Turning Flat Sheets Into Fitted Sheets (Twin size)

I don't know about most of you, but for us, it's a waste of money, almost, to buy a full set of sheets, because only the fitted half gets used.  My kids are just like their daddy.  They don't like the top sheet and will kick it off and it just gets dragged around the house, making everything a mess from there on out.  They're great fort-makers, but they're "not dark enough" according to the kids.  I don't know why I kept hanging on to the top sheets for so many years...maybe it was in hopes that the kids would over-come their crazy stage of kicking them off and I'd finally get to use them.  After pricing the cost of actual water-proof bed covers for a couple of my "still-night-wetters", I was taken aback by how much they cost!  Good grief! For the good quality ones that will last more than one night/one washing, the base price was about a hundred dollars!  No thanks!  I started to think back to the day when I cloth diapered one of my kiddos.  My sister-in-law had purchased some PUL fabric for a fairly decent price and that brought on the thought process of....how can I turn one of those large pieces of fabric into a fitted sheet?!  I started researching online and found a whole bunch of sites that had measurements that were needing to be converted (you know me and math) or were in an entirely foreign language.  No amount of "speaking slow while raising your voice" would make me understand that...especially since the pictures were sort of blurry.  I just wanted exact measurements.  I could muddle through the rest!  Well, I purchased the PUL fabric for 3 sheets (twin size) and brought them home.  The cost (as staggering as it was) was still cheaper than buying ONE mattress cover (plus, I got a 50% coupon so I could go back and get another cut of fabric to make a couple more extras).  Since I didn't have an exact measurement to go by, I guessed at the amounts I'd need.  I got 3 yards of each of the three colors.  I came home and started to stress out about cutting into this $12.99/yard fabric, because if I messed up, there was no going back and we'd be out that much money!  EEEEK!  So, I sat and thought some more and remembered the top sheets that were sitting in my cupboard collecting dust.  BINGO!  My practice materials!!! I got it out and.....

...it never fails.

I started off by cutting off the seams.  Then, I cut out the 10.5" squares from each corner (this much, I DID get from my online research).  I stitched those up to make it "fitted" and then found some extra elastic that I had here.  I cut that up into 8 equal pieces (I was planning on making 2 mock-ups before cutting into the real thing).  I stretched them out and stitched them on.  VIOLA......it was too big for the mattress.  So after a few quick recalculations, I went back to the drawing board and started over on another top sheet.  I finished that on up and.....IT FIT PERFECTLY!!!!!!!!!!!  So then I followed the same steps again:

Cut material to 58" by 92".
Cut 10.5 inch squares off each corner
Stitch them to make them "fitted"
Sew in 12" of elastic in each corner to help it stay on the mattress**

This is the end result:

Pretty!!!!!  If you want added protection, you can put layers on underneath this, but it fits like a fitted sheet should!  I'll let ya know how these work out.  This is on Terra's bed (since the cats sometimes don't seem to think their litter box is the place to "go").  We sprayed down her bed with citrus spray (since that's supposed to repel cats from "doing their thing" and put this on over top of it.  We'll see how it goes!  The real test will be for the boys.  When I get theirs up and running, I'll give an update!

**NOTES: Since I used PUL fabric, I didn't make a hem or a casing for the elastic....it doesn't fray.  If you're turning a top sheet into a fitted, you'll want to at least surge around the edges if you don't want to hem it up or make a casing.