Debbi, NICE... Pepperell muslin sheets are lovely..and yes that's what I look for...those are very beautiful, you should use them. They would need a good long hot wash to soften them up and than the more they are washed the softer they get. Warning they will need ironed damp with a hot iron and it takes a bit longer to iron than others. But those are really beautiful. Thank you for sharing Debbi.

Debbi, don't tell mama, Roc, larsi, and any other Iron-Crazy People, but those sheets don't "need" ironing. Use your hands to press them out when you are folding them. Trust me.

And don't use fabric softener, no matter what the ICP and others tell you. Hot water washes yes.

Larsi? Iron-crazy? LOL. I needed a good laugh today, Pat :)

Arnt these muslin and not percale? I have my two vintage muslin sheets that we've been using ..they feel sooo much better after an iron..matter of fact they are on the iron pile for today. Lol. Not everyone has time to iron or even likes the job so in that case hand smooth them. I prefer the finished feel if the iron...but I think Roc and I are the odd ones in this. I also hate outdoor work and rarely lend hubs a hand with it.

At 131 thread count this is old-fashioned percale. Would be interesting to see the texture. But it is US made in Mass. so whatever the thread count the cotton should be excellent.

Today, caught a sale on the 300 count Target Threshhold percale. $32.50 for a queen sheet set. Made in China, however and the sewing is factory grade with poly thread. These are for the guest room so they won't get hard wear and should be fine. The bottom sheets are double tiered so they fit thick or thin mattress. That's elasticized so we will see if it holds up.

The finishing is very slick. Says to wash in cold. I have them in an 1 hr 27 minute hot wash. No way I'm doing anything but that on new sheets.

Roc scroll up and read the matching pillowcases..it says fine muslin pillowcases. Lol

Let me know what you think of the Target Percale after the wash...for a very reasonable priced percale they will be very nice. I think the ones I bought there said vintage washed percale.

Missed that! Whatever the weave, no doubt that cotton will be better than almost anything today.

Will let you know on the Target. There is finishing that makes them feel almost slippery, as if they had poly content. Unclear until they are washed several times, however. And need to see how they do after initial hot wash. Will let yo know. They are just coming out. Can't do better price wise for an extra bed.

The Target percale sheets (not the vintage washed) just came out of the washer. The label says 100% cotton but I would bet money that they are some type of blend or imitation cotton. They feel like nylon parachute material. I've never had a cotton sheet that feels like these. Won't be sure till they are ironed. It's really, really weird. Perhaps why they were on sale LOL.

These sheets are nearly dry in 10 minutes. Percale weave, yes. Cotton: No way.
Shame on Target for either having a buyer who doesn't know, or for not having the integrity to verify. Now I understand the complaints about them being noisy. They are. Like nylon. What a world.

Those threshold sheets wear out in seven months too with regular use and hot washing. Mine look like they're several years old. Won't be buying these again.

When I interviewed the sheet wholesaler he told me that sheeting can pretty much be manipulated in the finishing process to produce any type of feel. I think this is a case. It would be fascinating to have them sent to a lab for testing. I cannot imagine these are anything near 100% cotton.

Popularly priced sheets these days can't be relied upon for long wear IMO. @poppy214 so no surprise they would not improve in texture with hot washing. The finishing likely causes the fiber to break down over time or the synthetic content that gives them the slick feel doesn't do well with hot.

We all love a bargain but in this case doesn't apply, sadly.

The Target set sounds like microfiber. They can weave those now to look like cotton.

Roc..I returned a set like that to target..I thought at first they sprayed a clear coat on them lol....this is such a lousy thing for them to do...the target ones marked vintage washed percale are ok..for a cheap percale in todays world.. the ones that just say threshold percale are the ones i returned.

Roc is cotton in extinction or something that we can't get a decent bed sheet without mortgageing our lives away...in a way I wish I never would have made sure Amiee and the boys have slept on real sheets all these years, probably would seem dumb to people outside of here but it was important to me that the kids slept in true comfort..but when they are adults they may never have another night of sleep perfection ..LOL.

The US grows the world's best cotton but production is small compared to years ago because of labor costs.

Overseas cotton is not the same quality. And like so many other commodities, with the population growth manufacturing changes, environmental changes and the ability to produce the "look of" it isn't extinct but there isn't enough of high quality to be produced at widely affordable prices.

This is one of many mysteries I am living with. I think agricultural products of all types -- I've had the same experience with fish, meat, produce -- are under duress. Expect some economist has a precise answer. I only know there is a big difference. Big.

@sparky823 - Microfiber may be exactly what these are. Who would challenge Target labeling?

The percale sheets I bot from Target a couple of yrs ago are made in India. After reading this post I will not be buying sheets at Target again. What a lousy trick to play on the public.

Dear Pat, I had the same experience with some Macy's sheets. I recommend that you not decide that you will "never" buy at Target, but that you look very carefully and thoughtfully before buying. At some point I had decided that I would only buy American and after eight or nine months of being unable to find certain items at all, I gave up.

Dear Roc, I was curious about the double elastic thing - what does it look like? Mention of it began to pop up on the labels of a lot of sheets and I thought it would likely just be more mess to take care of. What is your opinion?

Haven't put one on the bed as yet. It's done with a 1-inch wide band of elastic in each corner -- the lower part gathers like a skirt. It's actually very ingenious. I'll take a pic when it's ironed. How it works is a different issue. No idea yet whether it will stay put. Neither of our beds have deep mattresses.

Long term, of course, elastic is never good -- especially a big wide piece. I have a 20 year old Pottery Barn bottom sheet where the elastic went so nothing to hold it on. Need to look up replacing elastic in a bottom sheet. You ever try that @practigal?

But, like Larsi, I only buy fitted bottom sheets as I remember the bunching up with the flat sheet and that's worse than the eventual elastic issue for me.

Haven't seen the "vintage washed" percale Threshhold sheets made in India. These are the "300 count percale". Others like the vintage washed just fine. I just don't think these are what they are supposed to be.

Roc, if you want to find out if your sheets have synthetic fibers,
take a clipping of the fabric in some discrete location, and burn it
with a match and sniff. If there are synthetic fibers in there you will
smell it. If its cotton it will smell too, like burnt cotton.

I
too love the old sheets. I just bought some, never washed, sheets off
ebay several weeks ago. 2 of the sheets were muslin I believe but
advertised as percale. There are 3 densities of sheeting weavings that
I've seen referred to. The lowest density is muslin, that I believe is
around 130 threads/sqin. I've seen reference to an intermediate thread
count. The the highest is percale. I believe these differences are only
in the number of threads per inch.

The type of cotton fiber
influences the quality of the fabric. There is Pima cotton which is a
long staple fiber. I've read somewhere that Pima cotton is a sort of
"brand" of cotton plant, that was developed in the early part of the
1900's, and named after the Pima indians, who were the primary growers
in the SW US at that time.

Here is a lot of info on cottonhttp://www.cottoninc.com/fiber/quality/

Here
is the label of the old "new" sheets that are percale. They are lovely
washed up. The packaging was intact and made of cellophane instead of
plastic. I love the description on the back. I think "Pencale" is just a JC Penney's trade name. The yellowing in the photo is a shadow of some sort, they were white. These pics were taken out of the cellophane package.

Enduring, those are lovely. I recently found 2 new in package from the 50's flat full size muslin sheets 133 thread count 100% cotton, muslin is made with thicker threads, I just love them the more there washed the better they get. The muslin makes great winter sheets and a terrific summer blanket.

Those are some nice sheets you got yourself, if you have midern day percale you will notice how much nicer the older ones are. So smooth and crisp. Congrats, lovely.

Mamap, I have my new fancy sofa bed that is a double sized mattress. These will be used for that. I am hoping that the flat sheets will be ok for the bottom sheet. In the old days thats all we used. In the hospital I always made beds using flat sheets, lol. I love making a bed. I'm not perfect at it. I just love the activity and the symmetry of the job.

That label blows me away. It has full disclosure of the weaving, contents and finishing. Wow could we use that today!! Those are old-fashioned, no-nonsense Percale with American cotton -- the kind of sheets everyone remembers. That's a find enduring. 180 thread count is the percale standard. You'll get 20 years from those sheets. Terrific.

The best cotton is from Sea Island Georgia. Meaning, the longest fiber. Mostly used for premium clothing like $200 men's polo shirts etc. Western cotton is the Pima.

@enduring - yes, I thought of the burn test. May clip a corner off the bottom sheet or something and see what happens. But I accidentally got a drop of liquid soap on the bottom sheet (my soap dispenser sensor went off) and it just beaded up. Didn't absorb.

I have a lot of techno fabric clothing, which I like and that's how the sheet fabric looks and sounds.

This all started because I'm having guests and wanted a larger top sheet to cover the blanket on the guest room bed. I don't care for exposed blankets. The sheet I had for that is a skimpy full/queen that didn't do its job well.

The new set washed like a synthetic blend and was difficult to iron. When the sheet went on the bed, over the blanket, it acted like plastic. It actually slid around on a nubby cotton blanket and it was noisy. It's beyond weird.

Wow rococo, sure sounds like synthetic sheets that you have.

Yes, I love the label too! I still have it. Hard to through it out but will eventually. I'm with you I don't like exposed blankets either. I've been using a white duvet cover as a spread. It is working very well. It's a light weight jacquard. They are a hotel product that someone posted about last year. They were on eBay. I bought 4, gave 2 away. Very dense thread count.