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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to sew a cut down old sheet for pram/crib sheets?

54 replies

Bogeyface · 09/05/2011 15:16

Because judging by the reaction I got today you would think I had said that I was planning on putting the baby to sleep in a cesspit!

The sheet in question is a gorgeous flannelette sheet, one of a pair, that my mum got given as a wedding present 41 years ago! It did some service over the years but not much and is still in as good nick now as it was then, the quality is much much better than anything similar you can buy now. But it is a funny size, too big for a single but not big enough for a double. So I have cut it down and am making 4 pram sheets and 2 cot sheets with it.

My friend asked me this morning about it (she is much impressed, being a total non-sewer herself!) as she was shocked at how much baby sheets are, and her other friend who was there was horrified. She said that there was no way she would put her baby in anything second hand but certainly not something "that old". My lovely friend then said that she should see my pram which is a vintage Silver Cross, circa the same era and that was fine apparantly because it is vintage, whereas the sheets are just old!

I feel a bit......crappy about it though. Which I know is stupid but I am feeling so sensitive atm (for other reasons totally unconnected) and now I am looking at my hand sewn sheets and thinking that the baby deserves nice new things.

Is she BU to be so bitchy about my babys linen or should I splash out on new ones?

OP posts:

B4Beatrice · 09/05/2011 15:20

Please don't feel bad. Surely they have been washed??

Your friend is a loon!

ratspeaker · 09/05/2011 15:21

Good grief
YANBU

Given the amount of fluids a baby can produce you don;t need to be precious about sheets

As long as the sheets are clean your baby won't care

cantspel · 09/05/2011 15:24

most of my cot sheets where cut down old bed sheets that had been hanging around in the airing cupboard for a few years.
Why buy something you dont need at a time when every penny is going to count.

duchesse · 09/05/2011 15:24

Good grief that sounds like a lovely idea. The friend it was had that reaction is just demented. She is definitely BU.

WhereTheWildThingsWere · 09/05/2011 15:25

I think that sounds fantastic, when I had my ds 6 years ago I was given a bundle of third hand cot bed sheets by someone I worked with, they are still the only sheets I have ever had for both my dcs.

duchesse · 09/05/2011 15:25

PS: tell her you're making all the baby's nappies as well, out of old sheets and towels. That should really get her going...

Finallyspring · 09/05/2011 15:27

Agree with both above. Also they are heirlooms, which makes them special. Btw I never bought special pram or carry cot sheets. Pillowcases do the job

speakercorner · 09/05/2011 15:28

Lovely idea, because the sheets will be nicely soft after a few years' wear. My mum made me sheets for a moses basket out of an old one, and she made my dd's favourite duvet cover out of one that had a rip in it. I had a bit of a thing about only having new clothes for dd1, but never gave the sheets a second thought. People are v v silly.

Am now a total convert to hand-me-downs!

OhYouBadBadKitten · 09/05/2011 15:29

I think it is brilliant and a lovely idea - well done :)

kmac80 · 09/05/2011 15:30

That is a clever and really lovely idea :)
Not only is it practical but has a sentimental link to your baby's family history. My baby has lots of 'old' things and I'm grateful for them. That woman is a snobby fool.

jesuswhatnext · 09/05/2011 15:31

i did the exact same thing when my dd was born 19 years ago! - i hate hate hate all the nasty expensive tat in the shops - i had zero money but my baby looked wonderful! - all in white with lovley white sheets and a pram cover i made and embroiderd myself! - push your baby about with pride!

ApocalypseCheeseToastie · 09/05/2011 15:32

Fab idea, wish I could sew

KurriKurri · 09/05/2011 15:37

I did the same thing too things like baby sheets are ridiculously overpriced. And after the children grow out of prams and cots, the sheets and blankets can be cut down further for dolls prams and cots. And 21 years on from babies, the dog is using the cot duvet in her basket.

DeWe · 09/05/2011 15:40

I did it! I made them more like pillowcases with the opening in the middle. They worked wonderfully and were much better than the shop fitted ones. It was an old sheet from dh's grandmother which had worn in the middle so I just worked round the worn patch.

starfishmummy · 09/05/2011 15:40

YANBU. Just tell her how eco friendly you are being and then mention that you will be using your tea towels as nappies

oldraver · 09/05/2011 15:41

I bought a flanellette sheet to make all my cribpram sheets

A little tip... if you can make them like a pillowcase, they stay on better and you can flip them over if you are out and about or the middle of the night (very sicky baby here)

LittleMissFlustered · 09/05/2011 15:42

It sounds fabulous! Yay for sewing and generally fabulous fibrecraftiness :o

Also, the weird friend is weird.

wasabipeanut · 09/05/2011 15:42

Sounds both sensible and a nice thing to do. If I could sew I would do similar. I bought so much crap that I didn't need with DS1 like pram & Moses basket sheets. At least they have been used by SIL's kids too so it wasn't a total waste. I loathe throwing things out and try to reuse where I can. I just hate the "stuff" mountain IYSWIM!

Original poster

Bogeyface · 09/05/2011 15:44

Thanks all, I feel alot better now :)

I think I am being OTT because we are in quite stressful situation atm, and I 38 weeks pg too which is not a good combination! Normally I would fight my corner and tell her she was being silly but for some reason my bolshiness ran away and hid today, I should have told her that most of my reusable nappies are second hand too, she would have had a blue fit :o

I think my main regret is that I wish mum could remember who gave her the sheets as I would like to thank them :)

OP posts:

buttonmoon78 · 09/05/2011 15:44

I've been doing it too.

YANBU. She is. Weirdo.

OsbegaEthelwulf · 09/05/2011 15:46

she is being unreasonable. My dear old Ma gave me a load of candy striped cotton sheets that were unused when dd was born nearly 9 years ago and they dated from 1951. Made cot sheets and later on made them into jama bottoms for her :) Nowt gets wasted in this house!

WillbeanChariot · 09/05/2011 15:50

YADNBU. I wonder what your strange friend would think of my DS's terry nappies? They were first worn by DH's sister, are now on their fourth child and are well over 40 years old!

I never buy new for DS if I can help it. All my cot and pram sheets came from the 20p basket in Oxfam.

cuttingpicassostoenails · 09/05/2011 15:50

Making cot sheets from old sheets is good. 38 years ago I started sewing by making DS's cot sheets from a set of very old (80 years) linen sheets that had belonged to my husband's great aunt. I was using an old treadle sewing machine and swearing fit to bust whenever anything went wrong...as it frequently did.

Sixteen years later my skills had developed to the stage where I was able to make a ballgown for his girlfriend's 5th form prom (the swearing was even worse)!

Your friend is being very silly....and probably jealous of your initiative and sewing skills. Tell her to bugger orf.

Gemjar · 09/05/2011 16:02

we did the same thing as well. One thing we hadn't realised when DS1 arrived was just how often he would dribble onto sheets in his cot, i'm certain that he waited to be put down after being burped before vomming.

When we were in the hospital it wasn't a problem as we just used the sheets they had there, but as soon as we got home we realised that we had only bought about 2 or 3 sheets as they are soooo expensive and would need way more. In a panic DH rang PIL who were coming to visit that day anyway and they bought a whole load of cut down old sheets that they had been keeping for years. I was so grateful and I definitely didn't care that they were second hand.

Any baby, no matter how cute and precious will just puke and crap and wee all over them anyway so as long as they are clean who cares how old they are YAVDNBU

wasabipeanut · 09/05/2011 16:03

Osbega I love those candy striped sheets. My grandma had them and I wish my Dad had kept them when she passed away. She would have definitely approved of reusing!

Dammit I wish I could sew.

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