Are there bed sheets experts? Honestly, from a comfort point the only thing I require is that they aren't scratchy or slippery. I'm probably fussier quality-wise but not much. Last a reasonable amount of time per dollar spent.

The biggest question I have: Why aren't the colors/patterns that I want available when I want them. ;-)

I love the exuberant florals from Ralph Lauren of yore, why is everything so plain and boring now? (and sateen!!)

I forget who posted it on the last thread but it is so true...everyone has different tastes on what the best sheet is. Some like it crisp, some soft, some soft/crisp and so on. The best thing to do is get a list from some of the gals here and then read reviews to get an idea if it's the sort you want. No matter how good the sheets the opinions will be all over the place due to different tastes. Overstock has a good primer on site on how to pick sheets and info about different cotton such as Egyptian vs...ect .

At this point I'm good. Finally found summer and winter sheets that I love.

BB, if you use a duvet there are lots of beautiful covers far from plain and boring. I have a white one for the winter, but the other two are prints ... one from The Company Store and the other Pottery Barn. I use a Hanna quilt over the duvet when I make the bed.

on the bed right now

I know, but I use regular sheets. Duvet patterns on sheets are what I want!

Sateen and boring. Yep. I don't expect to find the exact shade of lavender that will match the flower just above the foot bridge in my Monet print. Can I have something other than white, pale yellow, or baby blue though? Please.

I want to know when we can get new sheets that look like the great old antique sheets that are nicely embroidered or have lace. Monograms are nice too.

The longer fibers like linen and Egyptian cottons last longer because shorter fibers work loose and come out in the washing/drying process ( becoming lint ) so they don't last as long. Maybe people don't want to keep a sheet that long anyway.

It's so funny. I grew up on percale sheets because they were the cheaper sheets and longed for something softer...yet so many people here pine for percale. It is still available as I've come across it in my wanderings.

I really want to know how come they lie and get away with it. They lie about thread count. They call it Egyptian cotton but it may not be or only partly be.

From what I read, I guess I want long staple, but I can't tell if I'm getting it or not. Some places suggest you know by the price, but I am price sensitive...I don't mind paying it if I know I'm getting what I'm paying for, but I have so little trust in the manufacturers and labeling that I have no clue what I'm getting. And I don't want to pay through the nose for sheets that are no different than what I can get on sale in Macy's.

So I guess I'm looking for a little truth in advertising...or information on specific brands that do in fact provide what they say they do.

Kitty, my old neighbor who was in her eighties did embroider pillow cases every year for her family members at Christmas. I sure hope they appreciated them because they were beautiful. Does anyone even know how to embroider anymore? If there are any gals out there from the time frame when this was an automatic skill to be learned they could be making some decent side money.

I'm price sensitive as well which is what drove me to the warehouse sales. We have a king bed and those are always a premium. But I'm not paying crazy prices.

@Lynn - There is one mill left in the U.S. So sad. And it is Pakistani owned.

@Annie - For me, you've hit the nail: how do you know what you're getting. And since brands have collections, which vary, it can get very confusing. I like Sferra f.ex. Others don't. But is it that they don't like the sheets I like or we're talking about two entirely different sheet sets from the same manufacturer.

Also can someone explain the attraction of Overstock for sheets? I honestly don't get why anyone would shop there. Prices aren't any better than many other places. I tend to decide things slowly so I go back and back. That's when I saw the prices go up after I did repeated searches for the same thing.

I find overstock a complete mystery, I freely admit. My impression is that they are the online version of those old "unclaimed freight" stores in the 80's.

I don't get the overstock love either. The only thing I buy there are rug pads, but it's annoying the way the prices go up and down.

I have just taken a chance and bought a set of percale sheets from Brooklinen. They are a start-up company that supposedly offers long staple fiber sheets direct to customer, and the prices were good. They also offer sateen, but I don't like sateen. I have not received the sheets yet so I cannot report on them, but I will do so after they arrive.

Brooklinen sheets

About 5 years ago I found some glass icicles at Overstock in a Google search. Was so impressed I bought another set.

They've now increased in price considerably. glass icicles

I needed a chair for my bedroom and had limited funds after all the remodeling. I went online and found one with RAVE reviews on Overstock. All I can say is that those people reviewing must have had milk crates for chairs before because the chair is hard as a rock. Overstock is good for something's though. However, lately one can find the same items cheaper on Amazon. I am happy with my older Veratex 800 sheets that I got on "O" but again you can get the same thing cheaper on Amazon.

Maybe some things are cheaper, but not the icicles.

glass icicles on Amazon

My objection was the changing prices. IOW, charging more if more people appeared to be looking for something. Why should I pay more because I go back to an item several times to compare it to something else? Might be OK for others but I don't trust that.

Bumblebeez, I've bought vintage but new Ralph Lauren sheets on eBay. I love some of his old patterns as they make for a gorgeous bed.

Supima cotton is by definition long staple cotton.

Kittymoonbeam, the Sundance catalog has some embroidered and crochet-edged sheets.

Well the sheets I bought are pima cotton (supima) so they must be long staple, but it didn't generate the smoothness I was looking for...

@Annie, if you bought jacquard sheets -- is that not right? -- those would not be the smoothest since there is some type of pattern woven in. I suspect the sheets you're looking for may be percale or, since you don't want to iron, a percale blend sheet made with mercerized cotton.

I have pillowcases embroidered by my Grandma ( She did it while her soaps were on). They are bright and I prefer pastel or white on white but I treasure them all the same. Vintage pillowcases are reasonable to buy. I like to use them to store linens so that they stay neat and dust free. Basic embroidery is easy and DMC floss is inexpensive. You only need to know about 4 or 5 stitches. Finding the time is the main thing. You can buy embroidery machines at the sewing machine dealer that do intricate patterns but I prefer the look of hand work.

rococo, they are a damask stripe.

I like the Charisma sheets from Costco. About $45 for a queen set. They are sateen, which I normally don't like, but they feel cool and almost crisp. They are 100% cotton, except for the stretchy ends of the bottom sheets. I like that they don't wrinkle much. They are a lighter weight sheet, so if you like something heavy they wouldn't be for you. And I have been buying them in white. Just seems so clean and crisp in white.

And I have a question - does anyone like flannel sheets? They just feel creepy to me.

Flannel sheets?! They are a must have Nov. thru April! And a whole different topic!

Flannel sheets are too warm. And, frankly, unless you sleep naked all the time, it's too easy to get trapped and twisted where your nightwear comes in contact with the sheets.

I am fed up with sheet shenanigans. I cannot trust thread count labels or descriptions of the fibers. I'd like a trustworthy guide. I'd also like to know about the benefits of ironing; we do not. I only buy all white sheets and towels; I'm a throwback to the "sanitary movement".

I love August because it's one month closer to Autumn and flannel sheets! A cool house at night, cold even, flannel sheets that make you snuggle in and are so warm and cozy. I wear slinky nightwear so moving around is easy.

In winter, my dog won't get out of bed until I get him up. That can easily be 8:30, contrasted with the height of Summer, which might be 5. He has his own sheets and blankets.

Patterns attract me, and flannels proliferate with them.

Flannel season down here usually runs late November through Feb. or March. I sleep in ballet length gowns and never have a problem getting twisted in the sheets and I move around a lot.

BB, thought of you yesterday when I was putting stuff in the cargo area of the 4Runner. I keep an old Picasso-print sheet back there to cover the floor for nursery purchases. Back in the 70s/80s patterns were all I bought.

I want to be Bumblebeez's dog.

So do I, Delilah!

well, not too much. I love my linen sheets.

@ bumblebeez -- I do miss wild sheets. I remember some I had around early 70s -- huge bright flowers, wild animal prints -- very cool.

@justterrilyn -- yes, I do embroider. Recently I've gotten back into it for Christmas presents and such, and found that I remember all the stitches from way back when I was a teenager. useful skill!

I use the company store flannel velvet sheets year round. Even though we've had record breaking temps this summer, my house cools down enough at night that just a sheet is the perfect cover. So soft and cozy! In the winter, I forgo the top sheet in favor of their velvet flannel duvet cover with a down comforter. In between, in the Spring and Fall, I put a down blanket in the duvet cover.

I use CS Velvet flannels too, but not year round. ;)

Well I just returned from my local Macys. After hosting 8 visitors for 4 days last week I decided it was time to purchase some new sheets for the guest rooms. I was surprised to discover that full size sheets are in short supply. There were loads of king, queen, twin and even extra long twin but a sparse selection of full.

The Sales Associate informed me that most people have replaced their full size beds with queen - assuming that if a full size bed fits then a queen will too. I have 5 bedrooms - there's a king in my bedroom, 3 have full size and one has a trundle with 2 twin mattresses.

We don't have company that often but now that the kids are all out of the house I think I'll have to think about buying new mattresses and upgrading to another king in one room and a maybe a queen in another.

Which now prolongs the agony because now I have to select mattresses and we all know how much fun that is.

I wouldn't change mattresses and certainly not on the say-so of someone in a store. I'd just hunt down enough double sheet sets to have plenty of extras. They're all over the web. And who knows what you'll find at the Sferra sale. They're having a mini even this Saturday btw.

If you can find the sheets you like in Macy's, then you can always have them ordered and delivered to your home. We use full sheets in our house and I've found that some of the recommendations I rec'd on the other thread do not come in full size.

I don't know what got people on this sateen sheet bandwagon. I don't have any but hate the look and feel in the store and I know I wouldn't like them. I prefer crisp, white or ivory. Percale is what I miss. The whole thread count thing is obviously misleading to everyone, so good to know it's not just me who is totally confused.

You can still find percale....

I 'm sorry - I should have been clearer. I certainly wouldn't buy new mattresses just because the S.A. made that comment. The full mattresses are the ones we purchased for our kids when we moved here and they probably should be replaced due to age. I'll have to try them out to see which ones should be discarded.

DH and I discussed it and I think we'll buy 1 or 2 queens. I already have an extra queen headboard and frame in the attic. I think having queens will be more accommodating when we have guests and the twins on the trundle bed can always be used as a quasi king.

And I'll probably get to make good use of those new beds next month when the Pope comes to Philly. All 3 adult kids live in the Papal zone which will have major road and bridge closures, street parking will be radically curtailed and they're expecting 1 to 1 1/2 million people to attend the Papal mass on the steps of the Art Museum (à la Rocky) on Sunday. if you live in that area you'll be allowed to leave but you can't bring your car back until Monday. There's a good chance I'll have all 3 kids, one wife and one boyfriend staying here...........and 4 dogs.

Rococo - I signed up for Sferra emails when you first mentioned it and I did receive one or two. But I didn't get a notice about a sale this Saturday. I double checked my junk folder and nothing is there. I looked at their web site but didn't notice anything. I even signed up again with my email but they replied that my email is already there. tI think I'll contact Customer Service for more information.

Thanks again.

Maire

Someone asked if people still embroider. Yes, we do, but it is one of those fine slow skill things that most people don't teach to kids and kids don't want to learn. I was taught as a child by my mother who was taught by her great grandmother. It is something that takes time, and artistry to do well, and sadly, most do not know what is done well so a machine can do simple stitches and patterns easily enough. Anything more on sheets, is a big luxury.

In our disposable society, the time to do even simple hand edging on sheets or pillowcases, or a full design on cases is simply not what anyone wants to invest in. Truly good sheets and cases are very expensive and putting that together with the skill required to do the embroidery and the time to do it, is cost prohibitive and not what most people want.

Embroidery is a labor of love these days, and ends up being framed if it is done really well. I have done pillowcases that took dozens of hours to complete, but they were for gifts to those that really knew what they were seeing. It isn't easy to put a price on something that takes so much time to create.

Practically speaking, hand embroidery is also not something that stands up well to modern washing machines, dryers and detergents. When sheets were washed by hand or were much more substantial an investment and they were treated delicately, it was more achievable to keep embroidered linens. If you really want this kind of thing, look at estate sales and garage sales, but know that the sizing will probably not fit a modern bed.

I buy embroidered linen pieces at garage sales for a quarter because I cannot stand to see such love, effort and skill, sent to a dump, or unappreciated. For me, it is heartbreaking to see pieces that took months of work, sitting in a pile on a card table, heaped in with machine made dollar store items. Hardly anyone knows the difference or cares. Sorry! Rant over. :)

@mairecate - they provided a link to edisonwarehousesales.com. There's also a mattress place there LOL.

Sferra sale starts at 10 a.m. in their warehouse. It's a "mini sale" of discontinued, overstock and sample stuff flyer says. Sat Aug 8.

Rococo - Thanks for the information . DS is having car troubles so I told him he could use mine this weekend so I'll miss this sale. I'll see if I can sign up on the Edison Warehouse site for future sales