Fitted Sheets Or Hospital Corners?

A couple of months ago I mistakenly bought a fitted sheet to go with my new quilt cover. I was gutted to say the least when I unwrapped it. I was so looking forward to having a shower, slipping into my crisp new bedding and starfishing before Paul came to bed. Oh well, I thought, I’m just going to have to put up with it. The question you are probably asking is, why on earth don’t I use fitted sheets like most people? Well, there’s a simple explanation for that. Paul has always been rugby player stocky, it’s what attracted me to him after all, and like most men he is hairy; a combination which does not do well with fitted sheets. As he moves about in bed, particularly turning over, he drags the sheet with him and I end up sleeping on the bare mattress. I have found that a king sized flat sheet, well tucked in and secured with my hospital corners, prevents this scenario and keeps the sheet taut and wrinkle free. As I pulled the offending sheet over the mattress, stretching and smoothing out the creases, I realised that with an early indoctrination and thirty years in nursing  I have, over the years, become positively anal about my bed-making. I can often be heard chuntering to myself, as I change our bedding, that a certain person rarely offers to help and it slowly occurred to me why. On the few occasions he has tried to assist I have told him he is doing it all wrong. How can you make a bed incorrectly, I hear you asking. Let me explain. 

As a four year old helping my Granny make the beds each morning the importance of the perfect hospital corner was impressed upon me. Since we didn’t have duvets back then, each separate layer of sheets and blankets had to be pulled tight and secured with hospital corners. I used to love the way they looked, all wrapped up like parcels. This was further compounded when I met Paul who, being in the RAF at the time, was also used to the perfectly made bed, complete with hospital corners, and bedding taut enough to bounce a penny on. This brief brush with military life also gave rise to another bed-making obsession in that all the provided bedding had stripes down the middle which had to be lined up exactly down the centre of the bed. On one occasion he actually accused me of trying to get more of the bed by putting the stripes off centre and resorted to the use of a tape measure to try and prove it! He was wrong of course but thank goodness for the arrival of the duvet; it made things so much easier. The sheets, however still had to adhere to the rules and have their hospital corners. 

Jumping forward several years to the start of my nursing career where my expertise with hospital corners; and indeed, ensuring the stripes were lined up; held me in good stead. In my group there were only two of us who actually knew what a hospital corner was or what the stripes were for, the other being an experienced auxiliary nurse. We were asked to demonstrate how to make a bed on the bed-making and bed-bathing day; yes, we were taught to make beds properly as part of our training; and on a fun day at the end of our induction period the pair of us won the bed making contest. The only new tricks I learned here was how to put a pleat in the top sheet and blankets so the patient had room to wiggle their toes and how to change a bed with someone still in it. Through the years of making beds in hospitals I also learned that if sheets are folded in a certain way it makes bed-making quick and easy so now, after laundering, I fold my sheets in the same way. In fact, through summer, I hang them on the washing line in such a way that I can fold them as I take them off the line. Rather than fold them widthways they get folded in half lengthways, then in half again. This means that when the sheet is laid on the bed the two side edges just pull apart and the sheet is spread out on the bed. I also have to ensure that the side of the sheet I want sleep on is on the inside of the fold, heaven forbid I get it the wrong way up! And then there’s positioning it on the bed with equal amounts over either side. I had my Eureka moment about this a few months ago when I worked out that if  I lay the folded sheet on the bed with the fold along the edge of the mattress and the sheet edges uppermost and facing towards the centre of the bed and pull the edge of the top layer towards me I get a nice drop over the edge of the bed. Then, when I move to the opposite side of the bed and pull the remaining edge to that side, it gives me an equal drop there, perfect for my perfect hospital corners. So much easier than flapping the sheet about and creating dust! Once the sheet is to my satisfaction the duvet cover has to be put on in a certain way as do the pillowcases. And this is why the only help I get on bed changing day is from the cat who; no matter where he’s roaming for the day; seems to have the unerring knack of knowing when to walk into the bedroom and pounce onto the bed. 

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OK, I’ve been using the fitted sheet for a few weeks now; it has been washed between uses; and I have to admit it makes changing the bed much easier. It has stayed in place and fairly wrinkle free even when Paul has been restless.The only downsides so far is that they don’t fold nicely and it’s hard to work out which way they should go so I’m back to flapping the sheet about. Even so, I am impressed enough to be considering swapping all my sheets for fitted ones, however I do miss the satisfaction of creating the perfect hospital corner.

Note: For anyone wanting to know how to do hospital corners, there are plenty of instructions online.