Measuring Guide
Ensure You Order Your Sheets Correctly
- How to Measure for Sheets
- How to Measure for Bedspreads
- How to Measure for Bedskirts
- How to Measure for Comforters
Measuring Sheets
Measuring your bed for custom sheets is probably
the most critical of
measurements for bedding products. A fitted bottom sheet must fit a mattress
in a certain way. The corners must be at the
corners of the mattress (not off
the side, or somewhere else along the edge), and
the elastic around the bottom
must be tucked slightly under the mattress itself. It takes a very carefully
arranged set of numbers to bring that about, and you are the only one who can
provide it for us. The first step in getting a custom sheet that fits, is to
measure the length and width of your mattress.
There is no legal requirement
for mattress manufacturers to conform to “standard” sizes in making their
beds. It could be a mistake to assume they stuck to standard sizes on your
bed.
Next is the tricky part.
The depth shouldn’t be measured from cord-to-cord. As you can see from this
picture, the bottom-most cord is above the box spring, and the top cord is
below the upper loft of the mattress. As tempting as it may be to use the cord
as a neat measuring point, you’ll end up with sheets that just don’t fit.
Instead, place the end of the tape measure on the top of the box spring, as shown here. Then place your hand on the top of the mattress and measure up to it. As you can see here, the depth of this mattress is 14”.
Remember to round off your depth to the nearest inch.
Also, bear in mind that the sheets you order will actually be one inch deeper than the mattress measurement you give us. This is to provide enough sheet to tuck under the depth, not just fit to the bottom edge of your mattress. While these measurements will certainly be used to make the fitted sheet fit properly, they are also carried over to the top sheet. bullet The width of our top sheets can be found by adding the width of the mattress, twice the depth, and another ten inches. (i.e. A 78×80×13 mattress gets a top sheet that is 78+13+13+10 inches wide, or 114”) bullet The length of our top sheets follows a similar formula, incorporating the length of the mattress, the depth, and a further 8 inches. (i.e. A 78×80×12 mattress gets a sheet that is 80+13+8 inches long, or 101”)
Of course, if these dimensions aren’t to your liking, you are more than welcome to request a specific set of top sheet finished dimensions. Keep in mind that you should calculate about 2% shrinkage into your custom finished size if it’s in 100% cotton (including flannel).
Measuring Bedspreads
For bedspreads, we’ll need to know the
“drop” of your bed. Measuring the drop
is not as simple as you might think. Many people assume that hanging a
straightedge over the edge of their bed and measuring down from that, is all
there is to it.
This is not a good idea. Although your bed might technically be thirty inches high by this method, because of the curvature of mattresses, a bedspread with a thirty inch drop will be several inches too wide.
This diagram
demonstrates how ignoring that curvature can result in an area of the bed
being measured twice, resulting in a bedspread that is much too large. To
avoid this, we ask our customers to measure their drop by a different method.
First, measure the width of your bed, out to
the expected width for your
mattress size. For instance, on a queen bed, shown here, you’d want to measure
60” across, keeping the tape measure as centered as you can. Be sure to follow
the contour of the bed, and make note of where the 60” mark (or whatever mark
is right for the width of your bed) falls. Don’t be surprised if it’s on the
side of your bed, rather than the top.
Then, simply measure upward from the floor to that 
point, following the contour of your mattress, if any. In this case, we have a
27” drop on our queen bed. If we want our bedspread to hover an inch above the
floor, we could ask for a 26” drop.
If your bedspread 
needs split corners, such
as to get around a footboard or
bedposts, then you’ll also need to measure from the floor up to the point
where your bedspread will have to clear that obstacle.
Measuring Bedskirts
Measuring your bed for a custom bed skirt is usually very straightforward. The
only complications arise when your 
bed is designed with obstacles to the skirt
that cause it to need split corners or other special accommodations.
One
important fact to remember about bed skirts is that they are designed to fit
the box spring or other foundation under your mattress, and not the mattress
itself. Often, due to the natural contours that appear in a mattress, it may
bulge out beyond where the box spring’s normally straight lines will fall. If
this is the case with your bed, take special care to measure the box spring,
and not the mattress when placing your order. 
Although it’s always a good idea to measure the box spring and give us the exact dimensions, in most cases, all you’ll have to do is give us the size of the bed (such as “queen” or “California King” or whatever) and the drop. The drop is measured as shown here, from the floor to the top of the box spring.
When measuring the drop, it’s best if the bed is already set up in the desired room. Measuring the drop as it sits on a tiled showroom floor won’t be much good if it’s going to be installed in a room with thick shag carpet.
If your
frame is attached to a footboard, bed-posts or other ornaments at the foot of
the bed, you’ll need to mention that when placing your order. This is
especially common on daybeds, as shown here, but can occur on any bed. The
person taking your order may not ask if the corners need to be split, so be
sure to mention it if you need that done.
Another common complication with
bed skirts is the U-bar that is often
found on adjustable beds of various models. This bar is essential for keeping
the mattress from sliding off the
foundation when it’s tilted up, but it makes
for an interesting problem when it comes time to buy a bed skirt.
The width of these bars, as well as their spacing can vary widely. The best
solution is to make a template with waxed paper or butcher wrap, and send it
to us by mail. You’ll want to mark the template with where the bed edges are,
and where the bar sits. 
Here is an example of a template for one such bed.
Measuring Comforters
Measuring your bed to have a comforter made is actually very easy. Comforters
are more forgiving than anything else on your bed. They don’t have to come to
exactly any point in their drop, or fit around any corner with precision.
Usually, it is enough if they overlap the beginning of the bed skirt by a few
inches.
When measuring for your Comforter, first measure the width of your bed, out to the expected width for your bed size.
Then, just
measure down from that point to where you’d like your comforter to stop. If
you don’t specify a drop for your comforter, we’ll give you our standard drop,
which is fifteen inches. This is more than enough for most pillow top
mattresses.
