What Is It With Sheets These Days

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Generally Speaking For Vintage Linens

Full/Double/Matrimonial ='s 108"x81"
Queen ='s 120"x90"

Again, sheet sizes given were often before hemming and with a shrinkage margin of about 5% or less (generally, with better quality being on the lower end).

Of course if you wash these linens in boiling hot water and bake them dry in a hot tumble dryer, they will shrink more than if washed in warm or tap hot (about 120F), and then line dried.

You'll find "vintage" queen sheets starting mainly about the 1960's or late 1950's in good supply, that is they were being made in enough numbers to have surplus supply hanging about.

Forgot to mention it was still possible right up through the 1960's IIRC, for housewives and anyone else who wished to purchase sheeting fabric by the bolt. One then took the fabric home and ran up sheets (or whatever else one wanted the stuff for), at home. Fabric came in standard widths for various sized beds with finished selvages, all you did is cut off the length, make two hems, and viola, you had sheets. Toweling, and napkin fabric (including linen damask)also came this way. All these items could then be embroidered and or monogrammed if you really wanted to push out the boat.

Gotta love those housewives who liked busy work! *LOL* To be fair the invention and constant improvements of the home sewing machine made much of this possible. Elna for instance was one of first machines to have several hemstitches, perfect for bed and table linens.
 
Making sheets at home

"Forgot to mention it was still possible right up through the 1960's IIRC, for housewives and anyone else who wished to purchase sheeting fabric by the bolt. One then took the fabric home and ran up sheets (or whatever else one wanted the stuff for), at home. Fabric came in standard widths for various sized beds with finished selvages, all you did is cut off the length, make two hems, and viola, you had sheets."

Yes, my Mama did that also. There were two linen mills near where I grew up (both gone now) one was a Cannon sheet and towel plant and the other was a Westpoint-Stevens plant. The husband of one of Mama's co-workers worked at the Cannon plant and a lady in Mama's Sunday School class worked at Westpoint-Stevens. Once a year the employees of the Cannon plant could buy linens at cost. Mama would buy sheets and towels from her friend's husband who worked at the Cannon plant. The other lady who worked at Westpoint-Stevens would bring Mama sheeting material. It was always a thrill in the summer to help Mama sew up the new sheets from the beautiful material from the Westpoint-Stevens plant. That plant is gone, torn down, and luxury condiminiums are planned on the mill site as it is adjacent to Lake Hartwell. Memories.........

Before closing and sending operations to the Middle East this above mentioned Westpoint-Stevens plant became the manufacturer for Ralph Lauren Polo Home. Talk about beautiful towels and linens. They also had a wholesale store in Greenville. Yes, I spent many dollars in that store. I'm a linen "horse".
 
180 Thread Count

Honey, I've got tons of vintage percale by "Lady Pepperell", "Wamsutta Supercale", and "Cannon Mills", all 180TC and am here to tell you they will out last and otherwise run rings around what is offered today, even at counts of >200.

Muslin is anything at or 140 threads per square inch, percale starts above that, and thread count alone does not tell the whole tale.

Quality of the cotton thread and how the material is woven, finished and sewn all effect quality.

Again there is a reason so many are seeking out vintage linens, and it isn't for their looks alone.

Properly cared for (including minimal use of bleaches, though the product is designed for "hard" use and laundering), you will be able to have your shroud (god forbid anytime soon), made from these sheets! *LOL*
 
Furthermore.....

Quality percale, properly cared for can and often will out last muslin (at or <140 threads per square inch). Many makers of percale bed linens touted this fact in advertisments.

Heavy duty muslin is made from thicker cotton threads, which is why even with it's lower thread count it is a very hard wearing textile. Before poly/cotton blends dethroned it from "econony" bedding, muslin was the choice for nursery, children's bedrooms, hospitals, military, and any place else that required hard wearing linens that could withstand harsh handling, but abuse from the wash as well.

While many familes chose percale for the master and guest bedrooms if they could afford it, those that couldn't had muslin there as well.

Muslin's down fall is that those thicker coton threads make for a heavy cloth that holds onto water like nobody's business. This means they were slow to dry and hard to iron properly. Commercial laundries long had high powered steam or otherwise heated ironers to deal with this problem, and later tumble dryers to help get some of that water out. Housewives had to hang the things out to dry, then try to get them just damp enough to iron properly. One small mercy came with the rapid expansion of tumble dryers for domestic use, but to feel anywhere near decent muslin bed linen needs to be ironed. To some coarse dried/unironed muslin was a true sign of a household's "poverty" status or at least a slovenly housewife.

If a housewife could have lighter percale linens that wore as well as muslin, but cost less or the same, she really came out ahead in so many ways. It certianly lightened her wash day load, and if laundry was sent out (often charged by the pound), since percale weighed less than muslin, her costs were lower

Laundering percale at home was easier as the lighter linens dried faster and often could go from a washer with good extraction right to the ironer/ironing board.

launderess++3-7-2011-16-24-11.jpg
 
Laundress, what you are saying jives with our research. It's not so much the thread count as what the threads are made of in the first place.

I think I had Cannon Muslin sheets in college. Very nice and crisp, but not scratchy.

Those vintage sheets appear to be reasonably priced too. I think we'll give a set a try.

Today my crazy sister got into it with Karen on the phone. Karen was trying to explain this problem with sheets to her and my sister told her that she was just "overworking a problem where a problem doesn't exist". My sister said she just buys the cheapest sheets she can find and is happy with them. She's never had a bad set. BUT she hasn't bought sheets in at least 15 years or so...

And thank you very much for giving us the history of sheets and all that fabric information that I am sure a lot of people didn't know about. We sure didn't. Your information will make it easier to find sheets that we will be happy with.
 
While Not Vintage

Had good luck in the past with "Chambers" bed and bath linen from William Sonoma.

They used to have an outlet about four blocks from my street, so needless to say one stopped in often.....

Many of their offerings fall under "hotel" quality, similar to what Frette and others offer.

Despite the name, hotel quality does not the bed or bath linens are very high end. Rather items designed to withstand the constant use, frequent and often harsh laundering (hot water and or use of bleaches), common to bedding and toweling used in such service.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WILLIAMS-SONOMA...C-/190303936160?pt=Sheets&hash=item2c4eff9ea0
 
Muslin sheets

Those Cannon sheets my Mama would buy from her friend's husband were the 100% cotton muslin Cannon Monticello brand. They were wonderful and I still have a few of them. They are over 45 years old but I no longer have any double beds. Once Mama was able to pick up some Cannon Royal Family percale sheets from this man. They were so soft and slick we would laugh that you would slide out of the bed! My Mama would go to JCPenney in downtown Greenville and buy the white Penncale* percale sheets during their January white sales. Yes, you are all correct, it was not the thread count but the type of threads they used. My absolute all time favorite pair of sheets was a pair of Wamsutta Wondercale sheets I bought in 1977. They were 50/50 cotton poly and were absolutely dreamy. They were brown, white, and blue plaid. I used them religiously for over 20 years until they just fell apart. Young people today will never know the luxury of linens we took for granted.
 
I believe the sheets I had in college were the Canon Montecello brand.

How are these for savings? (Check the link)

The Company Store has a real deal going. 200TC Cotton Percale sheets for only $12.00 per set, normally $49.95. Check the link and scroll down for details. The coupon code is TODAYBED.

We ordered a set. For $17.95 per set (including shipping) I figured we couldn't go wrong!

Vintage sheets are still on our radar......

http://hip2save.com/category/online-bargains
 
4 years ago I got 3 sets of cotton sateen sheets from the Company store.  I think they were 250 or 350TC.  These are very soft, comfortable and feel nice. 2 years ago I got a set of 600TC sheets from them.  These are absolutely awful.  They are rough like cardboard and no amount of washing has softened them.  I put them on the bed and can't wait to get them off of it.
 
2 years ago I got a set of 600TC sheets from them. These ar

I know what you mean. My wife and I picked up a set of 600 TC at Garden Ridge. We couldn't wait to try them out. They were awful also! We finally sent them to Goodwill. I bought a set of Northern Nights (QVC brand) 500 TC sheets at Ross for $16.99. They are nice but not as "silky" as I thought they should be. Maybe with continued washing. Jim
 
Laundress:

Today at Target we saw some 100% Egyptian Cotton 325TC sheets that looked exactly the same as those Williams Somona sheets did. And they were very smooth and tightly woven. A good sign. Plus they are on sale for $49.95.

Another thing I noticed. If a sheet is made from Percale or Pima chances are the washing instructions are just "Machine Wash, Tumble Dry". No mention of cold water washing is made. Hmmm... of course you only see this on the more expensive sheets.
 
Bed & Bath Linens

Aside from the very high end stuff (and perhaps even there), like much everything else these days all comes from the same several plants for the most part.

That pattern featured upthread by "William Sonoma" can be had by Frette, WS, and god only knows how many other brands.

Percale is a weave. Pima is a type of long staple cotton grown mainly in North and South America. Egyptian cotton is from the same family, only obviously grown in Egypt, hence the name.

One can make percale sheets out of any sort of cotton, however as I've already stated, the better grades of cotton threads will produce a higher quality product.
 
overstock.com

We bought some cotton sheets made in India from overstock.com. Not only were they sized so that shrinkage was taken into account, I don't THINK that they have plasticizers or sizers in them.

See attached link - I think this is what we bought. We liked 'em so much we bought 3 sets so they'll last for a few years.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...gyptian-Cotton-Sheet-Set/4064078/product.html
 
With all the information Laundress has provided and my own research I have come up with the following conclusions about bedding these days:

When it comes to Egyptian Cotton you can't always go by what the package states. Some Egyptian Cottons are rougher than others. Look for the long grain Egyptian Cotton for your best bet, then look to see if the package does NOT state cold water wash. Feel the fabric before purchasing. So in the end just because a package states Egyptian Cotton, doesn't mean you will be getting soft & smooth sheets.

If the Egyptian Cotton material feels "gausey" chances are it will be rough like burlap when washed. Look for the tightest, smoothest weave possible.

Percale is so smooth because the fabric is woven on a 1 to 1 scale for a very tight weave, sateen is only woven on a 1 to 4 scale. Sateen sheets won't last as long as percale sheets will.

Thread count is only a state of mind. It only really affects the overall "heaviness" of the fabric, not necessarily the sheet thickness. And TC differs between different weave types. A 180 TC Percale will be close to a 400TC Egyptian Cotton in thickness.

This is a lot of information that a consumer needs to know. More than I really wanted to know! It seems in this day & age the consumer really needs to educate themselves in advance of any purchase to ensure they are buying a quality product!
 
Thread Counts

Naturally cotton threads will produce a thread count of about 320 to 360 per square inch.

In order to reach levels some bed linen makers advertise (at or >400 TC)thinner and or doubling of thread in the loom. While this does give a higher number, there is often no corresponding increase in quality.

Think of how cloth is woven; if you use thinner thread you can weave them closer together, however this does not alter the fact thinner thread will tend to be weaker. Doubling of thinner thread means pretty much the same thing.

When it comes to laundering uber-high thread count bed linen can be a PITA. The things literally seem to repel water (the exact opposite of what cotton does naturally), thus then to take up more room in the washer, especially front loaders.

Very high thread count bed linen are a marketing tool in order to get persons to part with their money. Again households survived percale linens with thread counts from 140 to 280 or so for ages without complaint.

Adding to Whirlcool's excellent advice, I suggest modern shoppers take a tip from housekeepers of old, once you purchase bed linens that are satisfactory, go back and lay in stock soon as you can. This is even more true today when quality can vary from year to year.

As for testing material, until recently all bed and table linen was sold "open" that is unwrapped. Ladies went shoppping fully expecting to touch and feel what was on offer. How else could Madame judge the quality of goods on offer. Rather like purchasing textiles for dressmaking today.

Of course feeling the fabric of linens goes only so far today because of the amount of sizings applied during production.
 
Launderess

How did you come to know so much about linens? I have sateen sheets currently that I don't like. What can you recommend that would come closest to Wamsutta Supercal sheets if you are familiar with those.
 
Our Laundress is experienced from years of operating one of the "better homes" of housekeeping in New York. She would give Hyacinth Bucket a run for the money!

I know you asked Laundress for an answer but I'll throw my two cents in. I think that if you bought a quality percale of at least 200-225 thread count and made from 100% cotton you would be happy. Be sure the package does not indicate cold water wash.

A lot of people who loved the old Wamsutta Supercale sheets find the sheets in the link to be quite satisfactory.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sferra-Chelsea-...w-/350353591704?pt=Sheets&hash=item5192b38d98
 
whirlcool...

I bought cotton percale in a decent thread count for years. Then sheets changed. They were woven overseas. The first set I bought of the "new kind" which I call them were thick'ish, all cotton, but sort of not scratcy, but not smooth. I had them laundered at the cleaners and hard pressed. That helped a little. A friend suggested sateen. Said thought they were the closed to the old Wamsutta all cotten sheets I bought for several years. Those although smoother had drag. Do any you all know what I mean when I say drag. They're not crisp. Ok whirlcool can you suggest a brandname for me to try?
 
Yesterday we bought a two sets of sheets at Target that were on sale.

One set was their 100% Cotton Organics 325 TC Cotton sheets. They are kind of beige/ivory in color, it's called "natural". They seemed smooth. The package just indicated "Machine Wash, Tumble Dry" which lead me to wash them in very warm water. I used vinegar in the first rinse. They didn't wrinkle coming out of the dryer (low heat), which is a good sign and they didn't feel scratchy. But they did feel "crisp". I imagine over time they will soften up.

They are medium weight sheets that seem to be finished nicely.

We also bought a set of Fieldcrest 400TC Egyptian Cotton long grain sheets that were on sale. These seem to be softer than the organics. We didn't wash them, we just put the package in storage for future use. But they seemed softer than the organics, and once again the instructions do not indicate cold water wash only.

The organics set for the Queen sized bed was $54.95 and the Fieldcrest set was $39.95 for the set on offer from $79.95 per set.

Last week we ordered a set of 100% Cotton percale for $12.00 per set from The Company Store. We saw the offer on the Today show. I just received an e-mail this morning that they were shipped. A week after they were ordered.

I think the first two sets mentioned may be good buys.

Karen mentioned to a friend of hers that I was obsessing over bedsheets and had done a lot of research and fact finding with people on this site. Her friend suggested that I I take this information and turn it into an article and send it to her for distribution! Seems more than just a few people have had problems with sheets over the past few years.
 
We bought a set of rather expensive Linden Street sheets from JCPenny a few months ago, they were pretty expensive sheets at $89.95 per set. When we got them home they were pretty rough feeling. They were 300TC Egyptian Cotton.

When we washed this set they came out of the dryer looking like a crumpled up potato chip bag. Wrinkled beyond belief. When we put them on the bed and then went to bed, they felt like burlap sacking material. When we woke up in the morning, our skin was red from the rubbing all night long. We washed them about 6 times and used them hoping they would soften up, but they never did.

What I have found is when shopping for sheets is to run your fingertips over the sheets you are planning on buying. If there is any "grabbing" of the skin, chances are the sheets are going to be rough.

I have found that price does not always equal better. It's what the sheets are made out of and more importantly how they are made that counts.

We have a set of SpringMaid Egyptian Cotton sheets we bought in the early 90's that softened up pretty quick after we bought them and they are the most comfortable sheets we ever owned. Soft, but not silky, slightly heavier than most sheets and they still have plenty of wear left on them. Just comfortable. But unfortuantely, SpringMaid is now a Walmart house brand!
 
Thread count. Thread count. That's all you read now. Ohhhh! Ahhhhh! You know what? I think the yarn they're using is different. Or maybe the way it's spun! I don't live in the past. Well, yeah I do, sort of as far as appliances go, but do you know how much money I've wasted trying to find a frigging set of sheets to suit me? I bet if we put yarn from then under a microscope vs yarn now, there would be a difference in the twist or whatever it's called.
 
Yes, IMHO thread count is there for marketing purposes only. It's all about the weave used (Percale, Sateen, Pima, etc.) that counts and the quality of the thread in that order.
Like I mentioned earlier a 200 TC percale is going to be thicker than a 400 thread count Egyptian Cotton Sateen. And yes it is apples & oranges between the weaves. Then other factors like was the fabric pre-shrunk before the sheets were made? Cold water wash only indicates that it was not. Always look for just Machine Wash, Tumble dry without reference to water temps.

And lastly, the cost of the sheet has no bearing on the quality of the sheets. I think if one was to read this thread from top to bottom they would be able to go to a store and successfully find a set of sheets for a reasonable price and be happy with their purchase in the end.

You know, before all this I never gave bedding a second thought. I thought all you did was buy the sheets that looked like something you liked, wash them and put them on the bed and then sleep on them. You were then good to go for the next 10-15 years. But not anymore. Like everything else these days the consumer has to be educated to know what to look for.
 
purchased a set of donna karen 300 thread count..nice soft "velvety" feeling sheets.
a set of calvin klein 400 thread count..and you could grate cheese on them..well almost..what gives.
 
Like I Said

Much as with appliances, most consumers simply do not pay that much attention to linens anymore. Well not enough to warrant production of the sort of quality we had years ago. People simply expect to buy stuff of such "low" quality and treat it harshly ( lots of hot water washing, tons of chlorine bleach, bake them dry in a hot dryer), and that is that as they say.

Years ago a woman was taught from a young age as part of preparing for her lot in life, how to purchase and take care of linen. Hope chest were stacked with the stuff, and or given by friends/family as part of her trousseaux so that a decent supply was brought to her new home upon marriage. This would be added to from "White Sales", and or as supply was worn down and needed to be replaced.

Once women began working outside the home in major numbers, and or many decided they didn't want to be bothered with all the labour involved in keeping linens in good stead (including all that ironing, even using an ironer), things started going down a slippery slope.

All of us can probably remember our mothers having stacks of fine bed and or table linen that rarely saw the light of day. Aside from when special company came to visit, VIP guests for dinner, and or holiday meals the stuff remained in the linen closet. Many of us also learned not to question this idea as we were often conscripted into service to wash and or iron all that linen after it had been used. *LOL*
 
My mother had a special linen closet off the dining room that stored all the tablecloths, napkins and such. Quite a bit of it were linens from prewar Germany given by family members. When she passed away, my crazy sister took it all down to Goodwill. We wish we would have known that we would have grabbed some of it.
 

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