There’s a misconception that, when it comes to thread count, bigger is necessarily better. That’s not always the case. Thread count offers a broad indication of quality, but there’s a big element of subjectivity to selecting your bed sheets. READ NEXT: Our round-up of the best mattresses available The best sheets to buy for every recommended thread count 1. White Company Essentials Egyptian Cotton range: Best everyday thread count sheets Single-ply construction found in 200-400 thread count sheets feels softer and will last longer than multi-ply cotton bedding with a higher thread count number. Therefore, 'the best thread count for bed sheets is 200-400, because sheets within this range are soft and durable, ', says Yusuf Ozkanli. Any lower and they won't wash well, higher and the composition could become stiff. 'But thread count isn't the only thing to consider when shopping for luxury bed linens' adds Ozkanli. Once again, if it is longevity and ease of use you are after, a premium quality polycotton percale fabric is the best choice. Other advantages of using polycotton is price, they are often much cheaper to buy that the equivalent cotton fabrics and there is also a bigger choice of brighter and more child friendly colours to brighten up the bedroom. Our full range of polycotton bedding has over 25 modern colours to choose from and a greater choice of nonstandard UK sizes, as well as the larger emperor bedding options. Benefits of Polycotton Percale Bedding

Yusuf Ozkanli is the founder and product manager of luxury bedding brand Beddable and has over 7 years of experience in sourcing home textiles from across the world. The best thread count for bed sheets The type of fabric and its weave makes a difference in the best thread count. Percale is also known as “plain weave” with a simple one over, one under pattern, so average-quality percale sheets may be around 180-200 thread count. By contrast, a sateen weave has a more tightly woven pattern, so average-quality sateen sheets will be closer to 250-300.This factor is purely aesthetic, but still important to many consumers. Percale sheets are available in a wide range of designs, including neutral and earth tones, bright shades, and multi-colored patterns. Depending on the brand, you may need to pay more for certain colors and patterns, such as “limited edition” styles. The carbon footprint of a ParcelShop delivery has only 10%* of the CO2 emissions of a parcel delivered to your door. Even the print on sheets can indicate something about the quality of the fabric. Maher and Gopinath both told us that printed sheets were typically produced on lower-thread-count percale cotton to keep costs down. When manufacturers invest in a higher thread count for sheets, they don’t want to cover up that texture. “You want that to be the selling point,” Gopinath said. Print is “a cheap way of applying pattern,” Gopinath told us, an alternative to actually weaving a design into the fabric, like with a damask or jacquard. Linen: 80-140. Thread count is less of a useful indicator for linen sheets and rarely listed. Avoid higher thread counts for linen sheets. Quality, comfortable sheets can be found with thread counts ranging from 200 to 800 and beyond. There’s no magic number that is the perfect thread count. That being said, there are generally acceptable ranges for various kinds of quality sheets.

Flannel and knit fabrics: These are usually made with cotton, but you likely won’t come across thread counts for them. That’s because flannel sheets are sold by fabric weight and jersey-knit sheets have an entirely different construction than traditional woven sheets.Higher-thread-count sheets are made with finer (thinner) yarns. The more yarns that fit into a square inch, the smoother, denser, and more durable the fabric. To get the best sleep, you need high-quality sheets. To get high-quality sheets, you need a high thread count, right? Well, not necessarily.

Sheets with a higher thread count are generally more expensive, and are marketed as being higher quality. As we’ve discussed, however, a higher thread count can be an indication of higher quality, but that’s not necessarily the case. Organic cotton is a popular bedding material. It offers the same natural breathability and softness of standard cotton, and is sustainably produced using limited resources. The Boll & Branch Percale Hemmed Sheet Set is a great option if you’re in the market for organic cotton bedding. The material has a crisp hand-feel that will gradually soften over time with subsequent washes. It also offers a fine, lightweight structure without sacrificing durability thanks to a tight percale weave and a generous thread count. At minimum, percale sheets and pillowcases must have a thread count of 180, but the ideal thread range for this material is 200 to 300. If the yarns are exceptionally dense or the cotton staples are longer, then the thread count may be higher. Comparatively, sateen’s looser weave requires more threads to hold together, so this material’s ideal thread count range is 300 to 600. As you browse different sheet sets, you’ll notice terms like “long-staple,” “Pima cotton,” and “blended percale.” While similar in structure, each type of percale offers distinct pros and cons for sleepers. Below, we’ve highlighted four of the most common percale categories.It is true that a sheet set with a thread count of 400 will usually feel better than a comparable set with a thread count of 200. However, that’s assuming that the quality of yarns used, the craftsmanship, and the weave are all the same for both sheet sets. Three neutral colors are available to complement your bedroom decor. Each item in the set is fully machine-washable. Saatva recommends washing with similar colors in cold water and tumble-drying on a low setting.

Our panel of 33 testers rated them exactly the same in a blind comparison for softness and feel. The durability scores were also similar in our Lab tests; the only noticeable difference was the 1,000 thread count version looked slightly less wrinkled coming out of the dryer. What’s the best thread count for sheets? The ideal thread count for sateen sheets is 300 to 600. The looser weave requires more threads to hold the fabric together.

The best sheets to buy for every recommended thread count

Cotton percale tends to be more durable than percale produced from other fibers. However, the material will still break down over time. Pilling, or the appearance of small bumps of cotton on the fabric’s surface, is a common sign of wear. As your sheet set nears the end of its lifespan, you may also notice rips and tears developing, and the fitted sheet’s elasticated corners may lose some of their stretch. Like percale, sateen is a weave commonly used for sheets and pillowcases. In the table below, we’ll outline the key differences between these two weave types. All percale sheets are woven with the weft threads floating over the warp threads in a tight, one-by-one pattern. Unless this technique is used, then the sheets should not be considered percale. Keep in mind that some brands prefer the more traditional “plain weave” label, which is synonymous with percale. The sheet set is composed of 100% long-staple cotton, which is a variety of cotton known for its durability, softness, and resistance to pilling. The percale weave gives the sheets a lightweight feel and a more structured appearance than sheets with a sateen weave, which drape more closely to the body. People who tend to sweat or run hot at night will appreciate the airy quality of these sheets.