Replace elastic on fitted sheets

It's actually quite easy to do yourself if you are so inclined.
Just go to a fabric store or merceria and buy some elastic of the correct width and that is long enough, and a seam ripper to pick out stitches (they are super cheap, but a razor blade could be carefully used as an alternative).

Most sheet elastic, if it goes all the way around, is simply threaded through the hem. All you need to do is pick out an inch or two of the hem stitching, grab the elastic which will then be accessible, pull it out, then work the new elastic through using a large safety pin attached to one end of the new elastic. Then restitch the inch or so you picked out, either by hand or machine. (Tie the ends of the elastic together securely before sewing the hem back up and test it on the bed first- you might need to pull it up tighter to get a nice snug fit)

It's rather tedious to work the elastic all the way around, but it probably would take less time than taking it to a seamstress and going back to pick it up.

Good advice. But I find you still have to work the fabric over the elastic- it gathers and bunches up and you have to keep working it along.

I actually use what is called a bodkin to thread drawstrings, elastic, etc. through hems, rather than a safety pin, as the pin can pop open while moving it along. But most people wouldn't know what a bodkin is. (It's like a large needle with a huge eye large enough to put yarn or elastic through and a ball rather than a point on the end- primarily used to attach sleeves and collars to the body of hand-knitted sweaters.)

ferret wrote:Mudgirl, before pulling out the old elastic, tie the new one to the old one. Now pull the old out. Two birds, one stone.

Yep, the same as replacing a motorcycle chain. Cut the old chain and link to the new chain, then pull the new thru. Ezy Pzy.

Except that you can link a motorcycle chain. Tying 2 pieces of elastic together creates a knot that can make it harder to pull through if the elastic fits snugly in the hem. That's been my experience, anyway. YMMV.

Yes, that works better.

When Iived in Canada, by the time the sheet elastic was totally worn out, the sheets had had their day and were worn and/or stained and due to be replaced anyway.

But for some reason, Mexico is where elastic comes to die. I've had clothing and sheets and other things that weren't more than a year or two old and still in great condition with dead elastic here in Mexico. I had a new little notebook with an elastic closure that I had stashed in a basket, in the dark, in my living room that I hadn't yet used. When I fished it out about 9 months later, the elastic was completely dead. So unless money is no object, and you don't mind throwing away perfectly good stuff, or relegating it to the rag bag, it's kinda useful to know how to replace elastic, considering it's not some big learning curve requiring skill or expensive tools or materials.