I like flannel sheets also.

I bought some higher thread count sheets and they wrinkle horribly. I got some extra 250 thread count pillow cases(the other set only had two pillowcases)that are a blend.

They come out of the dryer with almost no wrinkles and they are almost as soft. I can't tell the difference when I lay on them. Next time I will buy a decent blend sheets. The higher thread count isn't important to me.

I received a set of flannel sheets from Kohl's two years ago and they were the softest flannels yet and they have laundried great. No pilling and still soft. However, last year the Kohl's around here didn't carry that particular kind. This year they have them and the really nice soft ones are not the printed ones, but the solid cream colored ones...you can feel the difference.

Sheets are so expensive, I only own two sets for my queen-size bed. One to be used while the other is in the wash.

I am finicky about my bedding...
but I am also frugal.

I find that t shirt sheets are as snuggly as flannel, without the fuzz that sheds off the flannel and makes the bedroom 'dusty'. (that said, perhaps I didn't have quality flannels)

I bought my t shirt sheets mismatched, the scraps left over from discontinued colors/patterns and on sale. Lands End is where I got mine, 5 years ago. My bottom sheet is a print, top sheet solid. The price was less than half the original price at the time.

These have never pilled and are washed and put right back on the bed. The elastic is as solid as it was new, yet like a t shirt, the fabric just gets softer and softer. They were snuggly when new, and snugglier now.
I expect them to last another 5 years.

I tried the Walmart ones, and they pilled in less than a month. In two months, the elastic was going wonky. They would have never lasted 5 years. They were yanked off the bed, washed and sold in a yard sale.

The Lands End cost more, up front. But of course, I paid for quality.

So I suggest buying quality sheets, but of course, watch for a sale! You won't regret them!

I will not skimp on sheets or toilet paper. However, many consumer magazines report that anything over 400tc is not worth the extra money, they feel virtually the same whether they are 400 or 1000tc.

My faves are JCPenney Croscill Home Egyptian Hemstitched sheets, 300tc. They are SO soft and with the January white sales coming on, they will be cheap.

Michelle

Last year I picked up 600 TC sheets from an Online retailer. King size, plain white, $50. I usually can't find percale king size for under $50 so they were a bargain. And they just keep getting softer and softer every time I wash them. It's a small bit of heaven on earth.

Mom bought me a set of sheets years ago and I liked them so well that she has bought me a set of sheets for Christmas about every two or three years ever since. She gets great deals on 400 thread count sheets at places like Tuesday Morning. She always picks great patterns. Wonderful gift -- very practical and keeps me cozy.

I used to skimp on bedding. But now, when I think about it, my bed is better furnished than the rest of my house. I have allergies and finally committed to the allergy casings for mattress, box spring, and pillows this year. Also a micro barrier comforter. $800 to outfit the entire bed as a defense against dust mites. Seems to have helped a lot. I have found it worthwhile.

And I discovered a TempurPedic pillow this year for my sometimes bad neck. $109 on eBay.

Yeah, I think I have sunk more $$ into the bed than into any other place in the house. But, if you think about it, I am there approximately 1/3 of my life. I am sleeping better for all these improvements. Good for my health. And I shouldn't have to replace any of these items for years.

Oh, yeah, I like flannel sheets, too. They are so cozy in winter! We had a set, but they finally wore out. We stopped using them when my husband got his big toe stuck in a hole in the top sheet -- that was so funny! Hope mom bumps into some flannel sometime while she is sheet shopping. :-)

amoretti - I love crisp, noisy sheets, but they are so hard to find. Almost everything is sateen. A couple of years ago I bought all-cotton hotel sheets, made in Portugal, at Tuesday Morning. They are not sateen but the weave is so tight that you can barely see it. I love them but can't find anything like them.

I, too, love crisp sheets. The only ones I found that I thought were perfect were from Ikea but this was 5 years ago. And these particular sheets are not being sold on the internet.

My husband and I bought a new king size bed about 6 months ago. Of course I had to go buy new bedding since we upped the size of the bed. Wow was I shocked at the price it would cost to buy the bedding that I really wanted. I had to compromise with DH. In order to buy the print that I wanted, I had to buy a cheaper set. Bed in the bag, what a terrible thing. I hate the sheets that came with it. They started pilling within 2 weeks, and the fitted sheet comes off during the night! I absolutely hate them. I've been on the lookout for higher quality sheets on sale and have not found any that would match my comforter, and my bedroom. I guess I'll start a search on the internet and see what I can come up with. Wish me luck.

Marshalls or Marshalls Home Store. You can get 400-600 thread count sheet sets in a wide array of colors there for under $50. 800+ thread count sheet sets are usually $70 - 80.

I got another new set of flannel at Linens N Things yesterday. I went looking for a set of the $49.99 600 TC they had on sale but they were sold out so I got a king flannel set for half off ($29) and they're awesome. They were soft in the package but washed up even softer than I imagined they would.

I second buying sheet sets from Marshalls or Homegoods. All the sets I have for my 4-year old queen size bed came from these stores and I don't think I spent more than $40 for any of them.

I have a wide assortment, but nothing over 350-count. They've all held up well, including my Wamsutta jersey sheets, which I think were $25 for the set.

Then again, because they're red, they don't get washed in hot water. Some people think this is gross, but I feel that between the soap and hot air of the dryer, any nasty germs are killed.

DH accidently used my 400TC sheets on an outdoor project and ruined them. (LONG story, but he's sufficiently chastized!). I do use a set of 300TC that I got at Mervyns on clearance, and I have another set from Linens & Things, also a clearance item. I've learned that the brand is important, as is the type of thread.

I have jersey sheets for our guest room, not in love with them as they've stretched out of shape.

My biggest gripe is that the sheets are just not deep enough to cover the mattress. Ours is an Sleep number bed with a pillow top and I can't find deep enough sheets (even those supposedly deep pocket) to fit properly. They ALWAYS pop off the corners.

DH is now a convert, and he has agreed to buy a new set of high quality sheets for our bed...now just waiting for another coupon from L&T.

There is a cure for sheets that won't stay on because the mattress is too deep. Cut an old flat sheet in half and sew it unto the sides of the fitted sheet. It works and cures the problem

Thanks for the tip grandma! I have a sheet that I was getting ready to deep six, but I can use parts of it for that purpose. Maybe THEN I can get into bed without lumps!

I love Fleece sheets, (much better than flannel!) and bought 2 pair of them this winter.
I still have my 'old' percale sheets from over 20 yrs ago, they have worn nicely.
I just saw at a local dept store, sateen 300 count sheets for $20. i think ill try them.

We have two sets of flannel sheets for the winter time. One was bought online for $19 and the other was $3 at a garage sale. (She tried explaining why they should have been $5 since they had originally come from Land's End and she paid way too much for them, but garage sale sheets are garage sale sheets!) The Land's End sheets are nicer sheets, thicker flannel with no pilling. Also really deep pockets on the fitted sheet.

We also have about four or five other sets of sheets bought from garage sales all of which were about $3 a set. They are all cotton and the 100% egyptian cotton with 600 threadcount ones are probably the smoothest.

The latest score (three weeks ago) has been a king sized goose down comforter for $2! I am always amazed at what great stuff people sell for so little! Now we have something to put in the duvet cover from the Land's End sheet set.

Why pay retail? Have you checked the thrift stores and yard sales in your area? Even if you don't find sheets there may be some other nifty "treasure" out there waiting for you.

I bought Ralph Lauren 400tc sheets and just LOVE the way they "rustle"....I love the crispness. Got them on Ebay for about $60....best money I ever spent!! :-)

nicest sheets I ever bought was Martha Stewart from K mart. Right now I have 400TC sheets (king) that I got for 40. Wash and put right back on the bed. Keeping the sheets clean and used means they last a long time.

As a general rule, the higher the thread count, the softer the sheet, but the corollary is that the higher the thread count, the less they breathe. So with a very high thread count sheet, you stand the risk of sweating through the night on ultra soft sheets.

Higher thread counts=less room between warps and weaves=less breathability.

pesky,

Guess I can't complain too much about sheets getting a bit out of shape - having gotten a bit out of shape myself.
_____________________________

What's this I hear about some of the sheets' pockets not being deep enough?

I don't think my pockets are deep enough to handle the prices that some of them run ...

... or maybe they're so deep that I can't reach the wallet (without bending over).

I like that high class flannel at a garage sale for *3 bucks*!

Have a smoo-o-o-th weekend beneath the sheets, folks.

ole (frugal) joyful

Joy, I'm with you on those deep pockets! DH, my MIL and I went garage saling today and she kept trying to get me to buy sheets at the GS's that had sheets. Oooh, they're soo soft, she'd say. Yeah, but they're QUEEN SIZE. We have a king! My sons bed is a double and the guest room has a twin...so don't matter how soft...they just won't fit!

I've noticed it's really hard to find king sized sheets at GS.

Pesky,

Yeah, but - just think ... you'd avoid that trouble that someone said that they had where the sheet kept coming out, getting all wrinkled, bumpy and knotty ....

The suggestion that they got was to take a sheet that was worn through (well, almost) in the middle, cut it down through the middle and attach a reasonably intact edge to the edge of the shrunken one ...

... which would make it large enough that it wouldn't pull out, resulting in knot-ups, etc. in future.

You could avoid such potential problems, entirely.

In fact, as I'm having trouble keeping an old pair of pants from getting rips in the pocket when I put in my hand just a slight bit wrongly, if you were having any such problem, you'd have enough sheet that you could fashion a new pocket without harming the sheet enough to worry about.

Don't question good fortune.

........

Oh, yeah - that's not your problem - the sheets on offer are *too small*!!

Well, if you have one of those worn (in the middle) sheets kicking around the house at home ...

... it just might have enough good edge left that, added to your new purchase, you'd have one large enough to do the job.

At a cost of just a bit of thread.

And some time.

Sorry I got things mixed up, there, at first.

Don't know whether I'm coming or going, today, it seems.

I guess I'll just blame it on Saturday.

Have a great weekend.

ole joyful

I just wanted to let everyone know that Smartbargains.com is a great place to buy sheets. I've purchased sheet sets from there, and have been very satisfied. I think I paid 30$ for a set of king sized, 300 count, 100% cotton.

We buy fitteds, pillowcases and duvet covers for all of our beds and wash them all once a week in a free & clear detergent on sale.

DH recently talked me into a fitted sheet at Target, 400 thread, 100% egyptian cotton and wow are they great. Wash well, hold color and softness (w/o fabric softener), and most importantly they have elastic all the way around. So annoying to tug those fitted sheets back daily. We bought 2 at $15.00 each. I consider the splurge an investment though. Pillowcases we buy a set of two for a buck at Ikea. Whatever's on sale in neutral shades along with duvet sets. Sometimes you can find a duvet cover plus 2 cases for $7.00. A steal considering outside prices. Of course you could always buy flat sheets on super sale and sew together for a duvet cover but I don't have that kinda time, yet.

BB&B, L&T superstores are also great for deals. Don't walk in for a second w/o a coupon though and head straight for the sales. Wear blinders if you must, it can be very tempting to drop a fortune there. They count on it!

I bought the 300 count sheets and they are very soft and silky. Then I bought 400 count sheets with a stripe pattern on them. No matter how much I wash them they are not as soft as the other ones, don't know why, maybe the pattern?....Lynn

I bought a set of flannel sheets from LLBean. They got pills,and I exchanged them. The second set has never formed pills. Flannel is very comfortable,even in the summer.

I'd just like to take this moment to denounce beech sheets. DH loves jersey sheets, but I hate them; they make me think of cheap sweaty college sleeping, and I don't like that they stretch out so much. SO, DH found beech sheets at BB&B and liked how soft they were (like jersey sheets), all natural, etc. We've had them for less than a year, and we have only used them 1/3 of the time, and little pinholes have appeared in the pillows and the sheets. I really don't think these are bug or moth holes, as nothing else has them. I just think this fabric is too weak for our vicious sleeping patterns. :)

we buy our sheets at TARGET, and only get PERCALE. ours never get bumpy, and they wear well and last for a very long time. as long as they are percale, they will not get those annoying pills on them.
i buy the dark colors, as we have pets and kids. it works well for us.
stace

Hi again, everyone,

Do I notice a slight difference of opinion around here?

Aren't you sort of glad that not everyone thinks alike?

I inherited old aunt's single bed that had a sheepskin on the mattress - uncle's has a depression the the mattress, where he put his hip to alleviate the pain (he'd had 3 hip replacements) ... and no sheepskin, either.

I had an "egg crate" foam rubber pad from my former home, that I decided to add, under the sheepskin, the other day when I changed from summer cotton (What thread count? Lord only knows) to flannelette, as the weather is getting colder out (can you imagine - two feet of snow in western NY?? History being made! A local flurry wrecked my beans).

Three blankets and a quilt and comforter - and I was still cold: couldn't find another quilt, so stuck a coat on top. Too cheap to turn on the furnace - it isn't time, yet.

Yuck!

Decided that it would be a good idea to don my winter underwear on Fri., as well.

Did turn on the portable electric fan in the bathroom to wash, though. Frugal does have its limitations.

Maybe I should go and find me a companion (a dog would be cheaper than someone of my own species ... doesn't answer back, either). Daughter's dog (mini dachsie, inherited from her mother) seems to like coming to the farm, when daughter travels - no leash, lots of interesting smells, cats to chase, etc. Sort of like doggy paradise. Paradise includes sharing the bed with humans, of course.

Hope you've all had a lovely fall.

We had Thanksgiving last weekend - better than celebrating it in the snow.

Good wishes to you and yours for the coming days.

ole joyful

We bought one of the new mattress sets which has a deep mattress on top. You need special sheets for those and the old ones are useless. Marshall, Ross, Tuesday morning and Costco will carry those sheets, look for them to say "will fit mattress up to 12 inches" or whatever. costco has wonderful satin feel cotton sheets.

I can't believe no one has commented on flannel nightgowns and flannel or jersey sheets. We keep our house cooler in the winter so I sleep in flannel nightgowns for 4 months. One turns into a piece of human velcro if they sleep in flannel and the bed is covered in flannel. Bottom line for us - cotton sheets!

Can I put in an O T message re pillow slips?

When one of your old sheets gets so worn out in the middle from friction, fighting, whatever other activities, and sweat that it's ready to give up the ghost - and tears easily ...

... discard the middle part, and use the relatively unscathed outer portions to make pillowslips.

Have a happy weekend, everyone.

ole joyful

I bought a new mattress that is 18" thick. I tried buying all cotton sheets, but after I washed them, they shrunk and didn't fit. I like to wash all bed linens in hot water to kill any dust mites. So I went to JC Penney and bought their blended sheets. The pockets are very deep and they don't shrink when I wash and dry in hot water.

Hi brutuses,

Poor old Julius Caesar had quite enough trouble with just one "Brutus" - would we need multiple Caesars for multiple Brutuses to cope with, I wonder?

If you have a fairly substantial edge of an old sheet whose centre has become too easily tearable due to friction, sweat and other of a sheet life's problems, use some scissors to cut the tuck-under edge of your fitted sheet for the too-thin mattress and add some extra length across the edges and under the corners.

ole joyful

I'm looking for new sheets for my king size bed and am having trouble finding sheets that are NOT sateen. I don't like the slick feel of the sateen weave. I want a high thread count 100% cotton sheet with a plain weave. Is it Pima cotton that I should look for? I do not want percale as that seems to be a poly/cotton blend.

Pima is a variety of cotton -- like, Big Boy is a variety of tomatoes. Pima is a long thread cotton and is used most often in sateen weaves.

I would suggest looking at Vermont country store's catalog. I think you are going to have a problem finding non-sateen weave sheets. Particularly, in a high count.

Cathy

Hi bickybee - I, too, HATE sateen! Can't stand the feeling of them. I don't have an answer for you, but just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. I will be awaiting answers to your question.

Suzieque

I buy one of Walmart's cheapest brands. Home Trends with a 250 count. I get one fitted, one flat and two pillow cases for $34. They are wonderful, very smooth. I also bought white and as silly as it sounds I sleep better. I can also use hot water and bleach to make sure the sheets are clean and mite free. LOL

Best sheets I've found were some from Sears, older than dirt, that some lady sold me for $5 for a king set still in the package. She thought she might have bought them for a wedding gift for someone back in the 70s, then found out they had a different sized bed. I don't know what they made those sheets out of, but I've used them about 15 years and they still wash up great!

I also posted my question (above) on an eBay forum. Someone replied with a link to a discussion of this subject on another eBay forum. I hope I can post this link because there was a wealth of interesting and helpful information there.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000537914&tstart=0amp;mod=1188142451724

Here is a link that might be useful: eBay forum discussion on sheets

Only buy them from yardsales or thrifts now for a buck or two. You'd be surprised what some silly women get rid of.
Most comfortable sheets? Ironically, those marked "Hospital Property".

before you buy high-thread-count sheets, consider whether you'll like them.

I found extra-high-thread-count sheets, and they're too soft. I actually prefer the Wamsutta brand at 300.

And I refuse to spend a lot of money on sheets, bcs they get stained. What w/ monthlies, and my DH's ability to sweat at night, I am NOT going to spend tons on sheets that will look dirty and make me want to replace them in 3 years.

I bought flannel sheets from LLBean . Don't know the threadcount,but they are very comfortable. I went to Target and was shocked at the prices for sheets and sheet sets. Way over $100 just for a topsheet.

Jersey sheets get holes in them easily.

When I was young I didn't realize that what you wash your sheets with can increase or cause pilling. So JIC - don't wash your sheets with anything other than sheets or things very much like sheets. Especially not with towels etc. and make sure you use enough water to alleviate friction.
I just bought some JCP sateen sheets because they were on sale. Typically I like crisp sheets but I heard that they make them crisp now by adding some chemical. So anyway, I've used them less than a week - they feel ok but they wrinkle TERRIBLE. And the have a shine which seems fake to me and I don't like it.

For the people who like crisp sheets, do you starch them or have you thought about it? Enough starch and you could have them crispy as potato chips!

My head spins when I look at what people are paying for sheets! Geez! I guess I'm glad that I overbought years ago since my sheet supply is going strong and haven't bought sheets in at least 20 years! I was given 2 or 3 sets of flannels when a friend got a different bed. I never seem to have enough pillow cases though. I like a lot of pillows on the bed, but not for looks, for use to prop my legs, and me and the like. My dog used to like his own pillow too! (Spoiled little brat, but I miss him.)

And I don't recall ever paying more than $30 for a set of sheets. They were the expensive flannels. About $20 for the regular ones IIRC. I usually use flannel year round now though. Yeah some are stained but that doesn't bother me. Can't see it when the lights are out and I'm asleep so why worry.

Do not go on thread count alone. If you want a crisp lightweight sheet, get percale. If you like them drapey, get sateen. Egyptian cotton and supima cotton are the best. Thread count is decieving. A company can claim 500 thread count when it is actually only 250 crosses of a two-ply yarn. The more plys, the more rubbing and pilling, and space between yarns - therefore - less soft! Indian sateen is pretty bad and tends to pill. IMHO, Linen is the best material for sheeting - it lasts forever, breathes well, and continues to get softer and softer. Yes, they are expensive, but BElgian linen is the best night's sleep I've had.