Cy DeVries of Bloomington stood bemused in the bedding department 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 the sheet, said Missy Bye from the Design Department at the University of Minnesota. The same is true for softness, wrinkles, wearability and pilling -- every sheet is different and you can't tell until you launder and sleep on it.
Buying sheets has become so complicated that retailers such as Linens N Things and Bed, Bath & Beyond have put up signs explaining different weaves, cottons and sheet depth. The primers "educate our customers and help them make the best decision," said Catherine Gentile, a spokeswoman for Bed, Bath & Beyond. The company also has information at BedBathandBeyond.com under "product guides."
Weave, thread count and cotton type prompt the most questions, said Diane Hilbert of Euro AM luxury bedding store in Edina. How good are you at differentiating various types of sheets? Are you a sheet snob or a sheet slob? With textile expertise 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'm being 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. Name two local retailers that sell organic sheets.
7. True or false: Some of the best sheets for quality and price can be found at Target.
8. Who sells extra-long dorm sheets year-round?
9. Which is harder to find: sheets with standard or extra-deep pockets?
10. Name three outlets where you can find a steal on a sheet set.
11. Name some luxurious sheets that say "I'm worth it."
12. Which stores won't give dirty looks at the returns desk if sheets don't pass muster?
Answers:
1 Sateen is a weaving technique that gives the cotton surface a smoother, silkier, soft feel, almost like satin. Some consumers say that sateen wrinkles easily, but it depends on the brand.
2 Percale is also a fabric weave, usually medium weight with low- to medium thread count. Popular again, today's percale is usually 100 percent cotton. Its fans like the stiffer, crisper feel that tends to wrinkle less than sateen.
3 Egyptian cotton, grown in the Nile River Valley, is traditionally thought to be the best cotton because of its long, strong fiber. Pima or Supima cotton is often domestically grown. Most buyers probably 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 on whether the manufacturer is using single- or double-ply threads. Thread count is the number of horizontal and vertical threads in 1 square inch of fabric. If a sheet has 100 threads running each way, that's a 200 thread count, but some manufacturers count 400 threads per 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 easily sell for $700.
