Duvet cover, shams, pillowcases, fitted and flat Sheets... Did I forget anyone?

Choosing your sheets is where making your bed gets really interesting. There is a wide selection of fabrics, colors, textures, designs and patterns and this is where you really have a chance to express your personality and tastes. Here I will cover some of the different types of materials out there, measures of quality and clear some misconceptions.


What is it made of?
There is no shortage of choices when it comes to fabrics for your bed linen. Some common fabrics include various types of cotton (Satin, Jersey, Egyptian), linen, flannel, bamboo and the royal micro modal. A good quality fabric should be soft, fine, light, breathable and cool. The first determinant of quality is the material the fabric is made of and the length of its staple. By far, the most popular fabric for bed sheets is cotton. Cotton has a very light and strong fiber and results with really soft and cool sheets. However, cotton comes in a wide range of quality and it is often difficult to know when the quality is there. Egyptian cotton is the best cotton for bed linen. It has the finest fibers and the longest staple, which makes it very light and breathable as well as soft and durable, but quite expensive as well (well worth the investment though). For other types of cotton look for the length of the staple. There some good quality long staple cotton available for lower budgets. Make sure to feel the fabric and to ask for some information about the type of cotton and length of staple, and remember that if the price is too good to be true, it probably is. A good quality Egyptian Cotton queen bottom (fitted) sheet should cost anywhere between $100 and $250 (tip: make sure it is 100% Egyptian cotton, and Egyptian cotton does not mean cotton from Egypt but a species of cotton that is called Gossypium hirsutum and can be traced back to South America rather than Egypt). Other good quality long staple cotton sheets should range between $70 to $100 for a Queen size sheet.

A quick word about Thread Count:
Unlike common perception, thread count, although used as a measure of quality, is not that important for the quality of the final product. Generally, a thread count above 200 threads per squared inch is considered high quality. Moreover, the maximum number of threads that can fit a square inch is about 500 and that is only if you use the finest fiber. So, when you hear something like "1000 thread counts sheets for only $50..." this is definitely misleading advertising. There are some ways of achieving what would technically be considered as 1000 thread counts. One way is to use multiple plies, which means that several threads are threaded together and counted individually, when they should be counted as one. An easy way to tell is to simply touch and look at the fabric. If its heavy and coarse it is a poor quality fabric.

Flannel:
Flannel is typically made of either wool or cotton. It is soft and warm so its a good idea to have a set for those cold winter nights. The flannel that we carry in DreamMakers is a German made organic cotton flannel and it is definitely superior to what you might find in other stores.

Linen:
Linen is one of the oldest fabrics in human history dating as far back as more than 35,000 years ago (pretty unbelievable, I know). It is very labor intensive to make and so it's a bit pricy, but well worth it. It is made of the flax seed, which is the longest staple fiber so it is extremely strong ( about 3 times the strength of cotton). Linen is highly breathable and a good conductor of heat which means that it is ideal for use in the summer. In addition, it is very absorbent and can be 20% saturated before you will feel that it is wet. This is why it is very popular in very hot and humid areas.
When new, linen seems quite coarse, but it will get softer as you wash it and in fact it will get as soft as the softest cotton. Be careful when folding and ironing it to change the fold because over time repeated fold might break the fibers.

And the best for last - Micro Modal:
Micro modal is a relatively new kind of fabric that is made of beechwood cellulose. It is the optimal fabric for bed sheets because it has very fine long staple fibers. This makes it very strong and probably the softest fabric you ever felt. Moreover, it is very lightweight, breathable and cool, and it carries colors better than anything else. So this is an item that although requires a bit of an investment on your part will probably be one of the smartest purchases you can make. It would last you a very long time and will stay in a condition that you will be able to enjoy its softness, vibrant colors, and luxurious look. You really need to see it to understand. Come and check it out in one of our stores (1750 West Broadway, Vancouver; or 925 Main street, West Vancouver at the Village in Park Royal) and ask us about Micro Modal.