DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 359 
Second  Edition  
2020 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 359: 2020 
© UNBS 2020   
  
Bed sheets and pillowcases — Specification   
 DUS 359: 2020  
ii © UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its corr ect application  
© UNBS 2020   
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permi ssion from UNBS.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
Kampala  
Uganda  
Tel: +256 41 4 333 2 50/1/2/3  
Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  DUS 359:2020  
© UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scop e ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 Fabrics for bed sheets and pillowcases  ................................ ................................ .............................  2 
4.1.1  General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.1.2  Fibre composition  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 2 
4.1.3  Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
4.2 Sewing threads  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 3 
5 Make -up ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
5.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
5.2. Stitches and seams  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  4 
Hems shall be uniformly and evenly sewn with either lock stitches or over edge chain stitches. 
The stitches shall have an even tension and there shall not be less than 4 per centimetre. ........  4 
5.3 Dimensi ons ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  4 
5.4 Side edges  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
6 Packaging and Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  4 
6.1 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
6.1.1  Product units  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  4 
6.1.2  Bulk packages  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
6.2 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
6.2.1  Unit product  labelling ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  4 
6.2.2  Bulk packages  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 
7 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
Annex  A (informative)  Guide for the selection of bed sheets  ................................ ................................ ....... 6 
A.1 Width of sheets  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 6 
A.2 Length of sheets  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 6 
A.3 Example  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
 DUS 359: 2020  
iv © UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNB S) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade , Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda , as amended .  UNBS is mandated to co -
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standar disation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT  Agreement  of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Techn ical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stakeholders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards  adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Stand ards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS /TC 7, Textiles, Leather and 
Paper products,  Subcommittee SC  1, Textiles and related products . 
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition ( US 359:2002) , which has been technically revised. 
The following changes have been made in this second edition:  
— Normative references have been updated ; 
— Requirements for 100% cotton bed sheets have been deleted since they are covered in US EAS 228  
—  
 
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 359: 2020  
 
© UNBS 2020  – All rights reser ved 1 
 Bed sheets and pillowc ases — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft Uganda Standard specifies requirements for woven and knit flat and fitted bed sheets and 
pillow cases meant for institutional and household purposes.  
This standard is not applicable to 100% cotton bed sheets  and similar products used in hospitals.  
2 Normative references   
The following referenced documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content 
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated 
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
DUS ISO 105 -C12, Textiles - Tests for colour fastness — Part C12: Colour fastness to industrial laundering  
ISO 5077, Textiles — Determination  of dimensional change in washing and drying  
ISO 12945 -1, Textiles — Determination of fabric propensity to surface fuzzing and to pilling — Part 1: Pilling 
box method  
ISO 13937 -1, Textiles — Tear properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of tear force using ballistic 
pendulum method (Elmendorf)  
ISO 22198 , Textiles — Fabrics — Determination of width and length  
US ISO 105 -B01, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part B01: Colour fastness to light: Daylight  
US ISO 105 -E04, Textiles — Tests for colour fa stness — Part E04: Colour fastness to perspiration  
US ISO 105 -X16, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part X12: Colour fastness to rubbing  
US ISO 1833 (all parts), Textiles — Quantitative chemical analysis  
US ISO 3801, Textiles — Woven fabrics — Determ ination of mass per unit length and mass per unit area  
US ISO 8498, Woven fabrics — Description of defects — Vocabulary  
US ISO 8499, Knitted fabrics — Description of defects — Vocabulary  
US ISO 13934 -1, Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: De termination of maximum force and 
elongation at maximum force using the strip method  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.   
2 © UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  
 ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardiza tion at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
product unit  
one unit of the final product consisting of the sealed package  
3.2  
lot  
collection of product units of the same type, dimensions and style, which have been manufactured under 
essentially the same conditions  
3.3  
sample  
portions of the lot, which are drawn for examination or testing purposes  
3.4  
defective  
sample that does not conform to one or more of the specified requirements of t his standard  
3.5  
ﬁtted sheet  
product usually made with boxed corners, sometimes elasticized with shape and size to conform to the 
contours of the mattress and used for  covering the mattress on a bed  
3.6  
ﬂannel  
napped fabric used in the fabrication of she eting products.  
3.7  
ﬂat sheet  
ﬂat, hemmed product, usually  rectangular,  used  for covering  the mattress  on a bed and used for sleeping on 
or under  
3.8 
sheet  
large rectangular fabricated product which is used over a mattress on a bed.  
NOTE  The product may  be carded or combed yarn in a wide range of fabric constructions.  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Fabrics for bed sheets and pillowcases  
4.1.1  General requirements  
The fabric for the manufacture of bed sheets and pillowcases shall have a knit structure, plain weave or  any 
other weave agreed upon betwe en the manufacturer and the purchaser . The fabric shall b e free from any 
major defects as described in US ISO 8498 or US ISO 8499 . 
4.1.2  Fibre composition  
When tested in accordance with a relevant pa rt of US ISO 1833, the bed sh eet or pillow case  shall constitute 
the fibres indicated on the label . DUS 359: 2020  
© UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  3 
 4.1.3  Specific requirements  
The fabric for the manufacture of bed sheets and pillowcases shall conform to the requirements of Table 1 
below  
Table 1 ― Specific requirements for fabr ics for bed sheets and pillowcases  
Parameters  Requirement  Test Method  
Woven 
100% 
Polyester  Woven Non -flannel 
Polyester/Cotton  Woven 
Flannel  Knitted 
flannel/non -
flannel  
Breaking force, N min.  
Warp  
Weft  
550 
250  
450 
222  
360 
156  
- 
 ISO 13934 -1 
Burstin g force, N, min.  - - - 222 ISO 13938 -1 
Mass per unit area, g/m2, min.  100 120 110 110 US ISO 3801  
Tear resistance for both warp 
and weft, elmendorf, N, min.  7 7 7 NA ISO 13937 -1 
Pilling resistance, min.  4.0 4.0 NA 4.0 ISO 12945 -1 
Dimensional change aft er 
washing for both warp and 
weft, %, max . ± 2 ± 5 ± 3.5 ± 4 ISO 5077  
Colourfastness to laundering, 
min. 
Shade change  
Staining   
 
4 
4  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3 DUS ISO 105 -
C12 
Colourfastness to rubbing, 
min. 
Dry 
Wet  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3 US ISO 105 -
X16 
Colourf astness to light, min.  5 4 4 4 US ISO 105 -
B01 
Colourfastness to perspiration, 
min. 
Shade change  
Staining   
 
4 
4  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3  
 
4 
3 ISO 105 -E04 
4.2 Sewing threads  
The fibre composition of the thread used for stitching the fabric on the bed sheets and pillow cases shall be 
compatible with the bed sheets fabric  
5 Make -up 
5.1 General  
5.1.1  Bed sheets shall be made from single pieces of fabric without any joints.  
5.1.2  Pillowcases shall be rectangular, having two long sides and two short sides. The long sides and  one 
short side shall be closed by stitching (except where one such side represents a fold in the fabric). The  
4 © UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  
 unstitched open short side may  be provided with a flap, which is folded and sewn inside the pillowcase to form 
an internal pocket for retaining t he pillow when placed inside the pillowcase.  
5.1.3  The flap shall be at least 20 cm deep.  The flap also acts as a closure when the pillow is inserted in the 
pillowcase  
5.2. Stitches and seams  
Hems shall be uniformly and evenly sewn with either lock stitche s or over edge chain stitches. The stitches 
shall have an even tension and there shall not be less than 4 per centimetre.  
5.3 Dimensions  
When tested in accordance with ISO 22198 , the length and width of the bed sheets and pillowcases  shall be 
as declared s ubject to a tolerance of ± 2 %.  
Annex A provides a general guidance to both manufacturers and consumers on selection of appropriate 
dimensions for bed sheets.   
5.4 Side edges  
5.4.1  Side edges of bed sheets shall be perfectly trimmed selvedges or hems of a t least 25 mm width of 
which 5 mm shall be tucked in before stitching.  
5.4.2  Except where there is a selvedge, all free ends of the pillowcase shall be hemmed to a depth of at 
least 25 mm. The ends shall be tucked in at least 5 mm before the hemming.  
6 Packaging and Labelling  
6.1 Packaging  
6.1.1  Product units  
6.1.1.1  Bed sheets and pillowcases may be packed separately or in sets of one or two bed sheets and 
two matching pillowcases as agreed between the purchaser and the customer.  
6.1.1.2  Each sheet shall b e folded to a suitable dimension and packed in a clear, cellophane or plastic 
bag with a cardboard in the middle. Pillowcases shall also be folded and packed with the bed sheets or 
separately in cle ar cellophane or plastic bags.  
6.1.2  Bulk packages  
A quant ity of product units may be packed together in appropriate containers, which should adequately protect 
the contents. Such containers should preferably consist of only bed sheets and/or pillowcases of the same 
type, dimensions and style.   
6.2 Labelling  
6.2.1 Unit product  labelling  
The following information shall appear in legible and indelible marking in print or on a strong, durable label that 
is firmly sewn on one of the edges of the bedsheet. name of manufacturer or registered trade mark or name , 
if any;  
a) fibre composition/ blend;  DUS 359: 2020  
© UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  5 
 b) batch/ lot number   
c) dimensions;  
d) country of origin; and 
e) care label.  
f) Bulk labelling  
6.2.2  Bulk packages  
Each bulk container shall have securely affixed to it a label bea ring the following information:  
a) name of manufacturer or re gistered trade name or mark, if any;  
b) description of product unit, that is , “bed sheets” ” pillowcases” or bed sheets and pillowcases;  
c) number of bed sheets and/or pillow cases in the package   
d) fibre composition;  
e) country of origin.  
7 Sampling  
7.1 To test t he compliance of bed sheets and pillowcases to the requirements of this standard, samples 
shall be taken according to the sampling plan given in Table 2.  
7.2 The lot shall be deemed to comply with the specification if after inspection and testing of the sa mples 
taken in accordance with Clauses 4 and 5, no defective is found.  
Table 2 — Sampling plan  
Number of pieces  in the lot  Number of samples to be selected  
Up to 100 8 
101 - 300 13 
301 - 500 20 
501 – 1 200  32 
1 201  – 3 200  50 
3 201 – 10 000  80 
Over  10 000  125 
  
6 © UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(informative)  
 
Guide for the selection of bed sheets  
The dimensions of flat bed sheets depend on the beds and the mattresses they carry. The sizes of beds and 
mattresses tend to vary over the continent. These thus affect the dimension s of the sheets. This guide has 
thus been prepared to assist manufacturers of bed sheets and consumers in the selection of bed sheets 
appropriate to their beds.   
A.1 Width of sheets  
The width of bed sheets shall be calculated as follows:  
 
A.2 Length of s heets  
The length of bed sheets shall be calculated as follows:  
 
A.3 Exam ple 
For a mattress of the following dimensions:  
length                      180 cm;  
width                       135 cm;  
thickness                    15 cm;  
the widt h  of the bed s heet  shall be:  
; and  
the length of the bed sheet shall be:  
 
A suitable flat bed sheet to use for such a mattress shall be one of minimum dimensions 225 cm x 270 cm.   
Note  The only variable element in this determination is the amount of sheet for tucki ng under the mattress since the 
dimensions of the mattress are fixed by the mattress manufacturer (or an appropriate national standard). It is thus 
important for manufacturers to provide enough allowances in the sizes of their sheets to allow for smooth tu cking of the 
sheets under the mattresses.  
 DUS 359: 2020  
© UNBS 2020  – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
 ASTM D5431 − 08 (Reapproved 2019), Standard Performance Speciﬁcation for Woven and Knitted 
Sheeting Products for Institutional and Household Use  
 DUS 359:2020  
© UNBS 2020  – All rights reser ved 9 
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda standards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is governed by the Standards Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certification mark scheme o perated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the relevant Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods comply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to that standard.  
Further particul ars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DUS 359:2020    
 
ICS 59.080.30  
Price based on nn pages  
© UNBS 2020 – All rights reserved