How To Choose Your Perfect Bed Linen
By: Weavve Home
Tags: Home Improvement, Bedsheets, Home, Shopping, Home Decor

3 Steps to Choosing the Perfect Bed Linen

You’re back from a long day at work, or a great dinner with friends. You’ve taken a warm shower and it’s time to snuggle beneath the sheets. How do you get that perfect feeling that transports you back to your favourite hotel room, and the night of great sleep that rejuvenates you for tomorrow?

The choice of bed linen is both objective and subjective. Choosing quality bedding and good design is important, but everyone’s definition of what’s comfortable is different. Everywhere you go there is such a wide range of materials, colours, specifications — what do you choose?

Fret not! Here’s three simple steps to help you get that great night’s sleep: right material, right design, and right for you!

Material

1. Type of Material

Cotton, Tencel or Linen? Which bedlinen is better for a good night’s sleep?

What’s the difference between a Sateen and Percale Weave? These choices really depend on the experience you’d like when sleeping.

Weavve’s Cotton Sheets set in Sandshell

Cotton is the most common material and for good reason, high quality cotton looks rich, is extremely comfortable and stands the test of time.

Cotton gets softer and more comfortable as you wash it, making cotton sheets a good investment.

If you like smoother sheets choose a Sateen weave.

Percale sheets are made of a traditional one over and one under weave, and have more of a matte finish than Sateen.

Weavve’s Tencel Sheets in White

Tencel is a branded material by Lenzing, made from eucalyptus cellulose fibres.

Good, original Tencel is extremely smooth, and cool to the touch. Choose this if you love silky smooth sheets.

As a type of Lyocell, Tencel uses a closed loop manufacturing process, meaning waste products are recycled to create the next batch. This is different and more environmentally friendly than other Rayons like Viscose or Modal.

Tencel is machine washable but only in cold water. And it has to be hung dry and not machine dried.

Linen is another great material and is made from the flax plant.

Linen is breathable and absorbs moisture well, making it great if you live in warmer climes and don’t like to use air conditioning.

It has a lush feel but is very different from the smoothness of Tencel or a Cotton Sateen sheet.

Check out Weavve’s bedsheets here.

2. Quality of Material

Next, the quality of the material will have the highest impact on comfort.

Weavve uses extra-long staple cotton fibres

Go for long staple fibres or better yet, extra-long staple fibres. Extra-long staple cotton fibres come from a specific breed of cotton plants, the Gossypium Barbadense plant. These are spun into stronger, finer yarns.

Fewer extra-long staple fibres are required to spin the same length of yarn. This results in fewer loose ends, making the sheet smoother and more comfortable.

Fewer interruptions in the yarn due to long staple lengths also create a stronger fabric.

Egyptian cotton is famous for its comfort and strength, but this only applies to extra-long staple Egyptian cotton. Most Egyptian cotton is not of this variety.

Our extra-long staple cotton fibres are spun into 100 yarn count threads

Bed sheets with a higher yarn count give a smoother, softer and lighter feel. The higher the number, the finer the yarn.

When looking at yarn count, 60 to 80 will provide a good level of comfort, but 100 yarn yields a much more luxurious feel.

More higher yarn count threads can fit into a smaller area, increasing the maximum thread count possible.

Look out for single ply yarn. These are threads made up of a single ply of fibres.

Single ply yarns are stronger, smoother and lighter. This strength yields a higher quality sheet that pills less.

Two ply, three ply or multi ply yarns are spun from a group of weaker threads.

Lastly, threadcount. Experts agree that the highest number of threads one can squeeze into a square inch is 600. How do other bed linens achieve thread count of 1000 or more?

Firstly, by using a metric system of 10cm squares versus a square inch, bed linen thread count can be measured 50% higher without actually increasing the number of vertical and horizontal threads.

Secondly, by using weaker, multi ply threads. Each ply is marketed as a thread, so a three ply yarn can be marketed at three times the thread count.

Go for ELS fibres, high yarn count and single ply yarn. Threadcount matters less above a certain limit (~400 to 500). Visit Our Sheets to find out more.

Design

Design plays an unassuming but critical role. Here, we highlight three aspects for design: function, comfort and aesthetics.

1. Design for Function

Duvet slipping out of the duvet cover? Pillows can’t stay in the pillowcase? Small design features can make using the bedding easier and better.

Or waking up in the morning and your pillow case has come off your pillow and is on the floor? Better designed sheets have certain features that while seems small, makes the linen much easier and comfortable to use.

Back Envelope Pillowcase

A side fed pillowcase comes out easily and often, and doesn’t fit all pillow sizes well. Look for an envelope opening at the back that helps cover and contain the pillow well. Preferably, the slit opens closer to one end of the pillow and not down the centre, so it is easier to wrap and remove the opening.

Look for stronger elastics bands on the fitted sheet that help keep it in place through the night.

Similarly, duvet ties inside each corner of the quilt cover keep the duvet spread out within the quilt cover. Buttons at the opening help keep the duvet from slipping out, keeping you warm and snug throughout the night.

Great bedding sets are an investment and should last. There will be more stress on certain openings and weak points. Look for reinforcements like bar tacks at pillow and duvet cover openings.

Don’t like that constant clicking sound as your sheets spin in the washing machine? Neither do we. Opt for cloth covered buttons — these reduce the impact of buttons coming into contact with the washer, ensuring your buttons last longer while getting rid of that irritating sound.

2. Design for Comfort

Great sheets don’t just look good and feel good to the touch, they are designed to not get in the way of your sleep.

Concealed Cloth Buttons

Coming back to those buttons… Look for openings where the buttons close up on the inside of the sheet so you don’t feel the buttons as you snooze through the night.

Like great detailing? Just make sure elements like piping and embroidery on the sheets are away from where you’d contact it while sleeping.

3. Design for Aesthetics

You’ve spent time outfitting your house to look great, investing in a nice mattress and bedframe, and now you’re going to spend on a great set of sheets. Great bed linen should not only give you a great night’s sleep but elevate the elegance of your bedroom. Some design features that you might like.

Embroidery is a classy feature when employed subtly. A nicely designed logo that isn’t too big or too obvious will create a feeling of understated elegance.

Stylish piping features create a more sumptuous feel to your pillowcases and duvet covers. Make sure these don’t get in the way of comfort as you sleep.

Choose a colour that matches the overall theme of your bedroom and house. More basic colours can help accentuate other hero pieces, while stronger colours focus the attention onto your bed as the centrepiece of your bedroom.

Colour contrast can be a nice touch too, and the level of contrast is both a matter of personal taste and overall room design. Light contrasts will create a more engaging appearance, while stronger contrasts will give your bedroom a bolder feel. If you’re going for a sophisticated look, having the same colour for both sheets and design elements like piping and embroidery will add that touch of style.

You

At the end of the day, it’s all about you, your sleep, your bedroom and your home. This is where it gets personal, it needs to be right for you.

Know your mattress size.

Even though we’re familiar with King, Queen, Super Single and Single sizes, every manufacturer’s dimensions are slightly different.

Mattresses also have various heights. The trend today is for thicker mattresses, where multiple layers have been engineered together to give greater comfort. Make sure your fitted sheet has sufficient depth for your mattress.

Check your mattress size against size guides, like ours here at Weavve.

Your bed linen should fit your distinctive taste.

Go for design and colours you like, and that fit your bedroom

Feel free to mix and match various sets, creating a look and feel unique to you

Touch is a personal choice.

Do you like your sheets to feel silky smooth or snug like a warm hug? That’s the main difference between Cotton Sateen and Percale, or Tencel and Linen.

Try out the sheets in person. At a store, see if you can test lying on the sheets and pillowcases.

When buying online, look for brands that offer free trial periods or have offline events that allow you to feel the sheets. Some trial periods even come with a free returns policy, ensuring you will not be out of pocket if you don’t like the sheets and make a return!

Good luck with your shopping journey. When in doubt, look for reviews that help you choose between different brands and materials.

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