Abstract: A fitted top sheet for a bed has pockets for receiving a mattress at a toe end of the sheet, and a transverse pleat or flap at the toe end for accommodating the user's feet. The pleat and the mattress pocket are formed form a single notch cut into each corner of the toe end of the sheet, with the opposed sides of each notch joined together with a single seam extending the length of the notch. The seam may be formed from a line of stitching of a contrasting color from the sheet body, to form a visual indicator to readily identify the upper or lower sides of the sheet. The sheet is fabricated by a method of cutting a notch into the two lower toe corners of the sheet, with the notch having an interior, relatively steep region, merging with a peripheral relatively shallow region.

Abstract: A retractable hook and loop fastener including a pocket of opposing substantially flat surfaces closed on opposite side edges and a rear edge, and having a front opening, an insert retractably secured within the pocket including a hook fastener portion, a tab arranged to extend beyond the front opening of the pocket and a slot through the insert having a rear end and a front end, an elastic anchor connecting the insert to the rear edge of the pocket, and a connector, such as a bar tack or rivet, joining points on opposite surfaces of the pocket through the slot. The arrangement of the present invention provides a fastener which reliably protects the hook portion from gathering lint or snagging other items during laundering or handling. The bar tack and slot serve to guide the travel of the insert in a relatively straight path without travelling too far out of the pocket or too far into the pocket, and eliminating problems with the insert twisting or folding inside the pocket.

Abstract: In a garment, such as briefs or diapers for incontinent patients, which employ hook-and-loop fasteners, impairment of fastener operation by accumulation of lint on the hook-fastener tab is avoided by storing the hook-fastener tab in a pocket of the garment when the garment is being laundered. Preferably, the hook-fastener tab is secured in the pocket by elastic material so that it can be extended, stretching the elastic material, to fasten it to the corresponding female or loop-type fastener tab and will automatically be retracted into the pocket by the elastic material, as soon as it is released. The pocket may comprise PVC or other semi-rigid pliable smooth material and may be fabricated together with the fastener tab separately from the garment and attached to it is a "retrofit". Alternatively, it may be formed integrally with the garment.

Abstract: An article of bedding, such as a bedsheet, bedspread, blanket, or the like, provides additional fabric for a user's feet by means of a pleat formed by a pair of oppositely-folded parallel folds extending across the width of the article. In preferred embodiments, the folds of material forming the pleat are seamed together only at the ends of the pleat so that the medial parts of the pleat can unfold during use. The seams will hold the pleat in place so that when the bed is unoccupied, the folds will lie flat, especially if pressed. The seams may be arranged to coincide with the upper edge of the mattress and, between the seams and the side edges of the mattress, fabric equivalent to two of the three layers of the pleat may be removed to give a flat valance portion.