If you have beautiful designer furniture or a quality bed in your bedroom, you will need decent soft furnishings. With cotton bed sheets, the buzz word is the thread count.
Thread count refers to the number of threads in a square inch of the cloth, taking into consideration both warp and weft (lengthwise and widthwise). People are increasingly aware that the higher the thread count, the better quality the fabric, but this is only partly true.
If there is a high concentration of threads woven together the threads have to be fine, and this generally makes the bedding softer which is why people want a high number. However, you can buy a fabric with a lower thread count that actually feels more luxurious than one with a higher count for reasons that will become apparent later.
Also, the way thread count is worked out by some of the manufacturers is a bit ‘creative’ and leads to an artificially high number and so the comparison between cloths can be difficult to work out. This is because if 2 ply yarns are used or if multiple yarns (picks) are inserted into the weft, they will be counted by some as individual threads. A single thread might be four plies when twisted together but one manufacturer will call that one thread, whilst another manufacturer will count it as four threads in a bid to record a higher number.
In addition to thread count, other factors that affect the fabric quality are fibre quality, yarn size and finishing.
Quality fibres are longer and a cotton fabric with these is said to be long staple. A long staple is better because longer fibres make for a finer and stronger yarn. Pima cotton is long staple and Egyptian Cotton is even longer.
With yarn size, the finer the yarn, the higher the quality. Fine yarns give a lighter and more supple fabric and they can also be twisted together to create a 2 ply yarn.
Weaving a 2 ply yarn with too small a yarn size will create a heavy sheet that is more like a blanket. This explains why 200 thread count cotton from a high grade fibre can feel better than 400 thread count cotton from an inferior grade cotton.
Good quality sheets will be properly finished. They will be singed (fuzz removed) and mercerised (treated to make it stronger, softer, more able to take dye and more reflective). Cheap sheets will not have undergone these processes.
Cotton is a great bedding material because it is a natural product and wicks away moisture but there is a big difference in the quality available. With a bit of knowledge, you can make sure that you get the best cotton sheets in your price range.
There’s only one thing you can do to be sure you have the best sheets you can afford though – make sure that you see and feel a sample before handing over your money (this is easy enough in top end stores as they usually have samples out anyway).