- Bed sheet
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A blue bed sheet
A bed sheet is a piece of cloth used to cover a mattress. It is this sheet that one typically lies on.
In many areas of the world, a second flat bed sheet is laid on top of the sheet covering the mattress. This is known as a "top sheet" and when a top sheet is used, the sheet covering the mattress is known as a "bottom sheet". One sleeps between the two bed sheets. Blankets, comforters, and other bed covers are then placed on top of the second bed sheet.
Contents
Varieties
Changing James Garfield's bedclothes after his shooting.Bed sheets come in two main varieties—flat or fitted. A flat sheet is simply a rectangular sheet of cloth, while a fitted sheet has its four corners, and sometimes two or four sides, fitted with elastic, to be used only as a bottom sheet. The fitted sheet may also be secured using a drawstring instead of elastic. The purpose of a fitted bottom sheet is to keep it from slipping off the mattress while the bed is in use. A particular way of folding and tucking while making the bed, known as "hospital corners," is sometimes used when the bottom sheet is flat rather than fitted.
Mattress clips attached to the bed sheet to prevent it from slipping off the mattress.Bed sheets were traditionally white, but now various colors and patterns are used. The quality of bed sheets is often conveyed by the thread count - the number of threads per square inch of material. In general, the higher the thread count, the softer the sheet, but the weave and type of thread may affect the "hand" of the material so that a sheet with a lower thread count may actually be softer than one with a higher count.
Materials
Common materials include, but are not limited to cotton, linen, satin, silk, rayon, bamboo fiber, and blends of cotton with polyester.
New materials such as nonwoven polypropylene fabric allow the bed sheet to be disposable thanks to their low price. Once used in emergency shelters or hospitals, this disposable bed sheet is now used in hotels as well.
Convict weaver busy in weaving a hospital bed sheet on a traditional manual loom in the Industrial Workshops of the Central Jail Faisalabad in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in 2010Usually a flat bed sheet is overlocked around the edges to form four seams. One of the seams is wider than the other three and helps with orienting the sheet correctly on the mattress. The wider seam goes at the head end of the mattress. Sometimes the sides do not have seams, but are finished with the selvedge only.
When one makes a bed, the patterned or monogrammed side of the top sheet is placed facing down and then the top edge is folded towards the foot of the bed, exposing the design.
See also
References
Bedding Bed types Bassinet · Box-bed · Bunk bed · Cage bed · Camp bed · Canopy bed · Couch · Couch bed · Four poster bed · Futon · Hammock · Hospital bed · Infant bed · Lit a la turque · Manjaa · Murphy bed · Petate · Platform bed · Sleigh bed · Sofa bed · Toddler bed · Trundle bed · Waterbed · DaybedBed components Air mattress · Bed base · Bed frame · Bed skirt · Bed warmer · Box-spring · Bunkie board · Cot side · Featherbed · Headboard · Mattress · Mattress pad · Mattress protector · Memory foam · Nightstand · Orthopedic mattress · SheetBlankets Afghan · Button blanket · Comforter · Duvet · Electric blanket · Fire blanket · Hudson's Bay point blanket · Patchwork quilt · Photo blanket · Pierzyna · Quilt · Security blanket · Silk comforterPillows Acupressure pillow · Bamboo wife · Bolster · Contour leg pillow · Cushion · Dakimakura · Eye pillow · Love pillow · Orthopedic pillow · Phonetic pillow · Sex pillow · Speaker pillow · Throw pillow
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