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igenlodeI managed to put my foot through a sheet this morning -- not the sides-to-middle one I only just finished, but the bottom sheet that shrank in its first wash (I didn't read the label and hadn't realised in any case that rushing it through on the machine's 1 hour programme would heat the water to 60C) and had to have a strip inserted into it in order to make it fit the bed again.
(click for full view)
I assumed that the seam must have ripped along the stitching line, but in fact it is still quite sound (and the stitches hasn't burst either) -- the fabric has simply torn through at a point definitely clear of the seam. Although it may not be a coincidence that it is close by.
The other odd-seeming thing is that it tore down towards the foot end of the bed when the vast majority of the wear takes place at the top end, especially if you're as short as I am. Although I believe that in practice sheets always do tear under the impact of feet, presumably because the forces involved at that point are far more localised -- and I do take care to rotate the sheet to try to even out the usage, so that section has been lain on quite a lot in the past.
I note that the section which wore thin was *not* the second-hand strip I had inserted from an old sheet to make up the missing length, but the original brand-new material at the end! (Possibly the difference between 100% cotton and my old polycotton sheets, but the sheet in question is only a few years old; it was bought from new in 2019, whereas the top sheet that wore thin was so old that I have no idea where it came from.) If it had been the patch that went, it might have been worth unpicking all the stitching and putting in a new one, but since it is the main fabric of the sheet it isn't worth it. And it's a fitted sheet, which means that you run into all sorts of problems with the elastic if you trim it back any closer to the end; the only reason I was able to insert a strip in the first place was because the elastic doesn't run full length. I have to say I'm not impressed that it apparently wore out so quickly, but maybe the extra seam did impose unexpected strains on the fabric...
By great good fortune I currently have a spare, so this one can just go into the rag-pile -- although, being seamed and pre-shaped, it won't be all that much use as a source of fabric and should possibly just be sent for recycling! It has been nice having a spare sheet these past few months as it has meant that I don't have to have to get it dry again before bedtime every time I wash it :-(
(click for full view)I assumed that the seam must have ripped along the stitching line, but in fact it is still quite sound (and the stitches hasn't burst either) -- the fabric has simply torn through at a point definitely clear of the seam. Although it may not be a coincidence that it is close by.
The other odd-seeming thing is that it tore down towards the foot end of the bed when the vast majority of the wear takes place at the top end, especially if you're as short as I am. Although I believe that in practice sheets always do tear under the impact of feet, presumably because the forces involved at that point are far more localised -- and I do take care to rotate the sheet to try to even out the usage, so that section has been lain on quite a lot in the past.
I note that the section which wore thin was *not* the second-hand strip I had inserted from an old sheet to make up the missing length, but the original brand-new material at the end! (Possibly the difference between 100% cotton and my old polycotton sheets, but the sheet in question is only a few years old; it was bought from new in 2019, whereas the top sheet that wore thin was so old that I have no idea where it came from.) If it had been the patch that went, it might have been worth unpicking all the stitching and putting in a new one, but since it is the main fabric of the sheet it isn't worth it. And it's a fitted sheet, which means that you run into all sorts of problems with the elastic if you trim it back any closer to the end; the only reason I was able to insert a strip in the first place was because the elastic doesn't run full length. I have to say I'm not impressed that it apparently wore out so quickly, but maybe the extra seam did impose unexpected strains on the fabric...
By great good fortune I currently have a spare, so this one can just go into the rag-pile -- although, being seamed and pre-shaped, it won't be all that much use as a source of fabric and should possibly just be sent for recycling! It has been nice having a spare sheet these past few months as it has meant that I don't have to have to get it dry again before bedtime every time I wash it :-(
