Bed Linen Buying Guide

Our bed linen buying guide offer some guidance on common questions such as the significance of thread counts and the differences between percale and sateen fabrics and cottons and linens.  First, we really hope you can find a design you like from our wide range of duvet covers and pillowcases. If in doubt, whites and subtle greys look good in virtually any bedroom and can always be enhanced with a splash of colour from a quilted bedspread or throw. That can be fun. Second is the choice of fabric.  Our fabrics are either pure cotton or natural flax linens. At Linenshack, we believe that only pure cotton or flax linen sheets can provide the smoothness, comfort and breathability that is the hallmark of high-quality bed linen. You will not find any poly-cottons on our website.

Cotton sateen or percale?

These are the two most popular of the cotton fabrics found in bed linen and our firm favourites. Percale tends to be more expensive due to the finer threads used in making a percale fabric. 

Percale

Cotton fabric is made from cotton threads woven lengthwise (the warp threads) and width (the weft threads).  Percale fabric uses a basic or plain weave. This means that the warp and weft threads go over and under each other which creates a very tight weave. With a sateen fabric the warp thread will pass or float over 3 or 4 weft threads (or vice versa) meaning it only intertwines with every third or fourth thread making a looser weave. The cotton in a percale fabric is a high-quality combed cotton – this means it is brushed with combing brushes designed to extract the shortest cotton fibres and other contaminations such as cotton seeds. Combed cotton is softer and of a higher quality than other cottons. It has longer cotton fibres than uncombed cotton and therefore makes a better quality of fabric. The tighter weave of a percale fabric makes for a very crisp feel and an un-shiny matt like appearance. It is a lighter fabric than sateen with finer cotton threads. Imagine the feel of a high-quality cotton formal shirt and you will be very close.  For those who love a crisp light fabric, percale is therefore perfect. Its lightness also makes it ideal if you prefer a cooler bed. Percale fabric has the added advantage of being strong and durable. We have an extensive range of percale bed linen in a range of styles or just plain whites.

Shop cotton percale  Duvet Covers, Pillowcases and Sheets

Sateen

With a looser weave, sateen fabrics are also generally made with thicker threads which make them heavier and warmer than percale fabrics. The fact that the warp threads ‘float’ over 3 or 4 weft threads creates a smooth silk like look (although the fabric should not to be confused with silk) and a very soft and sumptuous feel compared to the tighter weave of a percale fabric. The ‘floating’ threads do mean that it is easier to catch or snag the fabric than is the case with percale although sateen bed linen generally lasts very well with normal use. If you love a slightly heavier fabric which is smooth, sumptuous and warm then sateen is for you.

Purchase cotton sateen Linen Duvet Covers, Pillowcases and Sheets

Thread Counts

The thread count will undoubtedly affect the feel of a fabric. However, a higher thread count does not always mean a better fabric. When choosing you bed linen a well-made fabric with quality combed cotton threads will be a better choice than a higher thread count fabric made with poorer quality cotton.
The thread count normally refers to the number of threads per square inch of fabric.  Inevitably, higher thread count fabrics will have finer threads to accommodate the higher number of threads. This can make them a little less durable. Generally, a well-made made high thread count fabric will have a softer smoother feel than an equivalent lower thread-count but there is a limit. Sometimes with higher thread counts at lower price points, threads are twisted together to fit the required number of threads into the fabric which does nothing to improve its quality or feel. At Linenshack, we only offer cotton percale bedding ranging from 200 – 400 thread count. Our experience is that thread counts above 400 do not produce any notable difference in feel with percale fabric but can suffer from being less durable. In sateen, we stock from 300 – 800 thread count as we believe the looser weave continues to gain in silky smoothness at the higher thread counts. More importantly to us than thread count, all our cotton fabrics are produced to the highest quality with Egyptian cotton or from other premium cottons by trusted producers.

Flax Linen

Natural flax linen has very strong fibres which means that linen fabrics are durable and very long lasting. Linen fibres are longer than cotton fibres – even than long fibre cottons like Egyptian cotton. Flax linen fibre can be a little rougher to touch than cotton initially which is why most linens fabrics are pre-washed to create a softer fabric. Our stone washed linens are particularly soft. The great thing about linen is that unlike cotton, it really does get softer with each wash and after many washes can appear almost silk like. Our stone washed linens start soft and get even softer. The appearance of linen fabric is also enhanced with washing which overt time, adds more silky shine and lustre. It can be ironed with a very hot iron and ironing will further increase the silky lustre. Iron  your bed linen inside out if a duller look is favoured. Of course, one of the great qualities of linen is that it looks great au naturel so ironing is always optional.  It will also naturally crease less through use, laundering and time as it becomes softer.  Natural linen is a superb fabric for sleeping on and under due to its fantastic moisture absorbing qualities. It can absorb a lot of moisture without feeling damp. This means that linen bedding stays fresh and comfortable throughout the night. One reason why linen is so popular in the summer. Even better, the structure of linen fibres means that they act as natural insulating pockets. They can retain heat in the winter but act as a barrier to heat in the summer. This means that linen fabrics really are perfect for bed linen all year round. Linen can help the environment too. It requires much less resources to harvest linen fibres from flax than harvesting cotton and there is very little waste from the harvesting process. What we like most about it though is the wonderful combination of relaxed casual looks and great comfort.  At Linenshack we have a great selection of linens for purchase including stone washed linens and a wonderful stripy linen cotton mix (55% flax linen) which combines the best of both linen and cotton.

Purchase Linen Duvet Covers, Pillowcases and Flat Sheets

If you have any questions about choosing your bed linen you would like us to answer or are still not sure about please feel free to send us a message using the link and we would be only too delighted to help.