We spend almost a third of our life in our beds, so it makes sense to invest in good bedding, but buying good bedsheets can be quite a daunting task these days. Shopping for bedsheets means being confronted with a maze of options: Long-grain or short-grain cotton? Percale or sateen? Two hundred thread-count or 400 thread-count? Learning to decipher these terms will help you choose the sheet that makes you the most comfortable.
The first thing to consider is the material, the commonest of which are cotton, linen and silk. While silk is too impractical for our climatic conditions, cotton and linen are your best bets. In cotton, there are three varieties - Upland, Pima and Egyptian - depending on the staple (staple refers to the length of individual cotton fibres).
As a thumb rule, in cotton sheets, the longer the individual fibre the softer and costlier the sheet. Upland is the most commonly used cotton and can be short to long staple. Sheets made from upland cotton are great for everyday use as they are breathable and not that expensive. Pima sheets are made from fine-long staple cotton that yields a very soft weave.
Egyptian cotton is the finest, longest-staple of all. Grown in the Nile River Valley, Egyptian cotton produces an extremely soft and supple weave. Linen fabric is made from the cellulose fibres that grow inside of the stalks of the flax plant. High-quality linen sheets are durable enough to last for decades, are antimicrobial and are airy and cooler to the touch than cotton.
The next thing to consider is the weave. The different types of common weaves are percale and sateen. Percale refers to any finely-made, closely-woven fabric, whose threads cross each other only once. This beautifully woven fabric is characterised by a matte finish and crisp hand, making it lighter in weight and more breathable.
Sateen, by contrast, is more of a silky, smooth fabric for those of you who love a sleek, refined and sophisticated character to your linens. This fabric consists of even longer sections of thread running in a single direction, with four threads crossing over at wide intervals, giving it an exceptionally smooth texture.
Sateen sheets look and feel particularly luxurious, since the weaving pattern is the same as satin sheets. Remember, sateen is not to be confused with satin. While satin is made from silk, sateen is made from cotton.
Another big factor is thread count. Thread count refers to how many threads compose one square inch of sheet fabric, including the horizontal threads and the vertical threads. It produces various results of texture and breathability.
A thread count of 200 is a good standard; a count of 300 will be noticeably softer. But above a certain point - say, 500 to 600 threads per inch - you won’t be able to feel the difference. It's best to save your money for a different splurge.