How to Cut a Mattress Like a Pro: Step-by-Step Instructions
You can make a futon from your old mattress if you cut it in half. You may need to make a mattress custom-sized to fit in your RV, or perhaps you are downsizing.
With the RIGHT tools, you can cut your mattress in no time.
What types of mattresses can you cut?
innerspring mattresses cannot be cut. It is difficult to cut through the coils in an innerspring mattress. We don’t recommend cutting an innerspring bed. If it is still in good condition, you’re better off donating or disposing of it.
Foam mattresses, such as memory foam, Latex, or general foam, are easier to cut. It is possible to cut pocket spring mattresses, but this requires more effort.
Electric or manual?
It is possible to cut your mattress with a box cutter or general-purpose knife, but the process would take a long time, would require elbow grease and would not be clean or straight.
You can also invest in an electric or hot knife, which are both around $20, to make the task much easier. Later, you can use these knives for other things.
It comes down to your personal taste. Electric knives are easy to use, make straight cuts, and are not expensive.
How to cut your mattresses – desired size or half.
These simple steps will help you to cut a mattress in half, or make any other custom measurements.
Equipment required:
- [Paid Options] Electric bread knife, box saw, handsaw, or hot knife.
- [Common household products] Utility Knife or serrated Bread Knife.
- Use dressmakers shears, or sharp scissors to cut through the mattress cover.
- A measuring tape or ruler is used to measure the dimensions.
- Use a pencil or marker to mark your cutting line.
- Seam ripper [optional] to open the mattress cover seam. You only need this if you plan to keep the mattress cover.
- [Optional] A T-square or any straight-edged plywood or cardboard to make a straight cut.
- You can use a sewing kit and thread (optional) to stitch the mattress cover again. Use a glue or staple gun to adhere to the fabric (not the best solution, but ).
How to cut memory foam, latex or all-foam mattresses.
Step 1: Lay the mattress out on a solid surface, such as plywood or cardboard. You don’t want to damage the bed frame or the flooring by cutting the mattress.
Step 2: Remove the outer mattress cover. Unzip the cover if it is removable and place it aside. If the cover cannot be removed, either use a seam-ripper to cut along the seam or a pair of scissors to cut along one seam. If you intend to reuse the cover, cut along the seam.
Note Never cut the mattress while the cover is on.
Step 3: Mark the dimensions of the cut with a marker or pencil. For a straight cut, measure from the opposite end of the line you are cutting and mark it with straight-edge cardboard or plywood.
Step 4: Choose the tool you want to use (electric or regular knife, bread knives, saws, box cutters, etc.). make light incisions on the line marked. Compressing the foam will make it harder to cut.
Cut the foam in multiple shallow passes until the thickness is reached. The bottom layer tends to be denser and more difficult to cut. You will get cleaner cuts if you use a sawing motion instead of slicing. Apply even pressure when cutting for a straight, clean cut.
When using an electric blade, make several passes rather than trying to cut the whole thickness at once. It might get stuck and you may end up with an uneven cut.
Step 5: Trim any excess foam.
Step 6: Your mattress has now been cut into two parts. Use a sewing kit to stitch the mattress cover together, or glue it if you prefer. Then enjoy your custom-sized mattress.
How To Cut a Mattress with Pocket Springs
To cut pocket springs, the first step is to remove the mattress cover and place it on a flat surface.
Foam mattresses are just a big block of foam. Pocket spring mattresses, however, have batting foam covering the coils. You can’t just see through the foam mattress.
If you wish to reduce the size of a side or to cut the mattress into two halves, please follow the instructions below.
Reducing dimension:
- Cut the corner or remove the seam of the side that you wish to reduce.
- When the cover is removed you can see that the foam batting has been glued onto the coils.
- Pull the foam batting gently, taking care not to damage it.
- The independent pocket coils are wrapped in fabric.
- Remove the pocket spring from the casing by removing the fabric of the pocket coil.
- Do NOT pull the coils from the pockets as this may damage the upper comfort layers.
- Remove the necessary rows of coils from the pocket, depending on the amount you wish to reduce the dimensions.
- Stitch or glue back the mattress cover.
To divide the mattress in two:
- Mark the centre point after removing the mattress.
- Make a slit in the middle of the mattress with a box cutter or utility knife until you reach the pocket coil layer. Now you should be able to see the coils that run the entire length of the mattress.
- Fabric is used to join the rows of coils. To cut the fabric, use a scissors. After all the pocket joints in the middle have been cut, use the knife to cut the foam bottom layer. The pocket spring mattress has been successfully cut in half.
A word of caution: It may not be a good idea to cut a pocket coil bed in half. The pocket coils can easily become loose once the mattress has been cut.
Wrapping up
That’s it! Here are the steps to cutting a mattress. This guide is intended to be helpful. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or questions.
Happy Mattress Cutting!
