How to Cut the Pillowtop to Rotate a Mattress

Luxurious pillowtop mattresses softly cradle sleepers, providing hours of excellent slumber, but they vary in durability. In the past, mattress manufacturers recommended flipping and rotating mattresses once every two months to prevent indents from forming and to level out wear. Most pillowtop mattresses are plush only on the top, so you can rotate them but not flip them. Over time, dents form in the pillowtops, creating uncomfortable sleeping conditions, and cancel out the advantages of the supple cushion. With a few cuts and a lot of stitches, you can remove a pillowtop to establish a regular mattress rotation schedule.

Seam rippers
Ticking fabric
Fabric scissors
Curved needle
Nylon upholstery thread

Instructions

- 1
  Locate where the pillowtop ends and the mattress begins to determine where to begin cutting. Cut below the pillowtop with the seam rippers, starting in a corner of the mattress. Cut around the entire mattress.
- 2
  Lift the pillowtop off of the mattress and discard it.
- 3
  Measure the mattress. Add 3 inches in all directions. This measurement shows how much ticking fabric you will need to recover the top of the mattress.
- 4
  Lay the fabric on top of the mattress and confirm the measurements. Cut the ticking using the fabric scissors and center the ticking on the mattress.
- 5
  Use the curved needle and the nylon upholstery thread to sew the ticking to the top of the mattress. Start in one corner at the head of the mattress, 3 inches from the edge of the fabric, and sew to the foot of the mattress. Use small stitches to tightly bind the pieces together.
- 6
  Pull the ticking taut over the mattress, starting at the sewn edge, and smooth out any wrinkles. Sew the opposite side from the head to the foot.
- 7
  Sew the ticking across the head of the mattress. Remove any slack and sew the edge along the foot.
- 8
  Eliminate any bubbles in the mattress top by ripping out seams near the problem area, pulling the fabric taut and stitching again. Cut the excess fabric away after the top is smooth.
- 9
  Rotate the head of the mattress so that it is at the foot of the bed and then flip it over. Repeat every two weeks for three months. Flip and rotate once every two months after the initial period.

The Size of a Trailer Mattress

How to Get a Hump Out of a Mattress Pillow Top After Flipping

Mattresses