Caravan, RV and Boat Bedding: Custom Sheets for Odd Berths

Caravan, motorhome and boat berths are the one place where "close enough" bedding is genuinely unusable. The bed is tapered, boxed in on three sides, or shorter than anything sold in a shop. Here is how to get bedding that actually fits it.

Can you get sheets made for a caravan or boat bed?

Yes, and it is the only sensible option. Caravan, RV and marine berths are almost never rectangular in the way a domestic mattress is: they taper toward the bow or the wheel arch, they sit against bulkheads on two or three sides, and the mattresses are frequently cut on site. Standard sheets have to be tucked, folded or forced, which means they come loose the first time the vehicle moves. A made-to-measure fitted sheet cut to the actual shape holds. We cut to any dimension at standard price, with no minimum order.

The four shapes that defeat shop-bought bedding

• Tapered island beds. Common in caravans and yachts: wider at the head, narrower at the foot. A rectangular fitted sheet bags at the narrow end.
• Berths against a wall on two or three sides. You cannot lift the mattress to tuck a sheet under, so the sheet has to grip on its own. Depth accuracy matters more here than anywhere else.
• Short beds. Many European caravan berths are 10–20 cm shorter than a domestic single or double. Using a longer sheet means excess fabric bunched at the foot.
• Split and drop-down beds. Bunks, dinette conversions and drop-down doubles are all built to the vehicle, not to a chart.

Why linen earns its place in a small space

Weight and humidity are the two constraints nobody thinks about until they are living with them. Linen is light, packs small, and — unlike cotton — dries fast in a space with limited ventilation, which matters enormously on a boat or in a van in winter. Flax also resists mildew better than cotton, so bedding that lives in a damp locker between trips survives it. And it does not need ironing, which in a vehicle with no iron is not a small thing.

At 160–175 GSM it is substantial enough to last, and because the fabric is woven 250–280 cm wide, even a wide island berth can be cut in one piece with no seam running down the middle.

How to measure a tapered or boxed-in berth

1. Width at the head and width at the foot, measured separately. If they differ by more than 2 cm, say so — we cut the taper.
2. Length down the centre line.
3. Depth of the mattress at its thickest point.
4. Note which sides are against a wall. We can add extra grip where you cannot tuck.
5. Photograph the berth from above with a tape laid across it. For odd shapes this is worth more than the numbers alone.

Common questions

Can you make a fitted sheet with a cut corner or an angled end? Yes. Tapered, angled, notched for a wheel arch, or with one rounded corner — send a photo and the measurements.

Does a caravan-size sheet cost more than a standard one? No. Everything is cut to order anyway, so the price follows the nearest standard size, not the difficulty.

Do you make bedding for bunk beds and dinette conversions? Yes, including short bunks and split doubles.

What about a duvet cover for an odd-shaped duvet? Also made to measure. Measure the insert, not the berth.

Is there a minimum order? No. A single custom fitted sheet is a valid order, and code LINEN10 still applies.

Related reading: How to measure your bed · Where to buy custom size linen bedding · Deep pocket fitted sheets