Selecting the correct sheets for your bed can have a significant effect on the quantity and quality of sleep you get each night. Actually, selecting the wrong bedsheets can cause you to toss and turning, trying to get dry, cool, and comfortable enough to get the quality sleep you expect. That’s why we’ve prepared this bedsheet buyers guide.
These are facts, no matter how good your current mattress is. The more you know about bedsheets, and selecting the right ones for you, the better your odds of choosing the right sheets to meet your sleep needs.
This bed sheet buying guide explains everything you need to know about bed sheets and will help you get the quality sleep you deserve.
Thread Count
When shopping around for bedsheets, one phrase that will often come up is thread count.
Thread count indicates the number of threads woven into one square inch of the bed sheet’s fabric. The higher this number is, the smoother and softer the bedsheets will be – which is why a high thread count is closely associated with high quality bedsheets.
What should you know about the thread count?
- Bed sheets with a thread count between 140 and 180 are muslin
- Bed sheets with a thread count above 180 are percale
- Bed sheets with a thread count between 250 and 300 are higher quality sheets that often feel silky to the touch
- Bed sheets with a thread count above 300 are luxury-quality sheets
Since higher thread count bedsheets require more finely spun thread, buyers should expect to pay more for high-quality bedsheets that offer higher thread counts. Most people will find adequate options in the 220-300 range, though people committed to quality will prefer luxury-quality sheets.
It’s also important to know that not all bedsheets have thread counts. For example, bedsheets made of t-shirt or jersey materials don’t have thread counts, the reason being they’re knitted – rather than woven.
And while thread count is often a good indicator of quality bed sheets, it is not the only indicator. Other factors to consider when choosing bedsheets include the size of the yarn, type of fiber, and how they’re finished.
Breath-ability
Maintaining cool while you sleep represents a big factor on the quality of sleep you get. Lots of people take great care in selecting a new mattress that promise a cooler night’s sleep, however they completely downplay the major role their bedsheets play in promoting a cool night’s sleep.
Bamboo sheets, for example, are highly porous, allowing air to flow freely through the mattress to help you sleep dry and cool all night long. And they’re also well-known for wicking moisture away from the skin while you sleep.
Flannel sheets, on the other hand, are well-known for bringing the heat in the winter. So, if you’re looking for something cozy and comfortable for a long winter night, flannel is appropriate. However, it isn’t a good choice for being used throughout the year, and may even be the wrong choice for those people who tend to sleep hot, even during the winter.
Consider also bedsheets made with ingredients like Egyptian Cotton, produced with environmentally-friendly processes, and with no synthetic blends.
Pocket Size
Pocket size refers to the depth of the mattress, from top to bottom. If you select a fitted sheet with insufficient pocket depth, your bedsheets won’t fit quite right.
Sheets are usually available in one of three pocket depths:
- Standard: accommodating mattress depths between 7 and 12 inches.
- Deep: accommodating mattress depths between 13 and 17 inches.
- Extra deep: accommodating mattress depths between 18 and 25 inches.
When measuring pocket depth, remember to include mattress toppers and/or pads, as they may edge you over into the next pocket size, thus won’t fitting quite right.
Environmental Impact
Some bedsheets are friendlier to our planet than others, not only in terms of the manufacturing processes involved in making them, but also in terms of the materials used to create them. It is important to research all aspects of the bedsheets you’re considering to buy, if our planet is important for you.
Bed Sheet Materials
Bedsheets are made from a wide variety of materials and come in many sizes and shapes. The materials used to make them have a great impact on the way they feel to the touch, how long they will last, and also the amount of air that flows through them. Common materials used to make sheets include:
Cotton
Cotton bedsheets are associated with a cool, crisp feeling that is soft to the touch. There are also many different types of cotton that are used in making them.
- Upland Cotton: refers to 100 % cotton sheets made with long or short fibers, and is the most common type of cotton used to make bedsheets on the market.
- Egyptian Cotton: it is made with long-staple yarns to be exceptionally soft and durable.
- Pima Cotton: the extra-long-staple cotton, known as Pima cotton, is a good choice if you’re looking for soft and silky sheets.
- Supima Cotton (or “superior Pima”) is used to indicate that specific Pima cotton sheets and products are made with 100 % American Pima cotton.
- Cotton Blends: many consumers prefer them for a wrinkle-free sleep experience.
Bamboo
Bamboo sheets are made from a renewable resource, and are good matches for consumers who tend to sleep hotter than the average person, as well as people with sensitive skin.
They offer the following benefits: the ability to wick moisture away from the skin, hypoallergenic, porous enough to allow air to transfer through the bedsheets with ease, and is resistant to odors.
Overall, they provide sleepers with a dry and cool night’s sleep, even when the outside temperatures are rising.
Linen
Linen are made of flax rather than cotton, and while they’re among the coolest sheets you can get if you live in humid, warm environments, it has a rough texture and an open weave that some consumers do not appreciate.
Linen will often appear rumpled or wrinkled, and may not last as long as other types of bedsheets at equivalent price points. If you’re going for longevity and durability, linen bedsheets might not necessarily be the best choice for you.
Synthetics
Some bedsheets are made with man-made materials, e.g. polyester. Polyester has a clear advantage over cotton – they don’t wrinkle. However, they lack the breath-ability that makes cotton bedsheets so comfortable.
Blends
Blended bedsheets combine at least two materials for being created. Most blends involve a synthetic and natural material for creating sheets that are easier to care for while offering the more luxurious characteristics many natural fibers offer.
Cotton polyester blends are the most common, and this combination creates bedsheets that are more durable than polyester, or other synthetic material bedsheets, but are not quite as durable as 100 % cotton bedsheets.
Sheet Weave
The weave of your bedsheets is another important factor to consider. The weave affects the way your bedsheets feel. Common weaves include:
- Pinpoint generally has a high thread count, and a light, fine weave.
- Twill bedsheets are made with a unique weave, and are known for holding their shape, and offering some degree of wrinkle resistance.
- Jacquard offers a variety of textures in the weave, and the appeal of these stunning bedsheets often comes in the sumptuous feel of the textures on your skin.
- Flannel: when winter arrives, you can’t go wrong with the fuzzy and warm feeling flannel bedsheets deliver. They’re made with cotton fabric that has been brushed on one or both sides.
- Microfiber is one of the smoother weaves available for bedsheets, and is a tightly woven fabric that is lightweight, though less breathable than cotton.
- Jersey will allow you to slide into bedsheets as comfortable as your favorite t-shirt.
- Tencel is made with a natural fiber well-known for wicking moisture and natural breath-ability, and offers an ideal option for shoppers with sensitive skin.
- Percale is the most common weave for bedsheets, and offers a crisp feeling and balanced coolness, being ideal for everyday use.
- Sateen bedsheets often feel very soft to the touch, offering a warmer feel than percale, which is the most common weave [WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW].
High-quality bed sheet options
Try Mattress Net recommends a variety of high-quality bed sheet options if you’re interested in buying sheets for your family and home.
Below you’ll find information about the very best bed sheet collection and how it may help you get a quality night’s sleep.
Organic Cotton Bedsheets
Made of GOTS certified organic Egyptian Cotton, this Organic Cotton Sheet Set will surely become a household staple for any shopper interested in an organic sleep experience. These bedsheets contain no chemicals and no dyes. They’re also buttery soft, hypoallergenic and they’ll also offer you a cool night’s sleep.
They also have 13-inch deep pockets, accommodating a wide variety of mattresses and mattress pads, they’re machine washable in cold or warm water and can be dried at low temperatures.
Tencel Bedsheets
Tencel is an advanced fiber made from a sustainably sourced wood pulp from Eucalyptus. The Tencel Sheet Set is gentle for the skin, incredibly smooth to the touch, and features up to 22-inch deep pockets, for accommodating most new mattresses available in today’s marketplace.
The Tencel fabric is versatile offering outstanding insulation to keep you cool during the heat of summer and warm in winter.
You’ll also have a substantial selection of color options when choosing Tencel bed sheets: White, Ivory, Dusk, Opal, Ecru, and Harvest.
Bamboo Bedsheets
The Bamboo Sheet Set will offer you an opportunity to experience bamboo for yourself, and because it’s a renewable resource, you’ll feel good about your decision to buy this set.
The extra deep pockets on these bedsheets accommodate mattresses and mattress pads of up to 22-inches thick. And you’ll be able to purchase bed sheets in one of the following colors: White, Ivory, Citron, Driftwood, Rain, and Ash.
Care for your bamboo sheets by washing in warm water with a cold-water rinse, using the gentle cycle with non-chlorine bleach.
Brushed Microfiber Bedsheets
The Microfiber Bed Sheet Set is an ideal choice for anyone who is interested in bedsheets that offer the following benefits: no shrinking, wrinkle / stain resistance, deep pockets, easy care and gentle on skin.
400 Thread Count Italian Collection Bedsheets
When luxurious quality is the most important consideration, we want to make sure you’ll have the 400 thread count Italian Bed Sheet Set on your bed, because they’re made with expertly-woven 400 thread count Egyptian cotton and superior Italian craftsmanship.
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