How to iron and fold a sheet with an elastic band?

Not so long ago, the usual sheets were replaced by products with an elastic band, they are convenient to use, so the overwhelming majority of young mothers boldly gave them their preference. True, the shape of such a sheet does not allow you to beautifully fold the bedding into a neat pile, which makes it much more difficult to put things in order on the shelves with the baby's linen. And ironing such a product is not at all easy.

For many years, young parents used standard rectangular cuts of fabric for sheets - coarse calico, satin, flannel, chintz or silk. And everything would be fine, only such sheets have several significant disadvantages:

• crumple very quickly;
• constantly "move out" from a soft mattress;
• the edges and corners are often tucked up, forming unaesthetic folds.

That is why, when a new product appeared on sale - stretch sheets with an elastic band, they immediately became popular. There is a simple explanation for this - when using such a model, matter does not slide, no matter how actively a sleeping person moves in a dream. Such a sheet is pulled over the mattress and thus completely eliminates all problems with wrapping the corners, shrinking the sheet from the mattress and excessive bruising.

Well-folded bed linen usually does not take up much space in the linen closet, it does not wrinkle during long-term storage and retains its impeccable appearance on the shelves. Some housewives prefer to store their laundry in stacks, and some place it in a pillowcase. A product with an elastic band is not easy to lay beautifully and compactly. This is due to the fact that the edges of the material gathered in a tight elastic band, when trying to fold them, begin to bulge and fall out of the neatly folded rectangle.

Most often, such models are either folded in half or rolled into a roll. However, many do not at all sharpen special attention and simply visit such a sheet in a spacious drawer for clean bedding sets. But if the order on the shelf is important for you, then we suggest using the option of folding the canvas with an elastic band. If everything is done correctly, the result will be an even and rectangle. It only remains to carefully straighten it and place it in a small ergonomic bundle, for example, in an ordinary pillowcase, and in this form it can freely become part of a neat stack of bed linen.

The scheme is simple.

1. Take the product and turn it horizontally so that the short edges are on your sides.
2. Then you need to stick your palms into the corners of the product, as in pockets. Keep in mind that the back of the sheet should be facing you.
3. As a result, you get the following picture: you hold the sheet with your hands, stretching it in the longitudinal direction (the longer side is placed exactly between your palms), and your hands are in the corners on the back side (inside out).
4. Now you need to bring your hands together and thread one corner into the other.
5. As a result of these manipulations, both upper corners will be folded together.
6. After that, you need to turn the sheet over and thread your hands again, but this time in the free lower corners.
7. Repeat the steps and pull one corner over the other.
8. As a result, the sheet will be bent in half with respect to its narrower axis, and the corners will be folded together and put on the hands.
9. In conclusion, you need to bring your palms together and thread one corner to the other.

As a result, you will get an even rectangle that you can put on a hard flat surface, straighten it and send it to the cabinet.

Experienced housewives store bedding in special cotton bags or simply in a pillowcase - this is very convenient and allows you to compactly store the entire set of linen in one place. Keep in mind that it is not recommended to use plastic containers and polyethylene bags for these purposes, since there is no possibility of fresh air circulation in them, which creates an environment suitable for the reproduction of pathogenic microorganisms and fungi.

Ironing the sheet is no less difficult. Some housewives "omit" this stage, but this is wrong - ironing the linen helps to destroy any unhealthy microflora on the material, which significantly extends the life of the product. And sleeping on ironed linen is much more pleasant than on wrinkled ones.

To help smooth the sheet quickly, try adding a little softener to the detergent to soften the fabric. In no case should you leave the washed sheet in the drum of the washing machine after spinning - if you do not straighten it immediately, then it will be almost impossible to smooth such a sheet in the future.

Before hanging the bedding on the string, carefully straighten the sheet and shake it. Remove the elasticized sheet immediately after the fabric is dry. And after removing it, carefully inspect and sew up all the holes, if any, otherwise they may enlarge under a hot iron.

Please note that different ironing temperatures are set for different types of fabric. So, silk is ironed at 80 degrees, viscose - at 120, for chintz, an iron is set at a heating level of 170 degrees, for cotton, a temperature of 180 degrees is suitable, and for flax, a maximum heating of 200 degrees is needed.

Usually the elastic is sewn to the sheet around the entire perimeter or only in the corners - in the second case, there are no special problems with ironing, but in the first case, the process will be much more troublesome. Experienced housewives were able to identify 4 basic methods of caring for sheets with an elastic band.

In this case, the sheet should be folded exactly in half along, and then repeat the manipulations, but across. After that, you should process its outer sides, then unfold it back and fold it again so that the “former” inner side is on top - and iron it again.

This is a simple method that gives a high quality heat treatment, however, you will not get perfect smoothness in this way.

The sheet should be placed over the mattress and ironed as it is. Such ironing will not only completely neutralize bacteria and achieve sterility, but also create a perfectly flat surface that will be comfortable for sleeping. In addition, this processing is quite fast, since many small folds straighten by themselves when pulled. However, this is only possible if the length of the iron cord allows smoothing in exactly this way.

This is the highest quality option, but at the same time the most labor-intensive. To achieve the best smoothing, you need to unfold the product and walk with the iron along its central part, after which the edges of the sheet must be pulled over the corner of the ironing board and ironed slowly, smoothly moving the material around the circumference.

This option assumes ironing in principle. In order to smooth the linen with an elastic band, you just need to carefully fold the sheet into a pile and place it under a heavy press, for example, under tablecloths, bath towels and other washed and folded items.

Some people iron the sheet with an elastic band with an ordinary hand steamer - this is not worth doing, since vertical steam treatment is not entirely convenient, and if you smooth the fabric on the mattress, it will absorb moisture and begin to rot from the inside. This will lead to the formation of fungi and dangerous mold, which adversely affect the health of children and adults.

Stretch knitted bed sheet with elastic band is very convenient to use, but caring for it and organizing its storage are fraught with some difficulties. Nevertheless, with a competent and thoughtful approach, you can always achieve beauty and perfect order on the shelf.

You will learn more about how to iron and fold a sheet with an elastic band in the following video.