Bedding - thoughts please

Buddingblonde

I badly need new bedding for a king size and double bed.

The last time I needed to do this I bought really expensive 100% egyptian cotton sheets and jaquard duvet sets (which have been a really bad buy as the cats have ruined them clicking them with their claws)

I am wanting tips and advice what to replace everything with - where to buy from, what works out best and also care tips. I have already ruined 100% cotton towels by washing them with fabric softner (no one told me not too ) they have gone all hard and scratchy and I can only afford to replace stuff once in a blue moon.

I really dont mind spending money if it will be a long term investment. I dont want stuff that will tear or bobble within a few months.

I bought a feather bed last year and a very good quality feather and down duvet so I am fine for those but anything else please feel free to post.

Thoughts I have had have included duvet sets made of cotton t shirt material type but thicker and also the fluffy cotton (the name of which escapes me at the moment) that was always white with candy stripes.

Thanks

beaniebabe

I have always bought my bedding from Next. I find the choice of design very modern and attractive.
The bedding is of good quality and rarely needs ironing. It is also excellent value for money and the quality is great. You can also get matching curtains and accessories.
I have also bought M&S bedding approx 20 years ago. This lasted me years. May be worth you looking into this also.
Regarding towels, I have recently bought some from primark. They are very thick and of good quality and don't cost the earth!

You could try looking on Ebay as there are some great bargains on bedding etc. X

ChocClare

Buddingblonde wrote: »

and also the fluffy cotton (the name of which escapes me at the moment) that was always white with candy stripes.

Thanks

I think you mean flannelette or brushed cotton. They are great when new (really cosy for the winter) but unless you get good quality ones, they tend to bobble a bit.

My best sheets are ones that I inherited from my great aunt. There is something about worn (ie smoothed by age, not worn out!) cotton and linen sheets which is just irreplaceable! However, the downside to old sheets is that they don't come in particularly large sizes.

If you're looking for good quality modern, then four words: John Lewis Cotton Percale. Cotton percale is not always 100% cotton - you can get 50/50 - but if you get John Lewis's own brand it is EXTREMELY smooth, doesn't need much ironing and lasts for ages - I have two duvet sets which I bought just before my wedding in 1986 which are still going strong and those are not 100% cotton - the label is too faded for me to tell you the percentage, but that is why it irons so easily. And I should add that I NEVER sleep on polycotton apart from this! It is not the cheapest, but it is really worthwhile. In fact, John Lewis' bedding is all really good quality (I don't work for them, I promise) so you could probably get flannelette sheets there too.

Buddingblonde

Flanellete - that is it!! I think I am going gaga as I knew I knew it but I was b*ggered if I could remember it!

Anything that I dont have to iron is always a plus but I have found some polycotton duvets in the past have made me work up a huge sweat during the night and I am not a hot person although OH is.

I dont know how much he would fancy flanellete at night but i think it would be dead cosy.

Mags_cat

Flanelette sheets - mmmmm

I will warn you though that it makes getting *out* of bed on cold mornings almost impossible....

I got mine from QVC - their own brand Northern Nights. Had them about 2 years and they just get better (and softer) as you wash them.

(Edited to add : for me the words ironing and bedding do not go in the same sentence. My mother is horrified - but it ain't her sleeping in them!)

valk_scot

John Lewis and M&S bedding is very good quality and will last for decades. You do need a % of polyester in it though to make it non-iron.

As for the towels that are stiff, either wash them through again with a cup of white vinegar in the rinse to remove the conditioner or wait untill the frost comes and hang them out on the line overnight in a hard frost. TBH though few things make towels particularly bouncy again apart from a tumble drier.

ktpie

valk_scot wrote: »

As for the towels that are stiff, either wash them through again with a cup of white vinegar in the rinse to remove the conditioner or wait untill the frost comes and hang them out on the line overnight in a hard frost. TBH though few things make towels particularly bouncy again apart from a tumble drier.

I was just about to say this! I'm sure the towels can be saved. Fabric conditioner coats the fibres of the towel which is why it stops them absorbing water, I am sure it would eventually wash off though. White vinegar has a fabric softening action but is fine to use on towels as it doesn't coat them in the same way, and it may help remove the fabric softener. Tumble drier is definitely the best way to make them bouncy again.

lickylonglips

asda have great bath sheets in jazzy shades 2 for £9 or at least they did a couple of weeks ago... i got a pair in each aqua and fuchsia... they also had bath towels, hand towels and flannels... bargain! very thick and soft

tiff

I got a set yesterday from Home Sense (T K Maxx). They are House of Fraser brand, look lovely for a fraction of the price. HOF price was £55, Homesense price £25. Plus pillow cases to match for £2.99 instead of £9.99. They have lots of good quality bedding in there.

foxgloves

I like 100% cotton sheets but they can be really expensive to buy new. I have been buying vintage bedlinen from ebay. I got the idea as I still have a pair of cotton sheets that my Nan bought in 1959. She gave them to me when I was a student in the 1980s and they still wash & iron well. The edges started to fray a little, so I turned them 'sides to middle' and have got another nearly ten years of use from them, so it occurred to me that bed linen must have been better quality back then and I started looking for it at flea fairs & on ebay. I've put together a nice collection and haven't paid more than about £12 for a double sheet (some stuff has been under £5), which was pressed & pristine & lovely quality. I have tried using the cotton t-shirt material bedding in the past (it's different from the flanallette I remember as a child) & it's been cosy to sleep in but I find it pulls out of shape in the wash & it gets harder & harder to put the duvet in without odd sorts of lumps & twists.

Mrs_Thrify

Hi Bud... I buy my bedding from Asda, polly/cotton and they wash and line dry well.

Your towels I would think are hard and scratchy because you put them on the line. To make them fluffy put them in the tumble drier.

Best wishes....Julie