Vintage NOS bed linens vs. new

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good-shepherd

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Since we're on the subject of bed linens/stain removal..

After having the latest set of bed sheets shred and rip in a little over six months of light use I was getting pretty pissed off, (other sheet sets had lasted a year or two before the fitted sheet became threadbare and ripped).

Granted, I didn't pay that much for them but supposedly they were 300 thread count, 100% Egyptian cotton.

The problem is sheets are not sold separately anymore, you have to buy a full set of the same crappy sheets to replace the one fitted sheet that has now become a rag. That is if they aren't sold out or discontinued.

Fortunately, I was at an Estate sale recently and picked up several new in the packages U.S.A. made Cannon all cotton Muslin sheets. Probably early 70's vintage and originally sold at at Korvettes for a big $1.92 marked down from $2.39!

Since then I've learned a lot about vintage bed linens, mainly they don't make them like they use to:

-Sheets came in generous sizes back then. For example: twin bed flat sheet- 72x108 inches. Compared to 66x96 inches these days, a full foot shorter and they shrink like crazy.

(I always thought it was normal for bed sheets to quickly come undone because there wasn't enough material to tuck under the mattress.)

-While the 130 thread count seems low the quality of the cotton is higher, the weave is better and the sheets have a sturdy crisp feel to them.

-The packaging offers lots of specific of information regarding: Type of cotton used, how it was woven, stitching, hems, maximum shrinkage % (1% width, 6% length), detailed sizing information and more.

-Laundering instructions on the package: "Wash in HOT water for white sheets, warm for colors and prints".

-The downside, they don't fit mattresses deeper than 11 or 12 inches.

We'll see how these hold up but I expect they'll last for a number of years.
 
The $244 sheet set I bought from CozyTownLinens.com has failed in a couple months less than 5 years.  Reached down week ago to pull the flat sheet up and my thumb went through it to make a tear near the top hem.
 
The reason that older flat sheets were larger is because there once was a time, believe it or not when there was no such thing as a contoured (fitted)bottom sheet.  And when they first came out contoured sheets were more expensive, so many homes, like my own only had flat sheets.

 

The extra size was so that the sheet on the bottom could be tightly tucked unto the mattress, with hospital corners, so the bottom sheet wouldn’t come untucked so easily.  I didn’t have contoured sheets on my own bed at home until I was about 14-15 years old.

 

The old cotton percale sheets were so much better quality than any of the sheets available now.  They were soft, strong and durable.

 

BTW, most folks only had white sheets until about the mid 60’s, at least the folks I knew anyway.

 

Eddie

 

[this post was last edited: 2/2/2022-23:13]
 
You can buy single sheets, at least on Amazon. I have had good and bad experiences with modern sheets. The high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets I've bought a few years back did not last and shredded in less than a year. Other lower thread count sheets have lasted for years. All were 100% cotton. Always wash in hot.
 
And if everything else fails there`s still IKEA as an option.
Very affordable so the damage is rather small if they don`t last forever, they come in full sets or as single fitted sheets and the best of it all are the care instructions that say "very hot water" for whites and even the darkest colors.
 
Dunelm Stores and Aldi

All sell sets and individual items. OK so Aldi has them on special now and then as not always in stock but other places online do each item separately.

I recently bought a set from Costco and that was complete and unable to buy individually as I have a superking duvet and a king size bed the SK fitted sheet is amazing it has elastic all the way around and doesn't untuck or loosen and thats with two rather large bears in it....

Austin
 
I buy the flannel sheets that Costco sells and have had good luck, kinahora*, with them. They are not expensive like the flannel sheets from Bean's, are very soft and come out of the dryer like clouds.

*Kinahora, Yiddish word said to avert the evil eye, bringer of misfortune.
 
I have bought my last 2 sets from the Vermont Country Store - They have a set called "Clothesline Crisp" that are very good. They are not cheap but they are great quality and feel like the old Percale sheets that I grew up with. Also I had a bottom sheet from an older set rip the other day and ordered a single fitted sheet from Amazon. Haven't opened the package yet so not sure how good it's gonna be but you can't use a top sheet without a bottom. HA !!!

Bob
 
Bottom line is

Since textile and cotton production moved off-shore quality has gone down, shrink-flation took hold (getting less but paying the same or more) and now prices are going way up, the worst of both worlds.

Same for clothing.

Like appliances they've become a disposable product.
 
And don't get me started on bath towels.

One towel I purchased new (also made of the overrated Egyptian cotton) was rough and shredding in a couple of years.

Meanwhile some vintage used Cannon bath towels I got at another estate sale (for dollar apiece!) are in great condition, heavy soft and absorbent with daily use.
 
The quality of sheets and towels has most definitely deteriorated during the past decade.  We have sheets that we bought over 35 years ago that we still use and still look nice.  

 

But the quality of towels is what has really gone to the dogs.  About 5 years ago I bought a very nice, heavy weight set of white Fieldcrest towels.  Fieldcrest used to be one of the best brands of towels.  After about one year one of the bath towels developed a hole and its completely unusable now.  This was so disappointing.  

 

And if you pay attention to the care labels on most new towels they say wash in warm water, no chlorine bleach!  WTH, white towels that can’t be washed in hot water and can’t be bleached?  I don’t care what the freakin’ label says, I wash the towels in hot water and if they’re white I use a 1/2 cup of LCB.  

 

For the highly inflated prices charged today of linens and towels the quality certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Eddie
 
LL Bean 200 count 100% cotton percale sheets have served me well. They fit the deepest mattresses and launder really well. Mine are white so that means hot washes with Clorox. Also, Lands End has a line of Oxford Cloth sheets in solids and stripes. Heavier than the percales but have held up beautifully for the past four years. They are also incredibly comfortable even in the warmest weather. It's like sleeping on a Brooks Brothers Oxford cloth button down shirt. They are often on sale so if careful you can save some cash. The more open weave of Oxford cloth allows for more air circulation - I'm a big fan.
 
Vintage all the way

All of our sheets are vintage 100% cotton percale or muslin. I like my sheets a bit crisp and don’t want or need higher thread count. Sheets get their strength from long staple cotton, not high thread count. And what makes Egyptian cotton so great? I have no idea. Very effective marketing?
 
I like my sheets a bit crisp

Strangely, I'm liking the crisp, mat feel of the muslin sheets.

It's a change from the made in Pakistan baby soft bed sheets that fall apart after a couple of years.

I had Wamsutta Super-Cale sheets that I bought just out of college at Macy's Willowbrook Mall. Not knowing anything about bed linens I just walked in and said: Oh, these look good.

Never had another set of sheets since that were so smooth yet wore like iron for years.
 
For folks in the USA, the stores Ross and TJ Maxx often have 100% cotton sheets at good prices. They are not the same type of thread or weave as the cotton sheets of yesteryear, but they can be useful.

I, too, prefer the linens of a couple of generations ago.

I do not use a dryer, but hang my laundry on racks. Without the heat and the tumbling, the clothes, linens, etc., last many years longer.
 
Vintage all the way

All of our sheets are vintage 100% cotton percale or muslin. I like my sheets a bit crisp and don’t want or need higher thread count. Sheets get their strength from long staple cotton, not high thread count. And what makes Egyptian cotton so great? I have no idea. Very effective marketing?
 
Have went on about vintage bed linen in several posts. So not as to repeat oneself....

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?48642

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?33325

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?29713

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?28930

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?21378

All that being said, here are some more words.

There are several types of cotton, within each are various more strains.

Two most common are Gossypium hirsutum - also known as upland cotton or Mexican cotton. Then Gossypium barbadense -sea island, Egyptian, Pima, and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton.

Top shelf cotton is extra-long staple fibers, but not all cotton from Egypt (or Sudan which once was part of that country) and other areas are ELS fibers.

Thus fabric calling itself "Egyptian cotton" means nothing in of itself unless it is guaranteed to be extra long stable fibers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton#Types

ELS cotton by virtue of having longer fiber strands has less joins, slubs and fluff. This allows creation of textiles with thinner treads in turn produces lovely light cotton fabrics.

ELS cotton represents comparatively small amount of worldwide production of cotton. As such you'll pay more for that fabric and or things created from it. Bulk of cotton on market otherwise comes in various lesser grades of cotton.
 
Sheets

I have had two Brooklinen linen sheet sets fail in less than one year.
I currently am using Costco's own Kirkland brand 680 thread count sheet set, and they are killer!
 
Percale versus Muslin

Better quality muslin cloth starts at around 140 thread per square inch. Higher quality muslin starts at 180 or so threads per square inch, with percale being anything at or over 200 threads per square inch.

Muslin bed linen for ages was standard choice for economical housewives and those charged with housekeeping for everything from hotels to hospitals.

Muslin is made from thicker cotton threads thus produces a heavier final product. All that weight and thicker threads also meant muslin bed linen weighed more which was a big factor when it came to laundering.

Laundries either charge by piece or weight, with most industrial/commercial laundries using the latter. So a home or other establishment that sent their washing out suffered higher costs with muslin bed linen because it weighed more.

Also muslin being made from thicker threads absorbs and holds lots of water. This meant drying took longer (machine or air), and ironing (by machine or hand) also was more of a chore..

Muslin being more hard wearing than percale isn't always true either. Because the latter not only has more threads per square inch, but they are thinner as well you get a much tighter and stronger weave.

Percale...

Muslin had a reputation (at least in lower grades) of being economy to downright poverty choice for bed linen. Percale OTOH was seen as more upscale. Wamsutta shook up that notion.

About 1936 Wamsutta Mills came out with "Eco-Tension" weaving of their percale fabric. This was touted to produce a stronger, high quality, luxrious and hard wearing percale fabric. Named "Supercale" Wamsutta launched a PR and marketing blitz starting in late 1930's to get housewives and others to upgrade from muslin to "Supercale".

Main talking points for Supercale was that percale bed linens were lighter and thus saved money if sent out to laundries. This and or they were also far easier to launder at home (including ironing) again due to their lighter weight compared to muslin. None of this sacrificed durability and long wear, with Wamsutta (and soon other mills) all saying that their percale bed linens gave just as good or longer wear than muslin.

Look through these old adverts for Wamsutta Supercale. Copy always keeps to few key themes; economical to own, easy to launder, serviceable with long wear, and of course luxurious to sleep upon.

https://www.tias.com/wamsutta-supercale-sheets-ad---may-1939-581656.html
 
My mom usually bought high quality bed and bath linens, such as Wamsutta, Fieldcrest, or JP Stevens Utica. They held up well for a long time. I've noticed a decrease in quality in what I've bought in the last 15 - 20 years, concurrent with the move from American made to imported. Target had a line of towels made by Westpoint-Stevens that was good quality and reasonably priced, and I purchased several. A couple years later I bought a couple more (imported) and they got ragged in a short time.
 
So not as to repeat oneself....

Thanks for the links.

Sorry to rehash the subject but they were a little before my time on AW so this is all new to me.
 
Another supplier now

is Vermont Country Store.  Perhaps Eddie Bauer.?         

 

 

 Yes, L L Bean.  Leon Leonwood Bean.

 

 

Ma and Dad had colored Cannon sheets from their 1956 wedding.  They were pink stripes.  Lasted for years!  They were hidden hep cats.  Looked lie Jane  & Joe average...  However, college, The Depression, both wars..

 

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Lawrence, we had Cannon towels that matched those sheets! My mom took two and made drapes for the bathroom window, and we had a couple others plus washcloths to match. Had them for many years.

Pete, I like those sheets, too; very "southwest" looking.
 
I have a thick mattress (2 sided pillowtop) so I need sheets with deep pockets.. Sadly I haven't found any vintage that would even come close to fitting. I've hated microfiber for years, but gave in and bought a set (because I'm cheap and couldn't justify $50-60+ for a set of queen size sheets) They are from a company called "South Shore Fine Linens" and I've fallen in love with them. (For anyone interested they are available on amazon, I believe $33 for a queen set) The flat sheet is elastic all the way around, and even my thick mattress is no match.. I have 6-8" of fitted sheet tucked in.. Never moves around. They have been wonderfully soft, haven't faded a bit even with an occasional hot wash (mine are black though they are available in 18 colors!) And have worn like cast iron so far. The set comes with 4 pillowcases and the flat sheet is plenty long on all sides. They are brushed on both sides of the material so they don't feel slippery or slide around the bed, and did I mention they are SOFT?? Better in winter but I keep my room cold in the summer too, so not usually a problem. I do have other sheets (couple different sets of various cotton blends, one set of bamboo) and I end up with these back on as soon as they get washed.. Everytime.
 
King and queen sized mattresses weren't introduced to American market until 1950's.

Thus prior to 1950 you'll only find twin/single and full/double/matrimonial.

Queen sized beds were meant to replace double/matrimonial giving two people slightly more room. Depending upon how generous maker of bed sheets was you might be able to use a Full/Double/Matrimonial sheet on Queen sized bed. Am talking about plain sheets here not fitted.

As for fitted sheets, they didn't exist until 1959. We have two women, first an African American named Bertha Berman who in 1957 invented and patented first fitted bed sheet. Inspired likely because same as thousands of women both in their own homes or as part of their jobs were fed up with making beds with flat sheets on bottom that rarely remained taut. In 1990, Gisele Jubinville took things to another level creating deep pocket fitted sheets.
 
None of early fitted sheets had elastic. Bertha Berman's patented "fitted sheet" only had four corners sewn down in such a way to hold onto mattress. It was not perfect by any means with corners popping off. To get a better hold you had to use something still sold today, sheet straps/grippers/garters.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/sheet-straps-set-of-4/1014808051

Don't know added elastic or when, but Giselle Jubinville took things up a notch when she invented deep pocketed fitted sheets.

https://www.4-small-businesses.com/small-businesses-ideas-019.html

Never really liked fitted sheets, and normally don't bother. We cling to the old ways using flat sheets only.

Find elastic always goes on fitted sheets, then were are you? If part of a set and white, you're alright. But if it is a matched set you've now an orphaned top sheet.

When a plain flat sheet wears down middle you can cut it in half and sew "sides to midddle" to get nice new sheet.
 
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