I recently bought the summer bed set from Rough Linen after looking at the sheets for about two years. I was having a hard time pulling the trigger -- both imagining sleeping on linen (never had) and justifying the price. Finally, after an extremely difficult year, I told DH I wanted to get the sheets for our upcoming anniversary. He said he didn't have any better ideas, so go ahead.

We are really enjoying them. The feel is different form crisp cotton. The weave is not as fine, but it still has a smooth feel and a pleasant crisp/soft balance. The flat sheet on the bottom was something DH didn't 'think he'd like that well, but he became an instant convert. He also didn't think he'd like the loose cover instead of a tucked in top sheet, but we haven't had anything else on top of our bed since we got it. We use it with the linen sheet as well as fitted cotton sheets we already had. The cover has just enough weight to be comforting and block drafts from the fan or AC but light and easy. It breathes well, moves easily. I have heard linen is warm in cooler weather, but don't know yet.

Rough Linen items are really well made and made here in the U.S. (we used to live not too far from where they are in CA). They aren't cheap, but no linen will be. They do seem to be a good value. If you've already had your anniversary, Christmas is coming!

Here is a link that might be useful: Summer Bed set

Oh dear. I really wish I had not opened this thread, because now I want linen sheets!

I know, Graywings,...right??? I am obsessing and I don't usually do that. Not quite sure why.However, just as encouragement, apparently linen is anti-microbial and helps with itchy skin. Not that I have that, but who knows what the future bodes. Always good to be prepared, I say. ;)

Lascatx, good to know. I did remember the Rough Linen name and went to the site yesterday. Thanks for the link! Thanks also for enabling me! May need to celebrate Labor Day this year! Ha.

edited to add:
ps. Lascatx, so you use a regular fitted sheet, too? Is that under the flat linen sheet?

This post was edited by cyn427 on Thu, Jul 31, 14 at 10:36

Thanks, Lascatx! I should have figured that out! Ha. When obsession takes over, common sense tends to become weaker! ;)

Yes, good idea about buying a bit at a time. Alas, I have very little willpower when it comes to art, antiques, AND linens! Sigh. We'll see. I definitely will give it some think time since I really, really don't absolutely positively have to have them. No, really, I don't. ;)

I, too, have the summer bed from Rough Linen. Love it so much. After reading about them on here a few years back, I ordered the sheet and used it as a top sheet in the summer. I loved it so much, I decided to try the pillow slips and then said what the heck and ordered the summer blanket. I can't wait to get in bed at night.

Just go ahead and pull the trigger, you won't regret it!
I actually called to order and spoke with Tricia. She's very helpful.

When my package came it was like a present. She had put in a linen bag of lavender and the package smelled delicios! Each item was wrapped in tissue paper and the shett was tied and wrapped in a bow.

Denali, have you always been such an enabler? Ha. Yes, I think I may need to go ahead. Your "I can't wait to get in bed" pushed me over. So many other things have been put off-I think I need to pamper myself a bit! Thanks!

I'll offer advice that I personally didn't take. Order a couple of pillow cases first and see if you like them. I ordered the whole Rough Linen enchilada, and am not crazy about them. They're beautiful. But the texture's a little, well, rough for me. I seem to be in the extreme minority though.

For some reason I too got obsessed with linen sheets recently. After getting the sample card from Rough Linen and looking at websites, I ordered from Linoto (the Rough Linen website and fabrics look very interesting but I wanted something a bit smoother, I wanted ivory/cream, and I like fitted sheets...though I do see the allure of a big enough flat bottom sheet.) Sorry to enable, but they are awesome! I love cool, crisp, smooth sheets but for some reason these are luscious in their own different way. They feel different, luxurious, and very very comfortable.

I know that those slubby loose weave linens are all the rage in recent years, but if I were going to invest in linen sheets I'd want some like the ones my mother had--heavy, smooth as silk, like ice when you first get into them in cold weather. But they wear like iron and nothing is more luxurious, especially when the way they keep softening up more and more as they get older.

What we have are the smooth sheet and pillowcases, but the more rustic Orkney bed cover. You can also get the bed cover in a smoother weave, but I loved the look of the Orkney. I also had a pinafore in the Orkney, so I laid it over me. It isn't rough at all -- especially after you wash it a couple of times. The weight and body of the linen mean it falls on your skin with just enough heft to feel comforting and to block a draft, but light enough that you almost don't feel it -- if that makes any sense.

There's an idea -- order a pinafore. Test it like I did, and if you don't like it, you still have a great pocketed apron to enjoy for kitchen, garden or crafts. Or for less money, you could just try a dishtowel (I bought one with my summer bed -- am enjoying that too).

This post was edited by lascatx on Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 1:01

Well, you never know what thought a thread will bring up. I can't say I'm going to rush and buy such expensive bedding, but that photo of the bedroom by "Designer Richard Ostell" is exactly the 'style' I'd be thinking of on the other thread. That is gorgeous simplicity.

I have linen pillow shams and I really like them very much. I am also a cool, crisp sheet kind of person and higher thread counts don't really do it for me, but I really like linen. Someday I'll have a full sheet set!

I've been waiting on my RL sheets to shred so I can justify purchasing Tricia's (Rough Linen) bedding.

Briosafarm, I just looked. Linoto is not the same as Rough Linen. I've linked Rough Linen's site below. Sorry you didn't like yours as well.

Writer'sblock, Trishia at Rough Linen started with trying to find linen like her grandmother's:
"I have always wanted to recreate the linens from my grandmotherâÂÂs house in Scotland and from vintage textiles I found in France."

The Smooth sheets are a coarser weave than the high count cotton we've become accustomed to, but they aren't slubby or really loose weave either. I do expect them to wear well. The Orkney is a little on the slubby side, but it doesn't feel rough against your skin. You can buy a kitchen towel in the same fabric and have something you can use -- see what you think.
Allison, I have mixed feelings for you. I can't bring myself to wish someone's sheets would shred, but I do hope you can enjoy some linen sheets. We'll be putting the linen sheets and pillow cases today.

I don't know who here wrote about these years ago, but thanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: This is Rough Linen

No, I know Linoto is not the same as Rough Linen. I was offering another opinion on the merits of linen sheets (love them) and another reputable source of very high quality linens. ;-) I do have Rough Linen napkins and pillowcases and they are very nice...just happen to prefer the Linoto sheets and pillowcases for our bedding. The quality of fabric and workmanship from both companies is very high.

Then I misunderstood. I just reread -- Got it now. I love the purple sheets on the Linoto site. So you were happy with them, huh? Not that I need another set now.......

Resurrecting this old thread because I am hoping that those of you with Rough Linen or Linoto sheets will comment on how you like them after three years of use.

Also, I'm trying to discover HOW Linoto sheets differ from Rough Linen sheets. Are they thicker or denser?

i have had Rough Linen sheets for about 18 months now. I've loved them! Have from the beginning washed them with a mild detergent, no bleach, and hung them outside for drying. I think they've been in a dryer twice so far. I bought one sheet in Natural and the other in White so I could rotate them every time, though I really can't see a color difference now. Instead I've been washing just the bottom sheet every week while transferring the top,sheet to the bottom. Point being - they've had the minimum of wear. Here's what's troubled me: I was taking care of a neighbor's cat and her claws caused several punctures in the bottom sheet. Overnight they grew to rather large tears. They were quickly mended. While mending them I was struck by the very low thread count. I would be surprised if it exceeds 100 threads per inch. I've since read that Linen sheets today are typically between 80 and 130 tpi. I think this is why the punctures so quickly became tears. I now have two kittens and am more than a little gunshy about my pricey Linen sheets!

I've considered turning to a cotton fitted bottom sheet thinking they would hold up better because of their denser thread counts.. I have some samples from the Company Store that range from 200-800 tc and am disappointed in all. They seem so thin! Nothing like the sheets of old that weighed a lot and wore like iron and would easily resist cat claws..

Would still like to stick with Linen. Which brings me back to my original question- is Linoto a denser thicker sheet than Rough Linen?

Linoto and Rough Linen sheets have been discussed a lot on the Laundry Forum. Try cross-posting there and/or doing a search on that forum for previous threads.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/laundry

Just a quickie answer. I LOVE my Rough Linen bedding. I did the Summer Bed in the blue/green. I also ordered a couple of their scarves and their newer pants and top. I love all of it. The company is very Marin/Santa Cruz, very natural etc. it really is a very comfy way to sleep.

I got our RL sheets in August 2014. We like them a lot. Cool in summer, warm in winter. No sign of wear after 3 years. Softer after every wash.

Thread count is not the only factor at play. Once you get past a certain point, a higher thread count means the threads are so fine that you may be decreasing in strength. That is especially true when you are dealing with shorter fibers or less strong fibers in the thread. Not all cotton is equal. Not all 500 TC or whatever TC are equal. I had some cotton sheets with a high thread count that wore very well and others (with a big name) that fell apart. A high thread count is not itself a cure for anything.

The biggest factor IMO is the cat. A cat's claws are like little knives -- and some cats do not control them well. A cat jumping onto a bed they are unfamiliar with and/or that is higher than they are used to may use the claws to make sure they don't fall. That may happen only the first time or it may happen every time but I wouldn't expect major damage from that so much as from scratching. They can shred carpet or rope on a scratching post with no problem, but some cats will scratch any fabric and can destroy heavy upholstery fabric. No sheet that I have every slept on or would want to sleep on is going to be immune from that kind of damage. I wouldn't let that cat on the bed or would have it covered with an inexpensive quilt if it comes to visit again.

I have RL sheets -two summer bed combos, actually. The first set was on the bed nearly every day for a year until we got the second set and now they alternate. I have two large dogs who jump on the bed and we have no signs of wear on either set after several years. I think the cat is the issue. Possibly aggravated by the height of your bed and/or the cat thinking the coarser fibers meant the sheets were intended for scratching.

I agree, it is primarily a cat claw problem. In the first case, it was bedtime and the cat and I were having a little love fest. She was lying tucked into me and purring like mad as I petted her. And she was kneading. This is usually done with soft claws, but that was enough to cause a puncture as her claws were quite long. This was a cat I had taken into my house for care while her owner was on vacation (in Venice, Italy, lucky lady). I immediately went to work on her claws of course. But it was in doing the repair that I was struck by the low thread count and the relative fragility of the fabric. I am convinced the low thread count was directly related to how easily the claws penetrated and how quickly the punctures grew.

I have subsequently added two kittens to my household and they caused some tiny punctures one day while they were wrestling and I was a bit careless. I have become much more protective but it's clear my sheeting is going to continue to be at risk. Hence my zeal to find old fashioned quality where heavier gauge thread is used. Of course there is no miracle fabric that is going to resist a cat using my sheets as a scratching post, but that would be more unlikely.

I have discovered vintage Metis sheeting from France. My sister acquired a pair on a trip to France and she says it is so heavy to wash and dry that she rarely uses it. Sounds like just what I need! I have found it readily available by mail order and the prices are temptingly lower than buying most any new sheet of cotton and certainly of linen. The problem is sorting out the different qualities and the sizing can be variable. It also seems that some are 50-50 cotton and linen. So I am proceeding slowly on this path.

echolane, I now have RL linen sheets on all of our beds. No problems so far. Also, "linge de métis" in French is usually a mix of cotton and linen. Fairly easy to find over there. A lot of the antique French linens are heavier which is lovely, especially if you hang them to dry-I love the way they feel and never put mine in the dryer. A lot are also thinner after years of washing. I suggest you book yourself a trip to France!

Ugh. I’m in the market for linen bedding right now, trying to decide on price. RL has a sheet set on sale, but I have a very deep queen mattress so I’d have to go up to king size, which puts me at around $400...more than I want to spend. Now people are bringing up cats and the little razor blades on their feet.....ha! Maybe I’d be better off buying a lower end set of linens, because my cats are on and off the bed all day, both like to “knead”....I’d hate to spend $300 only to have them destroyed in a few weeks.

The reason I have decided on linen is because of the set of linen/cotton sheets I got at Target last year. I think they are 50/50, and I love the way they feel and look. I want white, though....and they only come in a pale robins egg blue.

Just be aware that Target lies a lot about what is in their sheets. I have a set of supposedly 100% cotton sheets from their Shabby Chic collection, but they snap and spark to an extent that shows they have a very heavy intermingling of poly. Shrank like it, too.

I have a *very* deep mattress. It is a combined spring and mattress. I have switched to linen sheets from Macy’s partly for that reason. I’d MUCH rather buy Rough Linen but my deep mattress means the RL Queen seems a bit small and I do not want to deal with a King sized sheet. I lived with RL’s unfitted sheet for a couple,of years but honestly, going back to a fitted bottom sheet is a treat. The Macy’s linen sheets fit my deep mattress and their sale price has been unbelievably cheap at $67.99 a sheet. Quality seems excellent. That said, I miss Rough Linen’s undyed untreated “natural”. I used to alternate with a Natural and a White, using Natural as bottom sheet one week, then as top sheet the next. Oh well, I’m well into retirement years and can’t afford to be extravagant,