We brought our own bedding with us. It was one of the best ideas I had, bringing our own bedding wherever we go. Just in case the sheets at the hotel weren't perfect, we always have something to sleep between. Perhaps I am a bit of a germaphobe, perhaps a bit OCD, but in reality, the guarantee of a happy sleep between our own sheets was too good to pass up.
Unfortunately we didn't bring them from home when we left Perth, Western Australia in November 2011. I had done a heap of research on the subject though. What type of sleep sheet did I want? Would it be sewed up on the side or not? Would I spend $10 on a cheap bit of satin or $50 on one made out of silk? Could I get away with just packing a cotton double sheet or two? Yes, I did become quite attentive to this subject.
We left on our trip without travel sleep sheets. Not even a sarong to put between me and a dirty bed. Luckily, right up to the moment that the sleep sheets did come into our lives, we did not need them. Lucky alright.
The time came to get these travel sleep sheet things in order. I went back to one of my favourite posts about the subject of sleep sheets. Check out Beers & Beans post about making sleep sheets by clicking here. I really love this article. The writer even shows you how to make a sleep sack out of a double sheet. Nice!
We decided that making a sleep sack wouldn't really work for us. We like to sleep next to each other after all. So, back we went to looking at flat sheets again. Tip. It is very rare to find flat sheets in Malaysia. If they do exist, they are expensive. We had a lot of trouble finding double sheets. Back to the drawing board.
Next, was to a haberdashery store. Here we found the thinnest cotton fabric that existed without it turning into something like muslin, all holey like. The fabric was 90cm wide. That's wide enough for one person to lay on. I think we have a winner. It was then just deciding how long we wanted it to be. Andrew is about 190 cm tall, so he needed to be able to lay on it completely with enough material left over to place a pillow under. So we decided on 250cm in length.
As we were going to make double flat sheets. And two of them. We had to get four pieces of material, all at 250cm in length. No problem! Material got. Then to the sewing ladies. There seems to be one on nearly every second corner in Melaka. And they tend to speak great English. We explained what we wanted. Sew two of the pieces lengthwise together, then hem all the way around. This will make a sheet. Then do it again for the second one.
We picked up our new travel sleep sheets the next day. It cost about $20 AUD for the material in total and around $3 AUD for the sewing. They are extremely light and roll / fold up to next to nothing in our bags. Nice!
Our travel sleep sheets are perfect. They fit on a king sized bed perfectly. One underneath us, one on top of us. We have used them on single beds also. Just fold one over and you have a single bed travel sheet. Along with using our sleep sheets on gross beds, we also use them just as a top sheet. Many places throughout Asia have clean bedding but only supply a blanket. I like to have a sheet between me and a blanket.
I love our travel sleep sheets. Yes, I do.
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8 thoughts on “Travel Sleep Sheets – Don’t Buy Them. Make Them”
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Ah, that’s a sleep sheet. Finally.
I’m toying the idea of bringing my own sleep sheet or a sleeping bag. Haven’t decided yet. Any advise?
It really depends on where you are going. Most hostels supply bedding these days, it just depends if it is clean or not 😀
In Asia, you can get away with a sleep sheet, or sarong or two even, as bedding… just enough to cover the bed and pillow you are on, and then for yourself.
If you are heading elsewhere, perhaps a sleeping bag. However, I probably wouldn’t take a sleeping bag with me as it may only get used once or twice… if I was to, I would get the smallest and lightest bag possible!
We have heard that if you take your own sheets and there is bed bugs in the bed then your stuck with them.
Have you found this to be the case?
Great question! We’ve used our sleep sheets on numerous occasions and haven’t had any issues with bed bugs coming with us. For us, it is more important to get a semi-decent sleep than to worry about bringing bugs with us… we always wash them anyhow. Some beds are just.so.gross!