You can add a linen flat sheet without replacing the fitted sheet, pillowcases or duvet you already use. The sheet needs to be sized for the way you make the bed and for the people sleeping under it, and its colour needs to sit well beside the pieces already there. If you are still deciding whether you want a flat sheet at all, start with our guide to flat and fitted sheets. This article is for when you have decided to add one.
Decide what the sheet will do
A top sheet usually lies under the duvet and folds back over it at the top, covers you on its own on warm nights, or does both through the year. If it will ever be used alone, it has to cover the people in the bed without help from a duvet. That affects the width more than anything else.
Measure the bed with its layers on
Measure with the topper and protector in place, because that is the surface the sheet will cover. Note the width across the top, the length from head to foot, and the depth from the top surface down to the lower edge of the mattress. Use one unit for every number.
Work out the width
Start with the mattress width. Add the vertical drop down each side, then add the amount you tuck under on each side. If you prefer the sheet hanging loose, add the distance you want it to fall on each side instead of the depth and tuck.
The side drop is easy to forget. On a deep mattress, the sides take up a good share of the sheet before any of it reaches the tuck.
Then check the width with people in the bed. A sheet that tucks neatly over an empty mattress can pull out when someone turns over, or leave a shoulder uncovered when two people share it. Lie the way you normally sleep, with your partner if you share the bed, using an existing flat sheet or a large piece of fabric as a stand-in. Note whether you would want more slack across the bed than the mattress measurements suggest.
Work out the length
Use the formula that matches how you make the foot of the bed:
- Tucked at the foot: mattress length + drop at the foot + tuck under the mattress + fold-back at the top.
- Loose at the foot: mattress length + the distance you want it to hang at the foot + fold-back at the top.
For the fold-back, decide how deep a band you want showing over the duvet. That band comes out of the sheet's length.
Check it against your duvet
Lay your duvet on the bed and look at where its edges fall. A top sheet wider than the duvet will show below its edges at the sides. Some people like that layered edge, others prefer the sheet hidden. Decide which you want before settling on a width.
Choose the colour for what sits beside it
A top sheet is seen at the fold-back against the duvet cover, and at the sides against the fitted sheet if it hangs below the duvet. The same colour name from a different order or brand may not look identical, which is why it helps to read about buying matching linen bedding in separate orders. A deliberate contrast, or a colour chosen to sit near your existing pieces rather than match them, avoids an almost-but-not-quite pairing. Look at product photos in daylight, and ask before ordering if anything is unclear.
Before you order
Write down the width and length you worked out, how you will use the sheet, its colour and the colours it will sit next to. Compare those measurements with our linen flat sheets. If your numbers fall outside the listed sizes, send us your measurements for a custom quote before placing the order. Tell us which measurements describe the mattress and which describe the finished sheet you want.
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