Back in June, one of our clever Jackson Sewing Guild members shared her ingenious Washable, Waterproof Mattress Protector with the rest of us here at my Sunroom Sewing Studio. Like so many ‘aging Baby-Boomers’, she is caring for her elderly mother at home these days. This would also be a great solution for young moms in the midst of potty training.
This Protector will save the mattress from becoming soiled, AND you can remove just it for washing instead of the entire fitted sheet and mattress cover.
Supplies & Cutting Directions:
1/2 of a polar fleece Throw Kit (as found at JoAnn Fabric – which includes two different polar fleece pieces) OR if using yardage:
1-yard piece of 60″ wide polar fleece for the Top and a
1-yard piece of 60″ wide polar fleece for the Bottom.
2 pillowcases – cut the band portion off
1/2 yard of Babyville Polyurethane Laminate (PUL) ‘diaper’ fabric – the waterproof layer. What she gets at JoAnn Fabrics is 64″ side – so trim it to the same width as the polar fleece.
She calls the pillowcases the ‘WINGS’, which are slipped between the bed mattress and box spring to hold firmly in place. With so many polar fleece fabrics to choose from, the sky is the limit – so make this fun. The idea is that the most ‘fun’ piece of polar fleece is at the top, and the more ‘boring’ polar fleece (generally a solid in the Kits if you are using a kit) is on the bottom. The 60″ wide polar fleece was adequate for a queen-size mattress.
Sewing Directions – quick and easy when you ‘sandwich’ and stitch all layers at once as in the order given below.
1st – lay the pillowcase wings down.
2nd – Lay the bottom layer pretty side down on top of the 1st layer.
2nd – Next, lay down the PUL with the shiny waterproof side UP.
3rd – Then lay the top layer pretty side UP.
Pin securely and prepare to stitch all around about 1″ from the sides. My friend said that she had some issues with shifting, so try these techniques:
1. Hand baste with large stitches going at an angle horizontally across where you will stitch.
2. Use a Walking Foot, or any built-in ‘Dual Feed’ system on your sewing machine.
3. Spray the outer edges of the top of each layer with Fabric Temporary Spray Adhesive – using a piece of paper set on the interior edges, exposing just the 1″ seam allowance for where the adhesive will go.
Then, stitch 1″ from the edges, all around, using a longer stitch length than normal – my guess is at least 3.5 on your machine.
She then serged all the edges, but this will be a quite thick edge for serging. Again, set it for a longer stitch length. Curve around the corners. Without a serger, zig-zag or overcast with a standard sewing machine.
Give it a try if this will solve a need in your household. Try something similar? Share in your comments below!
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