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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:

RockStockandTwoOpenBottles · 09/05/2011 16:09

She's BVVVU. What a cow. They're sheets on to which a shitting, puking, posseting baby will be put - not some manky piece of material snaffed from a skip outside number 79 . If they're 100 years old and still feel lovely and soft and perfect for your baby I am struggling to see what the problem is. Jees - I used a pillow case sometimes when all the others where in the wash. And staying at my Mum's, my children have all slept in sheets that were in use when I was baby FGS.

colditz · 09/05/2011 16:10

Your mate's a twat. flannelette is LOVELY for babies because it feels warm and doesn't wake them up wheh you put their little heads on it.

petitepeach · 09/05/2011 16:11

Don't listen to the sourpuss.....they sound lovely and cosy - and have special family ties too! My eldest has a vintage eiderdown from ebay..... this has made me want to get my sewing machine out!

DilysPrice · 09/05/2011 16:11

Your friend's friend is extremely unreasonable, and I'd have been tempted by the extremely harsh, (and politically incorrect) response of
"Oh, you poor thing, my aunt's got OCD/phobias too, and they do make her life so difficult. She's had very good progress after CBT, have you tried it?"

colditz · 09/05/2011 16:12

Oh God i would pay a FORTUNE for candy striped sheets. My beloved nan use3d to have them in her bed which I always slept in. She passed away and I would love to have some

euphrosyne · 09/05/2011 16:26

Your friend is BVU and unsympathetic especially as you are a bit sensitive ATM.
The baby deserves nice but not necessarily new things.
Sewing, mending, and knitting for a baby is such a lovely thing... not only the sheets will be nice but special as well :)
Btw, I had most DS's bedlinen made out of old sheets that belonged to my mother.

Original poster

Bogeyface · 09/05/2011 16:31

Mine are Candy Striped too!! They are lovely pastel coloured stripes, and I love them :)

I am feeling much more like my old bolshy self now and will definitely be saying something more if I see the silly woman again!

Thank you :)

OP posts:

Mandy2003 · 09/05/2011 16:31

YANBU! IMO she is a silly c*w.

Next time you see her tell her that you are going to be converting old towels into real nappies and ask if she's got any old fleece jumpers that you can cut up as liners

harbingerofdoom · 09/05/2011 16:33

Osbega - I did exactly the same with candy striped sheets. I think I made two sheet's worth IFKWIM. Still have some in the airing cupboard. You never know, they might see a third generation!

Original poster

Bogeyface · 09/05/2011 16:33

Btw, my friend said that the other woman is a snob and to take no notice!

OP posts:

fedupofnamechanging · 09/05/2011 16:35

I'm another one who had cut down sheets and pillow cases as crib sheets. Some material actually gets softer and more comfortable the more it is washed and used. I would much prefer to have this than brand new, but poorer quality linen. Things today aren't always made as well as they were in previous times. We have a much more disposable society now, whereas the stuff our grandmothers had was made to last.

fatlazymummy · 09/05/2011 16:43

This really brings back memories of when I was little, we had lovely comfy candy striped sheets, flannelette in the winter and real cotton in the summer. I have never since found sheets so soft .
OP what a lovely thing to do for your baby. Yes people really did used to cut and sew big sheets down for their cots. A lot of people seem to have lost the ability to make anything for themselves nowadays.
And you and your baby are lucky to have a real silver cross pram. I bet you will get quite a few admiring glances when you are out and about.

missnevermind · 09/05/2011 16:44

I have bought a set of candy striped flanellette sheets from the charity shop to do this with.
I am glad I am not the only one.

Firkytoodle · 09/05/2011 16:46

DD's moses basket bottom sheets were all pillowcases because we were horribly skint when she was born. I'd just slide the mattress in and tuck the excess underneath. I cut down big cheap fleece blankets to make smaller ones and DS still uses them now 6 years later. Top sheets were just hemmed rectangles from larger bedsheets.

When DD went into a cot I used single duvet covers instead to cover the mattress, put the mattress inside and tucked the rest underneath. They were lovely and soft because they were mine when I was a child and again she is using them now. When she dribbled on them e.g. I would just flip the mattress over to the other clean side. I have made one fitted sheet for DS, which was easy enough- but I cant be arsed to make any more so he is sleeping on some beautifully patterned duvet cover bed sheets atm, which are lovely and bright.

That woman is completely stupid.

VajazzHands · 09/05/2011 16:51

Bloody hell your friend is a knob.

BUt can I just say I misread your OP and couldn't figure out how you managed to be pregnant....what with getting married 41 years ago!

LunaticIsOnTheGrass · 09/05/2011 16:52

My stepmum made cot sheets out of the candy striped sheets for my DS1

Still going strong with DD 13 yrs later.

Actually I can remember having the sheets on my bed as a child so they are at least 30 yrs old.

I heart them .

cwtch4967 · 09/05/2011 17:02

I made all my cot and pram sheets from old cotton sheets - why waste money!
Your friends friend is being an idiot!

strandedbear · 09/05/2011 17:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

peachyuk · 09/05/2011 17:16

your friend will have a fit around me

i've cut up old sheets, got a cheap fleece blanket from ikea and cut that down

i've even cut the feet out of dd's sleep suits and just put socks on her feet

KittyChat · 09/05/2011 17:19

I'm going to do this, too. I like oldraver's suggestion of making them into pillowcase-type covers.

ddubsgirl · 09/05/2011 17:32

i did this with my first for his cradle,sheets for it were so much and i had a king size sheet,cut it up and made loads of smaller ones for it,saved a fortune.

QuintessentialPains · 09/05/2011 17:35

Your friend is a loon.

My mum made me plenty of sheets for moses basket and cot from old, good quality cotton sheets.

Icelollycraving · 09/05/2011 17:56

Can u make me some?! I've just posted in chat about pram sheets!
I love the old stripey sheets!

heliumballoons · 09/05/2011 18:14

YANBU, I had sheets cut and made into pram sheets.

Not that I did them or used such good quality material.

I'm sure your 41 yr old flannelette is better quality than my ASDA smartprice cheap cotton ones were.

skybluepearl · 09/05/2011 20:06

you are very clever recycling and saving money. she on the other hand will never use second hand things and is stupidly throwing her money away.

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