How Are Wrinkle Free Sheets Made?

This is one of my favorite questions we get about once a week. Usually it starts out as ‘I used to have a sheet set that never wrinkled – used it for 20 years’, etc. So let’s go through what makes sheets become less wrinkled:

Fabric Content – Sheets are typically made with cotton or polyester. Other sheet fabric choices include silk, performance fabrics like TENCEL and a few others. Cotton is a natural material that can be woven in many ways including percale, sateen, twill, etc. Cotton does tend to wrinkle in most cases and some newer forms and weaving methods have improved any wrinkling issues. Polyester is a very wrinkle free friendly fabric that holds up well – but has the bad habit of causing skin irritation and feeling warm against the skin. The combination of cotton and polyester usually is a happy medium that offers the feel of cotton but the wrinkle resistant nature of polyester. When shopping in stores you will see terms like ‘cotton rich’ – this means there is more cotton then polyester in the sheets fabric content. In the past dozen years high performance fabrics like TENCEL Lyocell Cotton offer all the benefits of cotton poly sheeting but excellent moisture wicking and amazingly silky smooth (great for ecezema and pseoriasis).

Fabric Finishing – sheeting fabrics can have chemical topical treatments which basically give them a slicker feel and reduces sheet wrinkling. The downside is that this is a chemical treatment and cause skin irritations. Usually you will see chemical treatments on cotton cloth while polyester usually does not need it. High performance sheeting materials like TENCEL Lyocell does not need chemical treatments either as the material is naturally wrinkle resistant.

Fabric Care & Treatment – We would recommend that any sheeting material never be left in the dryer once finished. This alone paired with some quick folding will keep sheet wrinkling to a minimum.

So what do we recommend?

Or favorite sheeting material is TENCEL Lyocell Cotton blends which give you all of the necessary requirements. We do remind customers to not leave them in the dryer as well.

Of course if you are really neurotic you can iron your sheets – try a rotary iron like this one from Miele.

Why Do My 1,000 Thread Count Sheets Make Me Sweat?

So we got a call a few days ago from someone asking why her high thread count sheets were making her sweat? Afterall doesn’t high thread count equal amazing? (Well not really!)

For starters – most high thread count sheets that you see in the stores and online use double, triple or quadrouple twisted yarns to make the yarns or they use double, triple or quandrouple inserted yarns – kind the same thing – sort of. Regardless of how they get the yarn count to be so high – the main problem is that to get to such a high yarn count is that they use lots of material – which makes the sheets feel heavy – which block more air, which make you sweat more.

DOWNLITE likes high thread count sheets like anyone else – but our highest thread count we carry is 500 – only because the weave is so complex for our Tencel Lyocell sheet sets. I have personally been in love with our 310 Thread Count Botanical Sheet Set which also uses Tencel Lyocell.

We would use this basic rule of thumb: Above 500 TC the sheet manufacturer is playing games with twisted or inserted yarns – and the item will feel dense and heavy.

So good luck on your sheet set quest and remember that if you get night sweats or slep warm – upgrade to Lyocell sheets and you will never try another style yarn again.

Should You Wash New Sheets?

I was recently working at our Fine Linen store in Cincinnati and had a customer buying a Tencel Lyocell sheet set for her daughter. She had asked me while looking at the sheets how to wash them when she got home?  I am always suprised by how many people want to wash new sheet sets. I myself always wash any new plates/cups/utensils – but have never, ever washed new textiles. This applies to both bedding and to towels, etc.

I’m probably biased because I work for a company that makes bedding – so to me the thought of washing a sheet set with an amazing finish seems backwards. I love, love the feeling of new sheets – so washing them right off the bat and having any of the finish lost seems too risky.  Of course the sheets will be perfectly fine when washed, dried and folded.

I’ve had that same question come up maybe a dozen times in the 9 years I’ve been in textiles – so it always throws me for a loop. It’s an odd question to me because themanufacturing  facilities are flawless when they are made – they have to be – they are usually white fabric.

To each their own – but I still tell folks not to wash them at home – enjoy them for the week – then you can wash them. For more bedding care tips go to www.BeddingCare.com.

Buying A Comforter As A Gift

With the holidays ever present I get asked all the time by folks online and in our stores – how to buy a comforter as a present for someone?

Well the simple recomendations – regardless of price point include:

• Always buy less on the warmth scale – its easy to layer on an additional blanket versus being too hot.
• Buy sizes which allow for easy duvet buying later on (oversized kings 108 x 98 versus european or higher end smaller sizes – ala 107 x 92).
• White is the best color – so down bedding makes a great gift – matches all decors from contemporary to traditional, etc.
• Comforters like pillows are a very personal choice – so a basic cambric weave or a basic pattern is better then a fancy or complicated looking pattern (although we love paisleys and basketweaves).
• Bigger is usually better – no one lines small or skimpy comforters – go large – it can always drape on the bed (This is mainly for queen sizes – which in stores can run small – look for an oversized queen like 90 x 98 inches).

Save My Feather Bed

Probably about once a month I get a call or email question about a leaking or poking feather bed and what can be done.

For starters – even the best feather beds will have leakage or poking due to the nature of them – i.e. they are filled primarily with feathers. Feathers unlike down have quills – quills which can poke through the fabric under the weight of your body. Aside from any skin poking they can also cause unsightly leaking feathers whcih can cling to a mattress and or your fitted sheets.

Relax we have a few suggestions on how to prevent and limit the poking and leaking that can occur. The first thing we would recommend is to use a feather bed protector – which basically completely envelops your feather bed kind of like a giant duvet. There are many styles available and range in price from $20 to $80 based on thread count, features and others bells and whistles. Of course we are partial to our own collection which feature an innovative three sided zipper – which opens up clam style for ease of placing on. I would generally recommend a twill style fabric as it tends to be think and durable regardless of the thread count. Do make sure the feather bed protector can fit your size – sometimes the thickness of the feather beds require some fancy math – in other words some protectors come in slightly larger sizes to accomodate the height of the feather beds. The DOWNLITE model is appx 2 inches larger in both dimesnions and is gussetted to allow for a proper fit.

The next step in feather bed heaven is to get an old white comforter that is largr then your mattress. You can simply place on top of the feather bed and tuck it underneath and then add your fitted sheet on top. Or you can buy a cheap mattress pad and cover the feather bed and then add the fitted sheet on top. The goal here is that both methods provide extra cushion to your feather bed.

Lastly, you have to understand that most feather beds on the market feature a 95 percent feather blend and only 5 percent down. Some luxury feather beds feature a 90 percent feather blend with 10 percent down for comfort. Some feather beds feature a pillow top made of polyester or down once again for added comfort.

Please note even the best feather bed with a down top still can use the tricks I mentioned.