How to choose the Best Bed Sheets

You’d think buying the right bed sheets would be a relatively simple thing to do but it’s as important to a good night’s sleep as buying the right mattress. So if you’re in the dark over sheet size, haven’t got a clue about thread counts and don’t know where you stand on the great cotton vs polyester debate, stay with me for the next few minutes and change the way you sleep forever.

Cotton Sheets
O.K. generally speaking, 100% cotton bed sheets are the softest you can buy. Made from natural fibres they’re breathable, they're durable and sadly they're the most expensive too.

Egyptian Cotton Sheets
A grade up from 100% cotton, ‘Egyptian Cotton’ sheets are made from cotton that’s grown from along the banks of the Nile. These really are luxurious sheets, but the crème de la crème are the sheets that have also been finished in Egypt, there’s something about their spinning and weaving technique that other countries just don’t seem to follow.

Polyester/Cotton Blend Sheets
On the Polyester/Cotton blend side of the debate, the great thing about these sheets is they’re simply less hassle. Grab them out of the tumble dryer, throw them on the bed and say goodbye to the wrinkles. O.K. so that may be a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean and another great plus is the price.

As a rule of thumb if you’re looking for a quality sheet, then you’re looking for a sheet with the highest ‘thread count’.

Thread Count

The thread count (or number of threads there are per inch) describes the tightness of the weave, so obviously a sheet with a 200 thread count will feel amazingly different to say a lower quality object with a count of 56. (If your eyes are good enough and you're feeling really bored, you can actually count the threads - if you want to!.) Admittedly the sheet with a lower ‘thread count’ will be cheaper, but you’ve got to ask yourself if you buy it, are we talking false economy here.

For the totally uninitiated, fitted sheets are the ones that have elastic in them and cling to the edges of your mattress. Flat sheets are the ones that you tuck in around the edges of the mattress. Which ever you choose comes down to personal choice, but the most important thing to remember when buying bed sheets is which size is right for your bed?
Well, to be truthful, the correct question should be:
‘Which sheet is the correct size for my mattress?’ as it’s the mattress you’re wrapping your sheet around and not actually the bed.

Below is a chart that gives you a general guide to American and the United Kingdom’s sheet sizing. Individual sheeting manufacturers seem to vary their sizing by a couple of inches/cms, so if in doubt with flat sheets try buying the next size up.