One of the first aspects of bedding that should not be overlooked is the bedding linen. Good-quality bed sheets will give you the comfortable sleep that you deserve. Most of the time people will plan their bedding by starting with a comforter or duvet which is not totally wrong as they are elements that are very important also but the fabric of the bedding linen that will touch your skin is what will give you the comfortable sleep. Bed sheets should give you the feel of elegance. With the evolution of today's mattress styles bedding sets are made to fit pillow top and feather top mattresses. With new modern bedroom designs today's bed sheets have developed into high quality linens that will satisfy the needs of just about anyone, especially with the selection that manufactures offer. If you have a 17 or 18-inch mattress the modern bedding sets will have you covered and you won't have to worry about finding bedding linen that will fit it. At one time you could only buy bed sheets with elastic ends so you could probably fit the mattress. With modern bed sheets you can find bedding linen in several sizes that is designed to fit today's mattress styles and sizes perfectly.
What to look for in quality bed sheets
Bedsheets not only benefit from the thread count of the bedding linen but also the type of fiber in the quality of what the material it is made of. This will play a very significant role in the making of your bedding set. The first thing in choosing the right bedding linen for you is to decide on the type and quality level that you would like for your bedding linen.
Comforters, duvets and all your bed sheets will usually come in silk, pima cotton or the best one is Egyptian cotton. If you are purchasing bedding linen, or embossed sheets, your best decision would be to choose linen that is 100% cotton. Using a single ply fiber with the longest fiber you can find, try and get 2 inch fiber that witch would be your best choice. Silk is one of the best material fibers for smoothness, drape and softness. The downside is the pure silk is very fragile and hard on cleaning.
The alternative would be to blend with another material like Egyptian cotton that will give the material more strength. If you are looking for a material that is high quality reasonably priced and at all around best fiber to have it would be cotton-bedding linens which usually include a bed skirt, comforters, pillowcases and duvet covers and will range in price depending on what you are looking for. The least expensive bedding linens are usually a polyester/cotton blend right up to the more expensive high-quality Egyptian cotton. With a larger selection of styles and colors in different material patterns you will be able to find just about any design that will suit your bedrooms the decor.
Sheets are the undergarments of the bed: You won't see much of them when the bed is fully dressed, but they have a noticeable effect on comfort because they're in direct contact with your skin, and printed sheets present extra feelings to the room..
High-quality sheets are most frequently offered in different cotton weaves, usually percale or sateen, or in linen, and no choice is better than the others. It all depends on personal preference.
Cotton percale is a plain weave with a relatively matte look and feel. “It's a very breathable fabric, and kind of crisp and cool to the touch,” said Anki Spets, the founder of the bedding company Area. “You can even put your hand on it in the store, and the percale will feel cooler than the sateen.” Percale is popular with people who often feel too hot under the covers.
Linen sheets are another popular option, but they aren’t for everyone. “They have a more organic, earthy look,” Ms. Spets said, with a more noticeable texture. They also have a tendency to show wrinkles, a quality that some people view as problematic but others prize as a sign of relaxed, informal living. High-quality linen sheets tend to breathe well and absorb moisture, so they feel cool like percale, Ms. Spets said, while lower-quality options may be thicker and warmer, or even feel rough against the skin.
Choose sheets by feel and appearance rather than thread count. An extremely high thread count, once seen as a sign of quality, doesn’t count for much anymore because it's possible to inflate the number while using lower-quality fibers.
“Thread count is more of a marketing tool that was brought out in the early 2000s,” said Jenifer Foley, the lead stylist at frette, adding that higher thread counts can sometimes result in thicker, less breathable sheets.
What’s underneath the fitted sheet matters too. If your mattress isn’t as comfortable as you’d like, consider adding a mattress pad.
Thread count is a measurement of the fineness or coarseness of bedsheets. Thread count includes the total weft threads (horizontal threads) and warp threads (vertical threads) within a square inch of fabric. If the fabric is multi-ply (two or more layers of fabric stitched together), the threads in each extra later also count.
For example, a single-ply sheet set with 150 weft threads and 150 warp threads per square inch would have a thread count of 300. If that same sheet set was made from two-ply yarn, the thread count would be doubled to 600. A high thread count is not always an indicator of quality, and it only matters up to a point. A set of high-quality Egyptian cotton sheets might only have a 300 or 400 thread count and still feel like the best sheets you've ever used.