cotton sheets

Wig

Hi

I want sheets like our grand mothers had. Strong thick cotton sheets. heavy duty stuff.

The cotton sheet sellers mention thread count "good quality sheets start at 180 thread count and are considered percale." and they go up to 800 - 1000 thread count, but they are being marketed on being a satin like finish i.e. super smooth and shiny...NOT what I want.

Maybe they are linen (my grandmothers ones, yes, I still have them)..how do you tell if a sheet is cotton or linen?

What search term do I use to get the sheets I want?

Thanks

EDIT update:
OK I searched for sheets like my grandmother used to have and I got:

https://www.thomasleesheets.com/grandmas-bed-sheets/
Your grandma’s bed sheets were woven in the old-fashioned percale construction where the same number of threads are woven in both the length (warp) and width (weft) direction. Unfortunately, this weaving method has largely been replaced with a cheap, inferior sateen weave wherein four threads are woven over one. A sateen fabric is woven four times faster than a balanced, or percale, construction, and thus it is four times cheaper to weave

^Which sounds promising.

I also looked up
Percale wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percale
Percale, or percalcos, is a closely woven plain weeve fabric often used for bed covers. Percale has a thread count of about 200 or higher and is noticeably tighter than the standard type of weave used for bedsheets. It has medium weight, is firm and smooth with no gloss, and warps and washes very well. It is made from both carded and combed yarns, and may be woven of various fibers, such as cotton polyester, or various blends

and Sateen wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sateen
Sateen is a fabric made using a satin weave structure but made with spun yarns instead of filament. The sheen and softer feel of sateen is produced through the satin weave structure. Warp yarns are floated over weft yarns, for example four over and one under. (In a weft-faced satin or sateen, the weft yarns are floated over the warp yarns). Standard plain weaves use a one-over, one-under structure. The long floats produce a surface that is smooth to the touch and reduces light scattering to increase shine. This weave structure is more susceptible to wear than other weaves.
In modern times cheaper rayon is often substituted for cotton. Better qualities are mercerised to give a higher sheen. Some are only calendered to produce the sheen, but this disappears with washing.


Also on Mums net forum found two posts from people buying hight thread count 800 from dunelm "hotel range" and they both reported the sheet tearing after a year or so... It was probably sateen weeve then as above, not very long lasting.

maman

It's your choice of course but they're a bu**er to iron! I've got one that I use as a cover in really hot weather (so rarely). It came from Laura Ashley but don't know if they still do them.

tootallulah

I bought mine at a flea market in France! And they are indeed a !!!!!! to iron but in the summer so very cool - lovely.

DigForVictory

I'd not be looking online but in person at markets, asking folk, seeing what charity shops have (flat sheets seem to have gone right out of style so you should have a splendid choice) & only then preparing to tackle a real draper.
Ideally you want an elderly lady's hope chest, untouched & unappreciated, all vintage heavy bed linen, awaiting the right man to appear, or return from the war. That's not generally how it'll be listed on eBay so I'm all for talking to people.
You might try the "looking for something for great aunt" as she loathes care home polycottons & see if the sympathy vote helps? It'll help modern sellers figure the sort of heft & style you are looking for.
Alternatively, you could write to a few expensive hotels mentioning how lovely their bed linens were described & ask if they would share their source? You then risk finding the right stuff but having to buy twenty sheets at a time... Best of luck!

Wig

tootallulah wrote: »

I bought mine at a flea market in France! And they are indeed a !!!!!! to iron but in the summer so very cool - lovely.

Funnily enough (it is my OH grandma, and OH is French)

I don't mind not ironing them at all, I mean you're not going to notice when you are in bed...are you. . but a quick once over with the iron is what OH will do, not at my bidding.

PasturesNew

Just an irrelevant anecdote:

About 45 years ago mum dragged us out one dark evening to a big laundry premises - there we queued and bought ex hotel sheets, they had the name embroidered on the corner. Even though we bought them 2nd hand they lasted another 20+ years!

It might be worth finding out who does the laundry of big hotels ... and contacting those laundry firms to see what they say about "old sheets"

thriftwizard

I have a fair number of lovely old cotton & linen sheets, which I've picked up over the years at boot sales and charity shops, mostly for 50p each. They often have yellowish marks where they've been folded, which makes people lower the price or even sell them for dog bedding, but these nearly always wash straight out, provided you do a proper vigorous cotton wash, 40℃ or above, not a 30℃ "gentle" wash because they're old.

I've bought hotel bedding before and it's not stood the test of time like the old stuff, though it's washed well. And linen is as tough as old boots; the oldest woven fabrics still in existence are linens from around 7,000 BC!

VfM4meplse

PasturesNew wrote: »

Just an irrelevant anecdote:

About 45 years ago mum dragged us out one dark evening to a big laundry premises - there we queued and bought ex hotel sheets, they had the name embroidered on the corner. Even though we bought them 2nd hand they lasted another 20+ years!

This is a lovely anecdote!

I use a linen sheet year round. It is a bu**er to dry in the winter ( to maman) but doesn't go anywhere near an iron as it sits under my fitted sheet. I estimate it to be at least 50 years old, as it was one of several that came to England with my mum. Every time she changes one she reminds me of the quality, and the fact that during the war the queen used to have to repurpose her hole-y sheets by cutting in half and sewing the two "good" ends together. I can't see this happening to this sheet, it's near-enough indestructible

Wicked_Lady

Have you tried John Lewis? Their website lists flat cotton sheets in a range of thread counts, plus a linen one.


I buy my cotton sheets etc from them and have not had any problems.

System

A couple of years ago i bought a pure cotton seersucker duvet cover from Debenhams. It was warm in winter and cool in summer. It wasnt cheap but it was worth every penny.

Hubby put his foot through it a few months ago as it was wearing a bit thin and now i am using a cheap poly cotton thing we bought to use in the caravan. Its horrible next to the skin and cold in cold weather and hot in warm weather.

I'll replace it at some point as they still sell the seersucker duvet set in Debenhams.

maman

Try searching eBay for vintage cotton sheets.:)