Comfort, durability top list for sheets

Besides thread count, consider the material used in the sheet, experts advise.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

FRESNO, Calif. — While you may have found alternative uses for your old bedsheets in the past, that means new ones are required.

The main priorities when searching for bedsheets are that they should be comfortable and durable, says Steve Carwile, president of Vivetique, a mattress manufacturer in Arcadia that also makes comforters, mattress pads and bedsheets out of organic cotton and other natural materials.

If you hold it up to the light and can see through it, you should pass on it, he says. As you keep that tip in mind while you look for replacement sheets, also consider these other factors:

THREAD COUNT

Thread count is the total number of threads running horizontally and vertically per square inch in the fabric. Sheets typically have a thread count between 180 and 1,000. The higher the thread count, the softer and more durable the sheet tends to be, says Deanna Dominguez, the bedding manager at Linens ‘n Things in Fresno, Calif.

However, don’t let the thread count be your only deciding factor, say Dominguez and several other bedding experts. “The average consumer is going to buy the higher thread count, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better product,” Aaron Stewart, creative director of Sferra Linens in New York.

Other things to consider include where is it made and what kind of material is used, he says. If deciding gets confusing, then touch and rub it, he says. “Does it feel nice? If you feel it, and it doesn’t feel that soft and you think that if you wash it a couple times it’ll be OK, that’s not the case.”

MATERIALS, DESIGNS AND WEAVES

Bedsheets can be made from a number of materials or combinations of them. Some of the common ones include cotton, such as Egyptian cotton from Egypt and Supima cotton, which is grown in the United States; flannel, which is made of brushed cotton; blends, which often are cotton and polyester combinations and don’t wrinkle as much; and organic cotton.

In terms of design, bedsheets come in solids, prints, plaids and stripes. There also are a couple of different weaves. For example, a sateen weave, which often is made with 100 percent cotton, tends to have a soft, silky feel with a slight sheen.

POCKETS

Mattresses have been getting thicker, requiring fitted sheets to have deeper pockets at all four corners. Pockets tend to be between 13 and 22 inches. “Before they come shopping, they need to measure the depth of the mattress,” Dominguez says. “The depth is really important.”

Some fitted sheets have elastic all around, while others don’t. “A lot of sheets will have elastic all around and so will fit pockets from 13 to 18 inches,” Stewart says. “But some companies will do it only around the four corners. We found having elastic all around gives them a better fit.”

COST AND CARE

Prices will vary, depending upon size, thread count and material. For example, at Linens ‘n Things, a 250-thread-count, cotton-polyester blend queen set (including a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillowcases) costs $27.99; an Eddie Bauer flannel queen sheet set costs $49.99; a 100 percent polyester queen set costs $79.99; a 100 percent Egyptian cotton, 400-thread-count queen set costs $89.99; and a 1,000-thread-count, 100 percent cotton sateen queen set costs $149.99.

Cost of a 100 percent-cotton, 220-thread queen fitted sheet from Calvin Klein is $100 and a flannel queen-size sheet set from the Martha Stewart Collection is $120 at Macy’s in Fresno. From Sferra Linens’ 1891 collection, a 450 Supima sateen queen sheet set costs $199.99.

“Expect to spend more than $50 for anything over a queen or California king” size bed sheet, Dominguez says. Wash and care according to the instruction labels.

Vivetique’s organic cotton sheets, which have a thread count of 240, cost $220 for a queen set. Wash sheets in warm water, and then put them in the dryer. When they are almost dry, remove them and let them air dry so they won’t shrink, Carwile says.