I thought pilling was caused by sleeping and rolling over on the sheets. I'm not real familiar with sheets that pill- is it mostly just the fitted sheet that pills or do the fitted and the top sheet pill. If that's the case the duvet cover shouldn't have a problem since it doesn't get the same kind of stress.

Read that when getting new sheets to put vinegar in wash the first time.

Also, a good discussion on pilling on Cleaning Tips Forum

Here is a link that might be useful: Pilling of sheets

By law, 100% cotton sheets can contain up to 5% of another fiber. If there's pilling, it's poly. Always best to wash sheets in mild soap and not overdry IMO. But the friction on the fabric is the culprit. Less of an issue on a duvet than on a bottom sheet, however.

Sometimes it just depends on the brand and the quality. I bought Wamsutta 300tc from BB&B and they pilled, too. Cuddledown and Sferra sheets, in my experience, do not pill.

Thanks, everyone...wow, looks like Wamsutta's got a bit of a QC problem. Wish I'd known. Last time I buy them. I checked the tag and they're made in Pakistan, not USA with Chinese material.

It's so hard to find the right color, I just jumped on these because they match perfectly.

I will try washing them in vinegar first, as you mention texas, and will dry them gently, rococo.

Can you go back and buy just the pillow cases? Wash/dry as recommended on the label. Perhaps try a couple of different methods and see how they turn out. Take them back if they aren't up to par. This doesn't help with your sheet purchase, but at least you will know results before rather than after. You may not have any issues and process will tell you the best way to handle your duvet.

It has been a few years since buying new sheets. I am currently going through sets which were stored. None of the sheets are pilled. Most of them were bought at Tuesday Morning which is where I always seemed to end up looking for bedding. Not in the need for anything new, but still look and the last couple of years their stock hasn't been as nice.

Throwing them in the dryer was never a question. I do have socks and warm clothing items which will pill if they are inside out and hate the feel of them next to me when it happens. Never could figure out why the inside pills, but not the outside.

The material content has changed so much, even highly expensive is up for question as to wear/results. So many fabrics now state dry clean and bet it is to avoid all possibilities of change, even if a small change like pilling. Having to baby fabrics is getting frustrating. Made in America isn't going to change this either as more manufacturers fill in the cost factor with machine produced fibers.

I would wash yours in a gentle cycle and air dry...just in case. But then it would most likely need to be ironed. Wonder though if we iron these items, will this just cause more of what we are trying to avoid? Bought a small steamer (stores use them all the time to steam their fabric items) for new and washed large items as well as some clothing. But now wondering if this will pose the same issue.

Call Wamsutta and ask them. A few years ago I purchased a set of their sheets for my Mother who was bedridden. She complained that the sheets were rough and that her elbows had become irritated. They sent me replacement sheets that my Mom loved, they were wonderfully soft. I don't remember if I had to mail the laundered sheets back or not.

I've called them a few times over the years and they've been fairly responsive. In my quest for crisp sheets I called and asked if there was any chance they'd start making their Supercale sheets again. The CR rep said I wasn't the first to request them and steered me to BBB's Wamsutta Pinpoint.

This post was edited by maire_cate on Sat, Nov 23, 13 at 11:57

I'm not sure why this thread was pulled up since there doesn't appear to be a spam link in that post, but I'm glad it's here so I could read maire_cate's answer. I used to love the Supercale sheets. Does the answer you got mean that the Pinpoint sheets are the same as the Supercale, or is that just the closest thing they've got now?

I had a store brand of sheets (Home Accents through Belk) that pilled pretty badly. They were also too thin.

I think that with the wrinkle free, these are more prone to pilling? Anyone know?

I love percale and that is all I remember growing up, but it seems nobody carries those anymore except for a few online places like Vermont Country Store and I think LLBean or LandsEnd. They are expensive, but I may just need to bit the bullet to get the feel of sheets that I love. Hope they're as good as I recall them to be.

marti8a - that's funny. I didn't notice how old the thread was. It does seem odd that the post would be resurrected 'out of the blue' like that. But it happens every now and then and I've never been able to figure out why.

I did check the Pinpoint at BBB. They were very nice but I didn't really need to buy a new set. I have 6 sets of sheets for my bed ( my MIL worked in the bedding department of a department store) and 4 of them are Wamsutta Supercale I just needed to replace the elastic in my oldest sets - they were easily over 20 years old.

You can still buy Wamsutta supercale sheets on ebay. They are vintage sheets, sometimes still in the unopened package. I have purchased several of these in the never ending quest for the perfect sheet.

Just want to correct the statement that 100% cotton sheets can have up to 5% of another fiber. That is not accurate. This is from the FTC:
â¢The fiber content statement must list the generic name of each fiber that equals 5 percent or more of the product's weight, in order of predominance, and the percentage of the product's weight represented by each fiber. For example, "85% Cotton, 15% Polyester." Fibers that are less than 5% of the weight should be listed as "other fiber[s]." However, if the fiber has a functional significance, even in small amounts, it may be listed by name. For example: "96% Cotton, 4% Spandex". A product should not be labeled "100% Cotton" unless it contains only cotton (exclusive of "trim"). For more information about textile labeling requirements, see the FTC business guide, Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts.