Buying a twin won't work, because the top dimension will be all wrong. Your problem is with the depth. I have a standard thickness mattress, and I just make sure that it is smooth on top and then pull any excess under the mattress.

Garters...yep...Garters, I found a package at Walmart in the area with the pillow protectors. They look like a larger size of a hosiery garter with the garter holder on both ends. There are 4 in the package and I use all four to pull those larger pocket sheets tighter. The sheets aren't as tight as most small pocket sheets, but are not extra loose either. Work really well for me.

Oh boy!
The other problem is that the darn top sheet is so wide. I can deal with the bottom sheet, I just tucked it under...but I cut off the side of the top sheet and hemmed it. What are you supposed to do with top sheets that the sides almost hang to the floor...:)
Karen L

I have the same problem, both with the fitted sheet and the mattress pad. I guess I move around a lot while I sleep, because no matter how I tuck the excess fabric under, by morning there's a lot of extra fabric on the bed. And sometimes, the sheet just came off one of the corners.

Land's End still makes a few sheets that fit up to a 16" mattress. They work fairly well on a 12" mattress.

Instead of the garters mentioned upthread, I found these little plastic tubes that fit over the "piping" on the mattress edges. You slide them on over the fitted sheet and mattress pad, right over the piping, or beading as the instructions call it. The first night I tried them, I was thrilled to wake up in the morning to a nice, taut bottom sheet. I think I got them at Linens & Things, but I suspect BB & Beyond has them too. I like them because you don't have to lift up the mattress to slide them on.

I've also seen a thin foam "corner" that you put on the bed under the fitted sheet, that is supposed to keep the sheet in place.

Can you tell I've spent too much time trying to solve this problem?

Karen, I guess you don't tuck your top sheet in? I always buy the next larger size of top sheet, say a queen for a full bed, just so that the sheet stays tucked in better when I sleep, which makes making the bed so much easier in the morning. So I like the larger top sheets. But I could live without the huge fitted sheets.

I'm glad someone else has this problem. I guess the manufacturers think all beds are really deep. Mine is 12" . It's not old either, about a year old. I would have bought a deeper one if I knew about this problem. Drives me nuts. I do have those little tubes for the piping and they help a little but they come off pretty easily for me. What a mess

This problem is my present have-to-solve one. I’ve
been searching “How to alter a deep pocket sheet to a regular pocket sheet” online
but to no avail. I have 4 sets of new
sheets that I cannot return so need to come up with a solution. I can sew but need some advice - does anybody
have some? Those garters and tubes and
whatnots do not work for me. I just need
a tight-fitting fitted sheet!

Completely understand your disgruntled statement. Mine is the top sheet not big enough when you use a blanket.

Alliemacdee: I have an inexpensive sheet set that I purchased at Target. There was a long thread here about these sheets a few months ago. They have standard elastic at the edges of the bottom sheet. They also have in each corner, about 4-6 inches in from the edge, a piece of elastic to grip a less-thick mattress. If you sew, you could do something similar by sewing a pocket onto the sheet at each corner, maybe 10 inches long and an inch wide, and inserting a piece of elastic.

I have a set of antique twin beds that are smaller than a standard twin. I just use a twin flat sheet and use bed bands to secure the corners.

graywings123 . . . THANK YOU! That's brilliant. I was thinking I'd have to cut a few inches from the perimeter of the entire sheet, then make a new casing, then feed elastic through it - doable but a lot of work. I like your idea and will try it!

A visual! Although I understood what you meant, graywings123, this confirms it. Thanks again. I hope to have time to try this on one set tomorrow. I'll let you know!

I was curious about how they had actually done it so I went upstairs - with camera - to take a look. One thing to note - that pocket is 18 inches long.

I love very good quality sheets. I spent $7K, YES, $7,000 in one of those electrical beds. The mattress is attached to the base by its sheer weight, over 200#! impossible to lift. However, it's only 12-13" high. ALL good quality sheets come in either deep pockets or extra-deep and for my life I cannot figure out how to use them. I have no way to insert in between mattress and base a large amount of material and cannot figure out that elastic trick shown in pic...what is it? I need some serious help. My King size bed has two twin bases but my mattress is a king and moves all at same time, so those that are for a divided king (two twins adjustable) do not work for me. Any ideas? I'm truly desperate and can't saw much or pay $50+ to get them altered. HELP!!! Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to all!

I finally took in all 4 corners of the last fitted sheet? It worked!

How???

Where each corner is I made a new seam about 3/4 of an inch in from old corner seam. I did not cut anything off.

I have the opposite problem. My mattress is 21 inches deep. I have a cuddlebed topper on it which I absolutely love. It makes it even deeper however. I have very deep pockets but they pull off the corners and start crawling up the sides. My hands are not very helpful these days so I can't pull on them my husband has to do it. I especially hate when I buy good quality expensive deep pockets sheets then when washed they shrink so much they barely go on the mattress at all, forget about going to the corners.

For those looking for shallow pockets check here.

http://www.hardtofindsheets.com/super_low_profile_fitted_only_sheets.htm

Vrobaldo didn't the manufacturer offer a source for sheets that fit and work on that specific bed? That's the first place I would inquire.

I'm thinking of going back to making the bed with two flat sheets. Another problem today is the weight of the mattress. Would the manufactures consider catering to customers?

Sheet

I just bought a new mattress and it is 12”. The mattress protector they sold me is 18 inches deep and it is useless!!! Causes painful rolls and folds in the material. I even tried it with an added 3 inch topper ... so now bed and mattress is 15”. Still too much material on 18” cover or fitted sheet.

I am also disabled so putting on sheets that fit is hard for me without trying to have to commit to acrobatics to get a 18” to fit! The mattress is foam so super slippery too!

I spent over $4000 on mattress and base and can’t even get the dumb cover they sold (universal size they argued is 18”) to fit.

I already regret the new mattress puI “ bu

Part of the problem is that people assume that their mattress is the standard, advertised size. Like an standard King is supposed to be 76x80 but MANY manufacturers cut their mattresses short, believe it or not. Tempurpedic is notorious for cutting their mattresses short (Saves them money? Who knows.) The point is - the pocket depth being wrong is not the only problem you will have with getting a tight fit and avoiding swimming in bunched-up sheets on your bed.
We have a Tempurpedic King mattress that is actually 74.5 inches wide by 79 inches long and 11.5 inches high.
The thing to do is to order from custom sheet companies. These sheets are not that much more expensive than many premade sheets and often are higher quality. We ordered fitted sheets to match our existing sheet sets (similar colors) and the prices were quite reasonable.
Good companies we found include CozyTown (https://cozytownlinens.com/ Call or read instructions on how to order custom sheets - they want you to choose the general size in the dropdown list then in the comments section tell them the actual mattress measurements). They use only long staple cotton. Their Italian and 300 thread count sheets are really nice and ship fast, while their 500 TC takes a bit longer to order.
CustomMattressFactory.com is another company with 600 TC organic cotton that is even less expensive than the former company.
But there are a lot of companies doing this sort of customization. We gave up searching for premade sheets to fit the beds and have finally gotten sheets that fit.

Me too!! :-(