We’ve all been there. It’s time to change the sheets on our bed, and we wrestle with the fitted sheet like it’s the bedding incarnation of Hulk Hogan. The sheet almost never goes on right the first time. We think we’ve done it right, then realize we’ve put the horizontal side on lengthways, and it just won’t fit. Even after the sheet goes on properly, there can be problems, like a corner popping off the first time someone sits on the bed.
Beth McLeod to the rescue. McLeod, owner of Quahog Bay Bedding in Brunswick, has developed a custom fitted sheet with a feature called CinchFit. It allows the user to adjust an elastic cord integrated into the sheet, tightening or loosening the fit so it goes on perfectly and no one gets entangled in sheets in the middle of the night. The top of the sheet is clearly marked head, and the bottom is marked foot, so it’s always clear which fitted corner goes where. The cords tuck away into their own little storage pocket sewn onto the sheets so the sheets can be cleaned without worrying about harming the washer or dryer.
McLeod got her start making custom sheets for her sailboats, which have triangular-shaped berths. “I was just having so much trouble getting the angle right to make the sheets work,” she said.
When she finally got it right, she created a universal template for boat berths, and then decided to make them herself instead of selling the template or sending the work overseas. That was four years ago. Since then, she’s copyrighted a curtain design for boats (the curtains hang on cording, so no hole in the boat); created custom sheets that don’t rip for adjustable beds that split down the middle; and developed a footed blanket that keeps the bottom of the blanket tucked in so your bed stays made. In the past six months, she’s moved into the recreational vehicle market.
McLeod will make custom sheets for any shape or size bed. One unusual order called for sheets for two queen beds pushed together.
“I think they either had big dogs, or a lot of kids,” she said. “We get all kinds of weird requests like that.”
The sheets for the adjustable beds have been a top seller because many other brands tend to rip, McLeod said. Her sheets use the principles of sail repair, adding a reinforcement square in critical stress centers.
All of Quahog Bay’s sheets are sold online only, mostly through Amazon.com but also through Etsy.com and Ebay.com. A 300-thread count CinchFit home sheet set ranges from $67.99 to $199.99.
— MEREDITH GOAD
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