the thread count is made up of lies

If you’ve ever bought bed sheets, you probably know that the phrase “thread count” refers to the number of threads per square inch. This is true. But while you might think that the higher the thread count, the smoother and “higher quality” the seat, this is definitely not the case. At least not with most products on the market.

The overall concept of thread count is Only useful for sheets made from single-ply cotton fabricsin other materials it makes no sense at all. To understand why, you need to know a little bit about textiles, starting with what “single layer cotton” means. What is a fabric “ply”? number of individual strands (or “threads”) are twisted together to make each thread. A single yarn has one yarn, a double yarn has two yarns, and a triple yarn has three yarns. Therefore, single-ply cotton sheets are made of single-ply cotton yarn. The number of threads is important here. The finer the threads, the more threads can fit in the fabric and the smoother the feel of the fabric. But at some point It becomes impossible to make a single strand of cotton any finer. This means that there is a strict limit to how many threads can be woven together. For single ply cotton, that limit is about 400-500 threads per square inch. If a set of “100% cotton” sheets advertises a higher thread count than that, someone is lying to you.

For synthetic fibres, the limit is much higher. In fact, some synthetic fabrics are designed to have the thinnest threads possible. In particular Increase the number of threads for marketing purposes. In addition to being ultra-thin, many synthetic fibers are also multi-ply, which some manufacturers use to further inflate the thread count. A set of sheets of counts can suddenly become 900 thread counts. (This is allowed because the number of threads is not regulated.) And it’s just a layer. Thread count figures can be even higher if you take into account various types of synthetic fabrics (such as stretchy “T-shirt” sheets and so-called “microfibers”). This is why the majority of ultra-high thread count sheets are polyester or cotton/poly blends.

Synthetic sheets aren’t necessarily bad, for one they tend to wrinkle less than cotton. If you prefer your sheets to be slightly stretchy and wrinkle resistant, we recommend reading the many reviews and asking friends and family for their recommendations.

If you prefer cotton sheets, keep in mind that a higher thread count is not necessarily a better product. Anything more than that defeats the purpose. Cotton sateen is dense and smooth with between 250 and 400 threads.

Bottom line: Thread count is a largely meaningless marketing tool unless you know what you’re looking for. Knowing a little bit about what you’re really looking for can help you find it.