Between the Sheets

I figured I might as well continue on my, “I just moved into a new apartment” theme (so if you were hoping for a spicy article on getting hot & heavy between the sheets, look elsewhere!). 

[source: pillow mint]

I’m simply looking for a fun, fresh set of bed linens.

I have a red matelassé cover that adds color to my bedroom, but would still like more punch than plain white sheets and prefer a graphic pattern.  That rules out Bed, Bath & Beyond and Linens-N-Things, who tend to only sell solid or tone-on-tone sheets. Overstock and Marshalls can be hit or miss.  Belk didn’t exactly roll my socks up and down in my current search. 

Pillow Mint would be my first choice as a great local resource (opened September 2007, now in it’s new location at 310 2nd St. SE) for unique, modern designs and quality bedding.  We’re fortunate to have this specialty boutique in our midst (we love our advertisers!), offering stylish and hip alternatives to big-name manufactures like Wamsutta; sadly for me, their current sheet selection doesn’t seem to work with my color scheme (but I’m quickly falling in love with the koko pollen throw pillow).  

Online boutique Wrapables falls in the same category: love the designs, their assortment is fabulous, but I’m not finding a color match (sniff, tear).

I have a few favorite, affordable on-line retailers that sell playfully-patterned sheets that I check back with often (The Company Store, Garnet Hill, Pottery Barn) yet having never ordered sheets from them before, I start to wonder – how can they get away with selling 200 thread-count sheets?  Are they good enough quality? I thought I should be buying 400, 600 or even 1,000 thread count? What ever happened to, “the higher number, the better?”

So I did a little background search and this is what I gleaned (through contrasting info, so feel free to set me straight if i am wrong): 

•  A 360 thread count fabric is the highest count you can get using single-ply thread (companies often use 2-ply, “weaving techniques” and crafty marketing to come up with high numbers of 600 and 1,000, but they are often not higher quality).
• In a quality product, increasing thread count over 300 will not change the comfort value of the sheet by much.
• Finer threads allow for a higher thread count and are associated with a softer, smoother fabric
• Two-ply can be a good thing—it twists 2 fabrics into one, doubling the thread count and resulting in a nice, light bedding.
• High quality bedding will always be singed and mercerized.
• Among 100% cottons, generally, Pima or Giza Egyptian (not just any old Egyptian) are better.
• Look for “Combed cotton”—this is a process that separates the long, desirable fibers from the short, immature fibers to create a stronger, smoother yarn.
• Percale is just a general term for cotton or cotton blend sheeting, so long as contains 180 threads per square inch or higher.

[source: linen place, the company store, and cotton inc.]

On that note, is there a store in town (or online) I should visit before I settle on the Serena Paisley, 300-thread count, cotton sateen sheets that I just found at Crate & Barrel (free shipping, to boot!)?