Are you a sheet snob or a sheet slob?

Tag : bamboo/cotton fabric


Cy DeVries of Bloomington, Minn., stood bemused in the beddingdepartment at Bed, Bath & Beyond. ''Higher thread count is better,right?'' he asked.

Sorry, Cy, but there's no black-and-white answer. It depends on thesheet, said Missy Bye from the Design Department at the Universityof Minnesota. The same is true for softness, wrinkles, wearabilityand pilling -- every sheet is different and you can't tell untilyou launder and sleep on it.

Buying sheets has become so complicated that retailers such asLinens N Things and Bed, Bath & Beyond have put up signs explainingdifferent weaves, cottons and sheet depth. The primers ''educateour customers and help them make the best decision,'' saidCatherine Gentile, a spokeswoman for Bed, Bath & Beyond. Thecompany also has information at BedBathandBeyond.com under``product guides.''

Weave, thread count and cotton type prompt the most questions, saidDiane Hilbert of Euro AM luxury bedding store in Edina. How goodare you at differentiating various types of sheets? With textileexpertise from Bye and Hilbert and shopping smarts from Dollars &Sense, let the quiz begin.

1. What is a sateen finish?

2. What is percale?

3. Which cotton is best: Pima, Supima or Egyptian?

4. I've heard about thread count inflation. How can I tell if I'mbeing short-sheeted?

5. Name two ways to reduce wrinkling:

A. Use fabric softener.

B. Choose percale.

C. Remove damp sheets from the dryer, smooth and hang dry.

D. Buy cotton-poly blends.

6. True or false: Some of the best sheets for quality and price canbe found at Target.

7. Who sells extra-long dorm sheets year-round?

8. Which is harder to find: sheets with standard or extra-deeppockets?

9. Name some luxurious sheets that say ``I'm worth it.''

10. Which stores won't give dirty looks at the returns desk if sheetsdon't pass muster?

ANSWERS

1. Sateen is a weaving technique that gives the cotton surface asmoother, silkier, soft feel, almost like satin. Some consumers saythat sateen wrinkles easily, but it depends on the brand.

2. Percale is also a fabric weave, usually medium weight with low- tomedium thread count. Popular again, today's percale is usually 100percent cotton. Its fans like the stiffer, crisper feel that tendsto wrinkle less than sateen.

3. Egyptian cotton, grown in the Nile River Valley, is traditionallythought to be the best cotton because of its long, strong fiber.Pima or Supima cotton is often domestically grown. Most buyersprobably cannot tell the difference.

4. Price is the best test. Thread count exaggeration is rampant,according to a Good Housekeeping report in 2006. It depends onwhether the manufacturer is using single- or double-ply threads.Thread count is the number of horizontal and vertical threads in 1square inch of fabric. If a sheet has 100 threads running each way,that's a 200 thread count, but some manufacturers count 400 threadsper inch because they use double-ply, not single-ply threads.Target recently had its 1,000-thread-count sheets on clearance for$30, regularly $40 for a king set. A top-quality set could easilysell for $700.

5. All of these, with some caveats. Fabric softener will reducebreathability. Percale usually wrinkles less but not always. Lands'End sells 100 percent cotton no-iron bedding with a lifetimeguarantee in both percale and sateen.

6. True. I've had Target's bamboo/cotton-blend sheets for almost ayear now. They're as soft as sateen, but wrinkle less. The qualityhas held up well, too. Prices range from $30 to $60 from twin toking sets.

7. Try Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bloomingdale's, JCPenney catalog,Landsend.com, Linens N Things, Macy's and Pottery Barn PB Teen(pbteen.com). Target is now selling them year-round, too.

8. Standard pockets. Sheets with 15- to 18-inch depths that weredifficult to find seven years ago are now on shelves everywhere.It's the standard 12-inch-thick mattress that is more difficult tofit. Sheet depth should be about 3 inches more than the thicknessof the mattress. A fully elasticized fitted sheet 14 inches deep orless might help. Garnet Hill (800-870-3513, www.garnethill.com ) offers a 12-inch depth on its dot-to-dot pattern (Item No. 8739).

9. Try the Thomas Lee 500 thread count ''PerfectCale'' (877-866-5331, www.thomasleeltd.com ) or the Company Store's 250 thread count Company cotton percale(800-285-3696, www.thecompanystore.com ).

10. Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bloomingdale's, Costco, Herberger's, Kohl's,Lands' End, and Restoration Hardware.