The Linen Doctor

“What is the real difference between high thread count sheets?”

This is one of the most common questions we are asked in our luxury linen store. We do a lot of research and testing and actually use sheets with different thread counts before we make a decision to buy any.

There are four basic steps that affect the quality of a sheet. The finest feeling sheets start by using the best cotton with the longest staple, usually about three inches long. A staple is what you pull from a ball of cotton. Shorter staple cottons can result in yarns that break and fabrics that pill.

The cotton is then spun into continuous yarn. High quality spinning ensures a durable yarn that will not produce sheets that pill or feel rough with normal use. The yarns are woven into sheeting, usually percale (crisp) or sateen (shiny and silky) and are then finally finished.

Finishing is a process applied to a cotton fabric after construction on the loom to improve the appearance (e.g., shiny sateen), change the feel (e.g., textured seersucker), or facilitate care (e.g., easy care finish) and may also include bleaching, dyeing, glazing, moiré, sizing, or softening. All sateen sheets go through calendering, a finishing process that produces a flat, glossy, smooth surface by passing the fabric under pressure between a series of heated cylinders.

The companies in Italy and Switzerland that produce the finest sheeting fabrics use finishing techniques and processes that are closely guarded secrets. Companies in China and India may be able to buy the same machines and looms and may even have access to the finer yarns, but they have yet to master the techniques and chemical formulas necessary to properly finish luxurious fabrics.

If any of these four steps are compromised, the result may be a sheet that feels thick or rough, pills, doesn’t hold up, or doesn’t launder or iron well. The lifting of textile quotas have resulted in a flood of sheets being imported into the United Sates with higher thread counts that are actually inferior products. 

Learn more about thread counts at HomeTextiles Today.