Even in Belgium we do it like this. Works great. My boyfriend even got the hang of it after a while.

I have been using this method for 40 or so years. I saw Martha Stewart demonstrate this when I think she was with , I believe it was, K-mart.

I have been using this method for 40 or so years. I saw Martha Stewart demonstrate this when I think she was with , I believe it was, K-mart.

This taught to me by my mother over 40 years ago too. No matter how much I show my husband how to do it he never gets the concept. Needless to say when he does the laundry the sheets are left for me to fold.

He been doing this for over 40 years thanks to my Mom showing me..But trying to explain to friends over the phone..another story..I shall pass this on to my friends that need to see how to do it..Thanks again.Nanc and Ross.

Never have understand why people had such a problem with folding fitted sheets. I've been doing this for years and actually thought more people knew about it !!!

Want to thank you for all your emails on tips. Loving this one sheets are such a bulk in my linen closet. It's just one more thing no one will notice that I've done. But, I'll know, more room in closet can buy more sheets LOL xoxoxo

WOW- I've been folding fitted sheets like this since they first started making them - 50+ years. My dad had a store - sheets, towels, all linens, etc - on the lower east side of NY,/ was taught how do fold the fitted sheet at that time. I have taught my children/grandchildren how to do it.

No need to iron. Once you have all four corners together shake sheet, lie on flat surface and fold in thirds then fold as described...

Thanks! My mother never taught me!

Yes, my mother also taught me this about 50 years ago!

I keep trying to do this but the sheet still comes out bulky. I really hate to ask, but do I have to iron the sheet first? :(

OMG. I've been doing it this way for over 50 years because my mother folded the sheets this way

I have been doing it that way for years. It does work. My aunt taught me that way to fold contours when I was still in school.

It can still work with elastic all around the sheet - I do it. It is a bit more awkward, and doesn't lie quite as flat, but it will still fold fairly nicely. I use two hands with two corners each, then bring hands together and slip one set of two over the other hand. The proceed as above. With elastic all around, it just needs more folded to the inside once the corners are cupped inside each other.

My great grandma showed me. Holding sheet right-side out, place your middle fingers at points where seams are sewn together. With arms apart bring your middle fingers together under the fabric. Cup one hand over the other and slide over towards your wrist; while resting over back of 1 hand, take free hand; slide hand down the length of sheet, place middle finger in point now folded in 1/2; repeat. Lay the sheet on flat surface and proceed with the instructions above. You can do it!

This USED to work when fitted sheets were made with elastic on the ends. Now they are made with elastic on the sides (or sometimes all the way around) and I find it almost impossible to fold this way. Any suggestions?

...... uhm, i'm lost somewhere between the first two lines of the third paragraph. i think i need a video demonstration. :x

Folding sheets have been the bain of my existence until I saw this tip by Martha years ago. Made my life easier and my closets neater! Thanks Martha!!!

LOVE, absolutely love this.

I have ALWAYS been so curious how they do that! YAY!! Can't wait to practice this.

I cannot get this to work...I end up with a twisted mess. What am I doing wrong?

I'm 48 and my mom taught me how to do this YEARS ago! It still works today :)

Yeah, whatever Rorie! LOL!

You are suppose to change your bedding a MINIMUM of once a week. It becomes unsanitary after so long due to sweat

I end up wadding them up. LOL I just wash them and put them back on my bed.

Yes -- One set for each bed. It's all you need. You only put one set of sheets on the bed at at time. A queen set can set you back $50 -- that's a lot of margaritas.

Tess, you have only one set?

Why waste time folding sheets -- wash them and put them back on your bed. That's what I've done for over 20 years -- it works great!

My grandmother taught me how to do this when I was a child. I works well!

You mean you aren't supposed to crumble them in a ball and through them in the closet? =P

I take this a step farther and put the fitted sheet, flat sheet and extra pillow case inside a pillow case so when I grab from my linen closet, I get the complete set together without having to dig.

This is exactly how my mother taught me to do it some 40 years ago :) !! It works.

Can you put that in your linen closet?!

I was able to do this successfully on the first try and it took less than a minute to complete. The key might be to not think about it too much. Just go corner to corner to corner. I got a perfect rectangle like the one shown when done!

It did not work at all. Maybe it will be easier with a slow step by stepvideo demostration
crazy at home

With those fitted sheets that have elastic all the way around, you need a little patience to do it right.

tO MAKE IT EASIER, IRON THEM. YES, IKNOW YOU WILL SAY I'M CRAZY, BUT IT WORTH OF IT. THEY LOOK REALLY NICE, AS IN THOSE PHOTOS

My mother taught me this in the 1950s. It is confusing at first, but at least by the end of the folding process it feels like you have won at least some control over the unruly mess.

I know the technique but it still confounds me with jersey knit sheets, and also with the new sheets for the giant mattresses. The lovely one in the picture looks like the corner dart is only about 3 inches, not so with mine.

I learned this technique years ago working at a B

It doesn't look perfect because it was wrinkled from being folded wrong but what an improvement. Can hardly wait to try it out of the dryer. Have never been able to fold a nice fitted sheet. Mine are elastic all the way around too. And to be sure my folded sheet does NOT look as neat and flat at the one in the picture but I think practice will make all the difference. Is it possible the fight is over? Happy Autumn to All.

It doesn't look perfect because it was wrinkled from being folded wrong but what an improvement. Can hardly wait to try it out of the dryer. Have never been able to fold a nice fitted sheet. Mine are elastic all the way around too. And to be sure my folded sheet does NOT look as neat and flat at the one in the picture but I think practice will make all the difference. Is it possible the fight is over? Happy Autumn to All.

This simply will not work for sheets with the elastic all the way around which frankly is almost all that is available today. Any help will be welcome.

This simply will not work for sheets with the elastic all the way around which frankly is almost all that is available today. Any help will be welcome.

I hate fitted sheets. It's easier to just buy 2 flat sheets instead. Problem solved!

That's exactly how I do it, but now there are those sheets that have elastic all the way around! Nearly impossible to fold those neatly! The elastic just bunches everything up! Any tips for those?

great and this coupled with the trick of putting the set in one of the pillow cases makes for a much neater linen closet!!

wow! I've been doing this all the time but have never been so neat! this is great!

Whew, I'm sure glad that I don't have to learn another way. It feels great to know I'm doing something Martha Stewart says is correct! *grin*

I learned this way of folding fitted sheets many years ago when I worked at a Laundry mat. It was a very old gent that showed me and I never forgot.
Thank you where ever you are! It is hard to teach.

oh-my-goodness whoever posted this must have been a fly on my wall last night! I had a rant to hubby about how annoying fitted sheets are to fold and how they never turn out right! Thanks Martha

You can do this exactly as suggested no matter if you are a right-y or a left-y. I am "both-handed" and there is no right or left way. It's how ever you can best do it =] I think they mean "if you perfer this way or that way". Tomatoe-tomato =]

This method works wonders, and it's nice to take one of the pillowcases and add all the sheets into it, so they all stay together. I add a Downy dryer sheet to the middle so they stay smelling fresh when you put them on the bed.

I manage a laundry and fold 50 or more sheets a day and this works no matter what the size or what the sheets are made of. Just use a table after you have the four corners over one finger and spread out ht e sheets smooth and then fold to size wanted. we put the pillowcases in the middle between the folded flat and folded fitted sheets, so the set is easy to stay together and not get separated.
Joy

What can't that Asian woman who does T-shirts figure a great way to do King Size Fitted Sheets? I see that video of the T-Shirt fold all the time (and it works!), so why not learn to do it for sheets

I have been using this method for years, but with modern mattresses requiring deep pocket sheets with elastic all around, I found that the fold was not nearly as easy or as neat. Oh, well, nobody's doing an inspection of my linen closet and I have worse messes to deal with than my sheets not lying flat in perfect array! LOL!

i have king sheets, mostly jersey, and i find this pretty near impossible. any ideas?

I cannot do this to save my life. I have practiced over and over again and just can't get it right!

My sheets also have elastic all the way around, and this method DOES work well for those as well. My ex-mother in-law taught me hold to fold fitted sheets years ago and I've gotten much better. But the key is in the next to last step. If you fold so that the elastic is hidden, you actually have a squared off corners and straight edges to work with, just like a flat sheet. Hope that helps!!

I agree with the first comment from Bevandlee above. My sheets have the elastic the full way around and these instructions don't help much for that kind.

This works fine except when you have elastic all the way around the sheet. Even when you fold this way ...it's a bulky mess...any ideas ???

My Mom actually taught me how to fold a fitted sheet back in the early '60's. You might say she was the Martha Stewart of that era. She did it exactly as these instructions show.

Thank you,thank you. What a relief to finally get it right. My linen closet looks much nicer. Marlene Abshire

:') oops.. my computer went on the fritz... sorry about all the comments : / I don't know if/how to delete all but one (or any) of them :(

This' great! I've always hated that the flat sheet and pillow cases too so nice and neat.. but the fitted sheet always looked bad no matter what I did! Thank you so much for sharing this! And I love Null's idea about the pillow case! Thanks everyone!

This' great! I've always hated that the flat sheet and pillow cases too so nice and neat.. but the fitted sheet always looked bad no matter what I did! Thank you so much for sharing this! And I love Null's idea about the pillow case! I don't have much room and I love having these things in sets ready to go!! Thanks everyone!

This' great! I've always hated that the flat sheet and pillow cases too so nice and neat.. but the fitted sheet always looked bad no matter what I did! Thank you so much for sharing this! And I love Null's idea about the pillow case! I don't have much room and I love having these things in sets ready to go!! Thanks everyone!

This' great! I've always hated that the flat sheet and pillow cases too so nice and neat.. but the fitted sheet always looked bad no matter what I did! Thank you so much for sharing this! And I love Null's idea about the pillow case! I don't have much room and I love having these things in sets ready to go!! Thanks everyone!

This' great! I've always hated that the flat sheet and pillow cases too so nice and neat.. but the fitted sheet always looked bad no matter what I did! Thank you so much for sharing this! And I love Null's idea about the pillow case! I don't have much room and I love having these things in sets ready to go!! Thanks everyone!

This' great! I've always hated that the flat sheet and pillow cases too so nice and neat.. but the fitted sheet always looked bad no matter what I did! Thank you so much for sharing this! And I love Null's idea about the pillow case! Thanks everyone!

I've always done it this way, but I appreciate Null's comment about adding the pillow case and flat sheet into it and making it one unit. Great!

I've always known how to do this with two people but it's great to know the one-person way. Now the only excuse I have for interrupting the match is if I have made him a snack :)

Thanks! I've always wondered how to do this! I gotta go fold laundry and give it a try!

i wish i had time to worry about how my sheets are folded... LOL

After I fold my sheets, I place them inside one of the pillow cases and it give you so much more space in your linen closet.

Sheraebar

I have been doing this for years with great success. It's folding the T-shirt the "martha way" that continues to stump me! :)

I have been doing this ever since I first saw Martha demonstrate (think it might have been on Oprah). It is perfect. I have a tip for keeping sets of bedlinen together that looks pretty as well as being practical. After folding, stack everything that you need for one bed change together and then tie with ribbon. I do this in my airing cupboard (linen closet) and not only does it look nice and keep everything neat, but it makes changing the sheets each week so quick! :O)

I have been doing this for years with great success. It's folding the T-shirt the "martha way" that continues to stump me! :)

I remember seeing this YEARS ago when she first demonstrated it on her morning show. My mother and I practiced right away and found it to be a lifesaver in laundry! It's been over 10 years and I'm still using the technique, even with the tiny crib sheets! Thank you for this simple yet valuable tip!

I'm sure Martha has an even easier way to put on a duvet cover (from KittyLou's question) but I will tell you what i do that works. Grab two ends of the comforter going inside the duvet and insert one at a time to meet with the two corners of the inside of the duvet cover, take your hand out and pinch the outside corner of the duvet (with the corner of the comforter inside), then stand up on the bed (lol) and it will all flow down, voila!

I started on a twin sheet first. I am a masseuse and want my linen cupboards to look organized and clean. But this is going to take some practice. For some reason at step 3 to 4 I get turned around. =) Finished product looks lovely

Would also love some tips on folding a fitted valance sheet...

Would also love some tips on folding a fitted valance sheet...

I have ALWAYS wanted to know how to do this!! Thanks for publishing.

Would love some tips on an easy way to put a duvet cover on a duvet.

My mother taught me to do this back in the 60's. Was one of many valuable lessons I learned from my mother. Works everytime.

a video of this would be helpful I think

tsfestel - that is BRILLIANT! love that idea.

One thing that I do to keep my sheets organized is fold them and put the whole set inside one of the pillow cases. That way, when I grab them from the shelf, I just have to grab one unit. Works like a charm!