When I visited the US there was a fitted sheet on the mattress, then another sheet, the blanket and another sheet on top. So the blanket was “sandwiched” in between two sheets. In Europe we have blanket covers which are closed from every side except from one side where you put it in. That prevents it from moving around. The American bedding was annoying at first and I felt not as hygienic because the blanket will inevitably touch you. But it’s also good because if you’re too hot you can easily remove the blanket and just cover yourself with one sheet.
Is that common or do you have different ways of making the bed?
Edit: Thanks to everyone who responded. Yes it was in hotels, I get now that a top sheet on top of the blanket is not common. That setup actually makes much more sense for a home and it is similar to the setup used in hospitals in the UK (although everyone else uses duvet covers in the UK).
Comments
Yeah that’s not normal.
Where were you? I’ve never seen a sheet over a blanket, that’s fuckin weird
>felt not as hygienic because the blanket will inevitably touch you
What are you doing to your blankets at home that you feel touching a blanket is unhygienic?
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I have never seen a sheet over the blanket. It’s always been fitted sheet on the mattress, then a loose sheet, then the blanket/comforter/duvet.
Sometimes you put a blanket or quilt on top of the comforter if it’s cold but I’ve never seen “sheet, blanket, sheet” before
The fitted sheet is to protect the mattress and keep it clean. The second sheet is designed either to be slept on top of or underneath depending upon if you want to preserve the cleanliness of the comforter or provide excess protection to the mattress.
>I felt not as hygienic because the blanket will inevitably touch you.
Have you considered using clean blankets so they are okay to touch?
>Is that common or do you have different ways of making the bed?
Of course we have different ways of making the bed.
>In Europe
Is this supposed to narrow it down?
There are different ways of making the bed. The sheet on top of the bedspread is mostly a hotel thing. Can’t say about the hotel you stayed in, but at home we do wash our blankets. Sheets get washed often, blankets get washed from time to time.
Never in my life have I seen a bed made like that.
Typical is mattress, fitted sheet, flat sheet, blanket, then quilt/comforter
we don’t put a sheet on top of the blanket. never heard of that, and the idea sounds dumb lol. unless you mean a duvet cover, which is like a giant “blanket pillowcase” intended to protect the blanket itself from needing to be washed as often. you can just wash the duvet cover usually.
most common is fitted sheet on the mattress, sheet, blanket. the blanket may be a blanket or a duvet with a cover.
Having a sheet on top is unusual. The standard set up is fitted sheet under you, then sheet and blanket on top. The blanket can touch you, it’s not gross – it gets washed, too.
Edit to add: tons of people use a nonstandard set up. My mom uses the sheets and a heavy comforter, my dad uses just a sheet so thin I’m pretty sure it started out as a cheap tablecloth.
That’s normal in hotels in the US
And very comfy imo 😄
That’s a common setup in hotels as it makes it easier for them to clean and make the bed… Much less common in homes.
That’s a hotel thing. At home I just use a fitted sheet and a comforter but a normal bedding set would also include a flat sheet to go between the fitted sheet and comforter.
So typically we have a fitted sheep, top sheet, blanket and bed spread.
Sometimes the bedspread is decorative, and sometimes it’s an additional blanket .
That’s only done at hotels because it’s easier/faster for them than a duvet. Nobody does it at home.
Sheet on top of the blanket? That’s is odd. we might have have additional blanket… Or two on top, I have one on top of my quilt, but never heard of putting a sheet on top
I don’t know what you mean when you say there was “another sheet on top”. Do you mean that there was a bedspread (not a “sheet”) on top of the blanket? If so, the arrangement you describe is common, although you may have more than one blanket, or a comforter instead of a blanket and a bedspread. And why would the blanket “inevitably” touch you? Your body is between the fitted sheet and the sheet above that (which is called a “top sheet”), and there is no reason, let alone an “inevitable” one, that you will ever touch the blanket unless you deliberately try to do so.
I have seen this done at hotels. Sometimes instead of encasing the heavier blanket (we call it a comforter, some call it a tog) in a duvet, they just use sheets.
If this was a hotel, the top “sheet” was probably to protect the blanket from stains and make the bedding easier to wash. Sort of like a duvet cover, but easier to take on and off.
Generally, Americans at home have a fitted sheet around the mattress, an optional top sheet (becoming less popular with younger generations), and a blanket on top. A sheet on top of the blanket would be bizarre.
That is not normal, sheet on top wtf
Having a sheet on top isn’t typical in the US. Usually there would be a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and then a blanket, comforter or duvet on top. Some people, though it’s not as common now, have a decorative bedspread on top which is taken off before sleeping.
I think people find it easier to wash a top sheet than to have to remove, wash, and replace a duvet cover when they launder their bedding.
When you say sheet over the blanket, do you mean a quilt?
It wasn’t a duvet?
I’ve seen in done in a few hotels while traveling but only in the last couple years. I assume it’s to make it easier to wash the top sheet since comforters don’t normally get washed. It’s not something that’s done in homes as far as I know.
That is the way I make my bed. I just use that top sheet as the bedspread.
I have only experienced that in a few hotels. Instead of a duvet cover, they sometimes do the sandwich thing to make linen changes easier. They often don’t even have fitted sheets, but just flat sheets folded to act as the same thing.
At home we don’t do that, though. Some people don’t use top sheets, but typically we have a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and then whatever top blanket(s). Usually it’s a comforter inside a duvet cover, but sometimes a quilt, blanket, or comforter without a cover, or multiple if it’s cold.
I have only seen that at a “high end” hotel in a cold weather environment.
I have a fitted sheet, then a top sheet and a comforter. We tend to use top sheets because we don’t often use duvet covers, so the top sheets are easier to clean than the comforter.
The general concept is normal, but with one alteration: There is normally a decorative bedspread on top, instead of another sheet. The sheet is now what many hotels do, and there’s kind of a wild story behind this.
Years ago a procedural crime drama (probably CSI but I’m not sure) popularized the notion that hotel bedspreads were never laundered and hence were covered with, shall we say, the residue of people doing the deed. In response to this, many hotel chains stopped using bedspreads and replaced them with an additional white sheet so their guests could be confident of their cleanliness. I don’t travel as much as I used to, but what little I do, I haven’t seen a bedspread in a hotel in years.
In my experience I’ve seen this in a few hotels but never at someone’s home. Usual routine is (sometimes) a mattress cover, fitted sheet, regular sheet and blanket. Sometimes there will be a comforter inside a duvet (three-sided cover) on top along with or instead of a blanket. Alternatively, a bedspread can take the place of a comforter or duvet.
I travel a lot and I’ve never once seen this. I’m not sure what all y’all saying this is common at hotels are talking about.
Mattress, mattress cover, fitted sheet, top sheet, blanket, bed spread. What you are talking about sounds like a sleeping bag.
Were you at a hotel? I have noticed some hotels recently have strange bedding that isn’t normal for most people. They almost seemed like simplified duvet covers
You were probably at a hotel. As gross as it sounds, they probably did this so they didn’t have to wash the blanket as often.
Most of us have a fitted sheet, a loose sheet and a blanket. We also have decorative coverlets or matched extra pillow covers and bedspreads.
The only time I’ve seen a sheet on top of a blanket was when my host shared her space with two cats who both liked to nap on her bed during the day. She made her bed with an extra sheet on top to avoid getting cat hair in the linens that she slept with. (She removed the top sheet from the bed each night.)
Odd. Never saw that. Were you in a hotel?
For me it’s always a fitted sheet on the mattress, a top sheet and a blanket/quilt depending on what you’re putting on the bed. I currently just have a small quilt on it. Although sometimes I’ll put a couple of throws on the bed for a decoration. Also decorative pillows on the bed after making the bed.
That’s a hotel thing and not something I’ve ever seen in someone’s house. I think they’re trying to get a duvet cover look without having to actually change a duvet cover every day.
The second sheet over the blanket is a thing in hotels but not in normal homes
It sounds like you were in a hotel. The blanket sandwich method of making beds tends to be used in hotels.
In our homes, typical Americans use a bottom/fitted sheet, a top/flat sheet and a blanket.
Ive seen tons of different people make their beds differently. I have a fitted sheet and a comforter, depending on the temp ill switch between which one is on me, and which one is kicked to the foot of the bed.
I’ve never seen a blanket between sheets. It might be a hotel thing. I’ve always seen fitted sheet, top sheet, comforter/quilt or blanket if necessary in homes.
I’ve been in hotels that put that extra top sheet on top of everything, but it’s not a normal practice. They’re trying to protect the blanket as much as possible.
A flat sheet and blanket of any type is normal. Duvets with a cover aren’t the default but are available.
I personally prefer a top sheet and quilt because it’s a cooler option in the night if the blanket is too much. I can wash everything in my washer and dryer at home. Even a comforter fits in my machines.
I’ve seen the blanket sandwich in finer hotels. I love it. We’re currently traveling in Europe and I hate not having a top sheet of any kind. If I’m hot, I like to kick off the duvet or blanket and still be covered by just a sheet.
Were you staying at a hotel? Hotels usually have something over the blanket to protect it, so they can wash it less often.
Here’s our king size winter set up.
Mattress cover, fitted bottom flannel sheet, flannel top sheet, thermal blanket, solid blanket, quilt bedspread.
Summer is mattress cover, fitted cotton bottom sheet, top sheet, thermal blanket, quilt bedspread.
We live in San Diego so temperatures are mostly mild all year.
America is too large of a place to have things be exactly the same. If you live in Florida you may use satin sheets only because it’s so hot. If you live in Minnesota you may use flannel sheets because it’s so cold. If you live somewhere like Pennsylvania that gets all 4 seasons you may use a duvet to have a cooler thinner blanket in spring summer and a thicker warmer one in fall winter. A standard sheet set at the store comes with a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 2 pillowcases. You use a flat sheet to keep a comforter/quilt clean from sweat. Some people use duvets with inserts some don’t. I’ve had both comforters and duvets.
That’s only in hotels/motels. I’ve never seen someone sandwich a blanket in between sheets in a home or even an upscale hotel or BnB.
We have duvet covers as well.
There is a lot of variety in bedding. I personally use a fitted sheet, a top/flat sheet, and a quilt. I like quilts because they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer, which is the majority of the year here in SE Texas.
In North Texas, it’s common to have a fitted sheet, a top sheet, a quilt, and 2-3 blankets, plus a comforter with a duvet cover.
It’s called triple sheeting and started in hotels, which gave the impression that the blankets were kept cleaner. Blankets are not washed between every guest like sheets are. Now it’s just a thing people do if they want to feel bougie
It’s mostly just at hotels, but even then it’s not always a common practice. It is to make it quicker/ more efficient for housekeeping, since putting a comforter inside a duvet and getting it settled correctly takes longer than just tossing an extra sheet atop the comforter. My work puts us up in a four star Marriott during inclement winter weather, as we don’t get snow days due to the nature of our job, and I encounter it there frequently.
This is something they do in hotels so they don’t have to wash the blanket.
Edit: nicer hotels/motels where they actually want it to be clean. Plenty of cheap motels just leave the dirty bedspread for everyone to share.
We put a sheet over the duvet. It’s a white duvet and it would have cat paw prints on it pretty much daily.
Traditional US bedding is a fitted bottom sheet , a top sheet, a blanket, and a bedspread on top. You usually fold the bedspread out of the way.
Washing my cover is a pita, so i put a sheet on top to catch fur, and wash it with the sheets
I’m the only person I know who does that! Yes, I’m American. I do it because my dog sleeps on my bed with me and I don’t want dog hair or dirt on my blanket. Much easier to wash a sheet than a blanket.
I keep a sheet on top of our bed comforter (which is on top of our fitted and regular sheets) because of dog hair; it’s easier to wash the sheet than the comforter, but I don’t think it’s a common bed arrangement.
OP stayed at a hotel and assumed that’s how every American makes their bed.
OPs next question: does every American have a buffet style breakfast?
There should be a sheet on the bed, then on top of you there is another sheet and then a blanket.
I use a fitted sheet and a blanket. No flat sheet anywhere. It’s the way.
I’ve never seen that. Fitted sheet, sheet, comforter or bedspread, maybe a blanket on top in winter. But an actual sheet on top? Maybe for pets, but not otherwise.
We call yours “fart sacks.”
I live in the South, state of Florida, my bed just has the fitted sheet and cover sheet 10 months out of the year. In the few cool months I add a second sheet. During a cooler spell I will replace the sheet with a thin blanket and then add the top sheet back if it gets colder. This year we had an extended cold spell where for a week I had to find an extra blanket.
Now the daytime temps are getting near 32C, this will be live until October.
I have never seen that extra sheet.
The most common is fitted sheet, top sheet, then whatever blankets.
I’ve seen articles saying that increasingly younger people are not using the top sheet at all. They just use the bottom sheet, then a blanket on top. That’s easier now that we have softer blankets and they do better in the wash.
When you buy a sheet set from your local Wal-get And Beyond, it will come with a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and usually two pillowcases (though sets for twin beds may only come with one). The blanket or comforter is generally separate, though they do sell ‘comforter sets’ that include all of the above and a matching comforter.
Generally, the blankets and comforters are designed to be able to be shoved into a washing machine with minimal hassle, so we generally don’t bother with blanket covers. Those are typically reserved for particularly high-end or fragile blankets, such as ones stuffed with down or feathers, or ones that are weighted.
There’s a running debate among younger Americans as to whether we should bother with the flat sheet at all. I’m firmly in the no-flat-sheet camp for my own bed, simply because it gets in the way and I’m generally too warm as it is. It should be noted that those who do use a flat sheet will put it between themselves and the blanket.
I use a fitted sheet and a blanket. I may use another sheet under the blanket for the month or two it actually gets cold here.
That isn’t normal for a US based household.
In my house it’s
Fitted sheet
Flat sheet
Quilted comforter
My husband and I run hot so we don’t have anything additional and the flat sheet is so nice when you want some sort of coverage without all the heat.
I know my in laws do not use flat sheets which is like the biggest debate. Generally speaking it is fitted then flat then whatever additional blankets you want before the comforter.
How the actual fuck is it unhygienic to touch a blanket
How is a blanket touching you be not hygenic?
>In Europe we have blanket covers which are closed from every side except from one side where you put it in. That prevents it from moving around.
Sorry, but this has me cracking up. No it does not. The blanket absolutely can and will move around and bunch up for people who aren’t still while they sleep.
I’m so confused on why you think it’s dirty for your blanket to touch you? Do y’all not just… wash your blankets?
In the US, most people don’t use duvets.
I have fitted sheet on mattress, then a sheet over me, then additional layers depending on temp and comfort. Fluffy comforter (could be fiberfill or down), wool blanket (if it’s going to be cold), and a “thermal” blanket which is loose knit to create a warm air layer
Southerner here. Never had, needed, or wanted a duvet. Hell I don’t use a blanket. Fitted sheet, my naked body, then a flat sheet that half the time isn’t only covering between my ankles and waste. With the AC and a ceiling fan on.
The common set up in an American home is fitted sheet on the mattress, flat sheet over that, and one or more blankets depending on how cold it is the room. Usually one blanket suffices.
I do fitted sheet, flat sheet, and bedspread. In the winter, I put a down comforter in between the flat sheet and bedspread. Much easier than a duvet cover.
On top of the blanket is not a sheet. It is a decorative cover.
It is usually much thicker. Unless you just stayed someplace very weird