The general idea is that the higher the thread count, the better quality the sheets. That’s not entirely true and the assumption can get you hooked by a marketing gimmick. When does a high thread count really indicate luxury and comfort, and when are you just having the wool pulled over your eyes?
Do those astronomically high thread counts really matter?
It’s possible for manufacturers to exploit certain loopholes to technically push the thread count really high, which is why you can get those ridiculously high 1000 plus thread count sheets. The makers know that consumers are dazzled by thread count.
We’re not saying that thread count is a useless metric. It can contribute to the overall feel of linen, but after a certain point, the thread count isn’t really making much of a perceivable difference. What those hugely high numbers do add to is a high price. So 1000TC (thread count) cotton will basically feel the same as 700TC cotton. In fact, many people will argue that there’s not much point even going beyond 400TC.
As a rough estimate: anything below 180TC is poor quality, between 180TC and 300TC is good quality and still relatively affordable, while 300TC to 500TC is luxury quality. If you buy linen between 500TC and 700TC that is considered superior luxury quality and you will pay dearly for the bragging rights.
So what can you look at?
More important than just looking at the thread count number is taking into account the kind of cotton. Not all cotton is created equally. It’s no use buying a very high thread count when the linen is made out of impure, poor quality cotton. What you want to do is look into the source or type of cotton used. Egyptian cotton is deserving of its acclaimed reputation and is considered the most superior cotton in the world. Pima cotton from the US and Sea Island cotton from the West Indies is also high quality
Yarn size is another thing to look at, which refers to how fine each yarn is. The higher the yarn size, the finer the yarn. The ideal yarn size ranges from 40 to 100.
The best fibre quality is long staple cotton, which produces strong and fine yarns. Generally, the longer the fibre the better. The longest fibres are Egyptian extra-long staple and Pima cotton.
While thread count is still a possible indicator of linen quality, it’s not the only or even the most important one.
When it comes to quality bed linen, you don’t want to be paying for a marketing gimmick. If the factors are too confusing, you could also just feel the linen for yourself. If that 300TC Egyptian cotton feels better than those 1000TC sheets “on special”, you know which is better.
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