the old man dressed the mattress as he dressed himself. the fitted sheet he lay on the bed squarely, making sure that the dart on each corner reached exactly to the mattress's seam. next, he smoothed out the sheet, so that no air remained trapped under it, readjusting the sheet afterward if it had moved at all during the flattening.
the square sheet he first aligned with the seam at the head of his mattress and discerningly adjusted so that it draped evenly on each side. once satisfied, the old man again aligned the sheet with the mattress, this time placing pillows over top it when he finished. the pillows were to prevent the moving of the top of the sheet as the bottom was tucked in.
first, the bottom of the sheet was folded under the bed as taughtly as possible. then, about a foot and a half of the sides was tucked squarely under the mattress. the folds must be straight lines.