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What type mattress do I have, 54 in by 78 in

Hi,

This seems to be the newsgroup with the most hits on my preliminary search, but can't really find the answer yet, I tried Google with little result.

Someone gave me a box spring and mattress to replace a what I thought was a "full" size set that worn out and I discarded. It says "Serta Perfect Sleeper" on it (and I'm old enough to remember those great Joey Heatherton commercials advertising this brand). I don't know how old the mattress/box spring is, but it don't look real new. I should also state that I'm in the US, as maybe different countries have different bed sizes?

I had to pound the box spring into the frame with a hammer to get it to fit flat, and the mattress just fits on top, with no leeway at the headboard or footboard (is that what it's called?) to put sheets on, etc, without lifting the foot of the mattress up and then pushing it back down.

I measure the mattress to be 53 (but probably 54) inches wide by 78 inches long. My fitted sheets that I had from full size the mattress before that, and one prior, has to be forced on by lifting an edge of the mattress, and then pushing it back down, stretching the sheet, which usually pulls back off one of the mattress corners by the next morning. Very frustrating dealing with that on a daily basis.

After asking neighbors if they have odd size sheets that may fit, one neighbor gave me a bag of fitted sheets, in which I found one that actually fits, something the neighbor called a deep pocket sheet that she said may be in the bag of sheets.

I did research on bed sizes, and cannot find anything with a 78 inch length. What the heck do I have, and what do I get for fitted sheets, as the one the neighbor gave me is somewhat worn and I'll need more soon. Seems like I can get regular sheets and blankets to fit OK. Thanks.

Reply to
dke3591
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It sounds like an extra long full size. Either that or it was custom made.

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Good luck trying to find sheets for it. To save money you could buy queen size sheets and take in the fitted sheet to fit. Not real pretty but it'll get the job done. :o)

Reply to
Jeri

I 'sheeted' everybody in the family at Christmas. It was an expensive good idea but very appreciated. Much to my surprise, just plain old J C Penny on the net had every size I needed including extra long, pillow top and waterbed, and they got the entire order right the first time. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

I had an antique bed with an odd sized mattress, obviously custom made, and experienced a similar frustration. I have been around since of the discovery of fire so I remembered how to make a bed with two flat sheets and make a tight folded corner on the mattress that would stay tucked. Right after sliced bread was introduced the invention of fitted sheets were introduced, fabulous invention and IMHO should have been up for some sort of Nobel prize. This was my solution and it worked rather well for me.

I laid a queen sized flat sheet evenly over the mattress, pinned loose darts to take in the slack at the corners, not so tight that you couldn't lift the corner up. I then sewed the darts up, trimmed the excess, marked the sheet about 12 inches from either side of the center seam on the dart on the edges, took a piece of elastic about 18 inches long and sewed it down along the marked 24 inch sheet edge. Voila, a fitted sheet that actually fit the mattress. The first fiddly bit on the first sheet took about an hour or so, the other one I did I used the first as a pattern and they took all of half an hour. OH! I also undid the top fold of the flat sheet just to reduce a bit more of the bulk. For each "set" I bought two flat sheets and matching pillow cases, worked like a charm.

Flat sheets have the dimensions on the package. Measure your mattress across, add the depth of the mattress and a few inches for a "tuck under" and remember that you need to double this for the sides and head/foot. You can then compare your measurements with that on the package. You may possibly need a king sized sheet to get the amount of you want with extra to trim instead of coming up short with a queen.

One other thing to consider if you only make one set. The bottom sheet will wear faster than the flat top sheet. If you are one of those, as I am, who strips the bed to wash the sheets and then put them right back on, you might want to make two fitted bottom sheets to match the flat top and alternate them. You'll find they wear forever. This little morsel of wisdom was passed on to me while shopping with a friend who always bought an extra fitted sheet to go with the sets she bought. I did this when I bought a very expensive set for my new bed and after 12 years they are still going strong with very little signs of age.

Val

Reply to
Val

Thanks much Jeri, Polly Esther, and Val for your replies, now I know more what I'm dealing with and choices. I'll try to find the fitted sheets now that I have some suggestions where to look. I don't sew, like many guys, even though I realize this is a crafts group, I had the hunch people working and making these items would more know what type/size mattress I have, and this group came up the most by a long shot, about 6 times in the first 20 responses for my Google search of "mattress 54 X 78". Thanks again. I want to eventually get a frame the fits better, now I know what to get also, for a extra long full size.

Reply to
dke3591

This was my mother's preferred method of bed making. The sheets were interchangeable and she thought it was easier to make. I think my parents may have been vampires, but my bed always looks like I wrestled bears all night. I can' do the "no fitted sheets" thing.

One other point, this is how hotel bed are made as well.

Cindy

Reply to
teleflora

I have a lovely antique mahogany bed that had been owned by a great aunt, and it is single sized. However, because of the rather large squared legs of the frame, a twin box spring and mattress will not fit. I recall that my great aunt had a box spring and mattress set which actually had the corners "cut out" to fit inside the frame of the bed, so to use the bed as designed would require having custom mattress and springs made, and that costs a small fortune! What I did was put the headboard behind my twin bed (between the bed and the wall). The footboard, side boards, and slats are in the basement. I may have new, longer side boards made so I can attach the footboard, but for now the bed looks very nice in the small guestroom.

Reply to
Mary

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