fashion, my skin would notice the fact that my sheet is not a smooth expanse. (that sounds really picky and first-world-problem complainypants as I write it).

Have you done it? By hand or machine?  And did you notice the mended sheet when you were in the bed?

[Jenny Wren]

I'm assuming this is the fitted sheet, since repairs aren't typically noticeable in the top sheet.

I've done it, but it all depends. If the tear is low on the sheet (near the feet), I always put the repaired end at the head of the bed because that puts it under the pillow where it is unnoticeable. It's also less noticeable to repair thicker sheets, like flannel. I do have one set of sheet for the kid that I mended that he won't use in summer. They are now "winter" sheets because he doesn't feel the repair when wearing sweats to sleep in, but feels it bare legged in the summer.

I've also turned king fitted sheets into twin top sheets  by cutting off elastic and damage, then hemming. I've turned sheets into pillow cases as well.

[Metalcat]

No, usually once they start tearing, it means they're pretty threadbare and prone to more tearing.

[draco44]

I've mended bed linens before. For me it's the edge seams of the pillowcases that blow out first, for some reason. Since it's on the edge of the pillow, I don't feel the mend on my face.

It's really up to you whether this particular sheet is worth the time it takes to do a mend rather than skipping straight to rag-town. I'd personally go for it, if only as a one-time experiment to assess your tolerance for sleeping with mended sheets in the future if another one wears out some day.

@Botany Bae covers some key points - flipping worn material to a less wear-prone location on the bed, cutting and remaking material into smaller and smaller items. I would probably repair with a patch or darning rather than making a French seam across the middle of my sheet.

If you are done with this sheet but as you say, don't need rags, you might also consider donating it to a shelter to be used as pet bedding.

[Frankies Girl]

Depends on the placement and severity of the rip.

And my mental/physical capacity to deal with crap like that.

I may however suggest just cutting it down to use as a pillow case(s), nice quick hemming to make a curtain, or use for some other sewing project if I liked the fabric and it had enough salvageable to work with.

Otherwise, I'd suggest donating it to a pet shelter (some need sheets/towels and fuzzy rugs) or go ahead and use for clean up rags. I also always keep a spare old towel or thin blanket/sheet in my car (and I do also have an old shower curtain for a waterproof protector too). It has come in handy many times - using to kneel on to protect pants/knees when doing crap like changing a tire, spread across the backseat or cargo area to protect from dirt/messy stuff, used once to scoop up an injured animal and safely transport it without them leaking all over me or biting me, a nice quick picnic blanket or beach spread...

[MudPuppy]

I will fix a seam or elastic, but tears in fabric itself mean that sheet is now for animal use.

[Ladychips]

I used to be sheet rich (four sets of really nice sheets...shout out to getting married).  Over time I ripped all of the bottom sheets.  I took two of the top sheets to my seamstress friend and she made bottom sheets out of them.  So now i have two sets of really nice sheets.  They don't match exactly but they are all white and no one has ever inspected my sheets.  It doesn't thrill my husband but he lives with it.  I like it.

[GuitarStv]

No, usually once they start tearing, it means they're pretty threadbare and prone to more tearing.

+1

I'll mend a lot of stuff, but for me bedsheets are always too far gone by the time they start tearing to worry about.

[ohsnap]

Thank you for all the feedback!

This is a top sheet.  The rip is near the top, and I think this might be a not-very-noticeable repair because there's another seam nearby at the top hem. So I think I will give it a try in this instance.  The sheet still seems to be otherwise in good condition.  Some have mentioned threadbare sheets - I have found that to be the case when bottom sheets rip! The ripped area always looks worn out and almost shredded at that point.

Some good suggestions also about re-purposing other than just turning into cleaning rags, so I'll keep that in mind.  I especially always seem to be short of pillowcases so next time I might try turning a sheet into pillow cases. 

[Serendip]

I've mended sheets before (the bottom fitted sheet and two times torn around my SO's feet/I think he's a kicker at night or something!) but I've added a reinforcement fabric.

 Not sure if I'd do it again though as it only tends to last another while before it will rip around the mend.

 I do tend to save the fabric if it's still good and try to repurpose..currently I'm making a summer skirt out of an old sheet. Not sure if it's ideal but it is an entertaining project :)