I will bump you up with my near-worthless response because it’s a great question. Mama Pinky is the best resource here but she’s down with the flu. I think she buys percale, with minimal focus on thread count. She will chime in soon, I hope. There was an old brand people here loved — the very early Westpoint brand, maybe?

I have some percale pillow cases and sheets by Wamsutta that I was given at my bridal shower, over 50 years ago. Still going strong!

I also adore Charisma brand, no longer made, I believe (at least I cannot find any in correct size for me). Lovely, soft & smooth percale. Wish I could find these again.

old percale sheets are wonderful....but eventually they do wear out.
I have seen lovely embroidered sheets....that were so coarse I wouldn't want to sleep on them....but a friend used them on the guest bed for show...at least for show when her antique loving friends came over.

I also have old Wamsutta percale - some are 50/50 blend of cotton and poly others are 40/60. They are nearly indestructible although I did replace some of the elastic on the fitted sheets. Some were given to me by my MIL who worked in a department store and it was our favorite Christmas gift. Those are close to 30 years old. The thread count is probably 280 or 300. I also have 20 year old Spring Industries sheets at our vacation place.

Wamsutta sold their name so the new products are no longer made in US mills. I've tried them and they haven't held up.

If I can find old percale, I will buy it and I'm always on the lookout for nice embroidered pillowcases. So many were just stored and not used because they were "too nice".

I love buying bedding at thrift shops. I just look for what feels nice to me. We like a sturdy, crisp sheet.

I really liked one set that I bought at Value Village for $20. I didn't really want to pay that much but I'm really glad I did. They're Kirkland brand, Supima Cotton, whatever that is, and Costco sells them for $90.

We bought a really nice crisp cotton fitted sheet and it looked like it had never been used. I don't know why, but after a few days, there was a tear. It didn't come from us, we don't tear sheets, we trim our toenails etc. I blamed it on Bud using his back claws when he jumped onto the bed.

I got a lady to mend it for me, she reinforced it, and darn if one morning another tear showed up. It was nice and tight on the box spring, but so are others that we have.

Older sheets tend to have the fabric separate along the lines where they have been folded. The weight of your body spreads the threads so that they fail.

If the sheet is old there is no way it will be crisp unless you starch it. Sheets late 50's and before will feel thicker between your fingers.

This sheet looked and felt like it had never been used. We were both so disappointed that it tore.

I'm confused, isn't percale a type of cotton weave, not a manmade fiber?

Modern Percale has a certain percentage of plastic in it to make it smoother. Do a search like I did last night. The old stuff preplastic could be 100% cotton but it could also have other fibers in it. Go down to item 3.

https://www.overstock.com/guides/percale-sheets-fact-sheet

I have some Ralph Lauren sheets that are now discontinued. They are 100% cotton, made in Bangladesh and totally wrinkle free out of the dryer. They feel like silk! Unfortunately, they deteriorate quickly (a few years) splitting on the fitted sheet and edges on flat sheets. I have 2 sets left. Despite their failings, I would buy them again if I could find them. They are that wonderful to sleep on!

Provogal...one of two things going on with your 100% cotton no wrinkle sheets either they arnt 100% cotton but I think they are which means they have been chemically treated to be no wrinkle. Cotton wrinkles no way out of that unless chemically treated.

Percale is the type of weave.

Someone that knows everything about sheets...old and new told me manufactures can add 5% **other fabric and still label it 100% cotton.

I'll be back. ..kids

I love linen sheets.

My short and sweet way to test old sheets - if you know it's old/used, test for pills, especially on the bottom sheet, if none, buy the sheets. I use the same for older clothes, if they've lasted for a while without a lot of visible wear, the item should last even longer.

We've got a sheet set we bought used in 5/98 (yes, 1998) at a yard sale, they are so soft, a little thin, but oh so comfy!

Percale is a weave. Anything pre-1985 is likely all cotton unless the label says otherwise.

Today there is no standard for labeling. Since bedding is 99% manufactured overseas there is also no guarantee with labeling.

Sheets split due to the way they are woven -- uneven numbers of threads in essence -- or due to wear.

Here is an explanation - Making Sense of Buying Bed Sheets

I highly recommend you read Rococogurl's link on sheets. No one knows sheets like Roc.

There's some valuable information here. Thanks experts!

My wife found a stack of new-in-the-package sheets from the 1960's --perhaps earlier-- at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store. They were all different brands, so I think they must have been somehow left over from a retail store. Wish I could remember the brands; they were well known, but I think companies that have been out of business for quite some time.

We bought a few, but felt greedy taking them all, so left some for others! One of the twin bottom sheets was fitted, but instead of elastic, it had ties! I don't even remember bottom sheets like that from childhood. Guess I was born into the world of elastic corners. Any idea how old that sheet might have been?

Mamapinky, when you super-hot wash old sheets, doesn't it make an odor in the house?

I am illuminated. I was aware of insertion as a weaving technique (I weave) I had no idea it was done with sheets. No wonder some of them hold up so poorly. I have always bought Percale or sateen and now I know why. I already knew that Pima was the only way to go but even Pima varies in quality. I watch the thrifts for good sheets, make my own pillow cases from smaller ones. I never buy fitted. I buy flat kings for a Queen bed.

"I never buy fitted. I buy flat kings for a Queen bed."

Patriciae, I get so frustrated, some of my fitted queen are too big and they get sloppy and wrinkled. I'm forever trying to pull them tight underneath me. Others are too short and they barely fit on the fourth corner, and aren't quite long enough on the sides.

I'm going to try your tip and get a king and see how I like it. Thanks!

Thank you so much everyone for all the information and advice so far folks!

More questions... are all good old bed linens white? Or when did color come in?

Is it ok to use sheet straps on old linens? I use them to help keep our, um, underlinens in place. And sometimes when I use two flat sheets on our queen sized bed.

Colored sheets came about sometime shortly after WW II...During the war you couldn't buy sheets for love nor money and once production started again, some makers offered colors,

Along with colored toilet paper -- I remember you could buy colors to match your bathroom! late 40s and 50s were into color!

I don't think colored TP and tissues came in until maybe 1960 and after. s a young married in 1957 I would have been all over that....but don't remember matching the tp and tissues until later.

It would have been about the mid 60's before I remember seeing it. Then in the mid 70's came scented TP until it was found that both irritated tissue and they were discontinued.

There was coloured toilet paper in the 1950s -- but I only saw it once. A relative had a big house and she had toilet paper and tissue in pale pink and pale blue AND telephones to match. This was before Princess phones. Everybody I knew had black phones and white tissue. I would say that I saw this before 1952. Maybe she bought it in a specialty shop or in New York.

Mama is right about being cautious of bed bugs. They could also brought into the home in ways I’ve never thought of. The local Macy’s fulfillment center here is infested with them, so they could even come in the mail. Also the local DMV is or was infested with them. It was a huge news fest about them for a while, showing them in the chairs in the waiting area.

Had to think of this thread when I again found still-in-the-package old sheets at a thrift store yesterday.They were once more a variety of brands, but all flat sheets, twin. At first I thought I might take orders from the KT, but on closer look, the label said 50% cotton, 50% polyester.

smakcanada you may not have them where you live and since the selection varies in each store but Tuesday Morning used to have the 100% pima cotton sheets. I never saw linen there but it does not mean that they do not occasionally have them. Some are seconds so if they do not fit or are not what they say they are on the insert in the container you can return. I have so many sheets that it has been at least 5 years since I looked at their sheets. When I was purchasing they would put all of the sheets in one area on sale several times a year. I have some very expensive sheet sets from them from between $39-$69 US which shows how long I have been buying sheets there.

A word about the polyester many suppliers use what used to be called thread wrapped polyester to sew any seams etc. in sheets and clothing. The amount is too small to give a percentage so you will only see the word on any packaging or tag. Yesterday I tossed one of my favorite tops because the threads around the neck finally through wear and washing exposed the polyester in the center of the threads the friction of my movements caused it to irritate my skin.

The smell will also tell you they are vintage percale. It's a very clean, crisp & fresh smell, nothing in the world quite like it!

The smell of vintage percale...cotton is cotton. After processing ect the only smell left is....nothing.

Percale is the type of weave not fabric type.

Vintage linens will possibly smell of several things. Detergent, old body oils, or the smells they pick up from their environment. Percale doesn't have any unique to itself scent.

Lisa if you found vintage percale sheets smelling as you've described that simply means someone did a fine job laundering them.

What a great thread!

I buy those huge old Irish damask linen tablecloths at thrift shops - the ones no-one wants anymore because no-one wants dining rooms or wants to waste time ironing when they could be on Houzz ;)

They make the BEST summer sheets - cool, smooth, and way nicer than even cotton percale. They're a lovely weight, too, for lying on or draping over.

An old hotelier once told me that, for linen to stay nice and soft, it should be washed cold, not hot, and not spun-dried too heavily, as those treatments break down the fibres. So now I was those tablecloths in cold water, barely spin, hang out to dry, and it's as if I ironed them anyway!

Freezing is apparently another effective way of getting rid of bedbugs, by the way - which is good to know in northern climates.

As someone who unfortunately knows a little too much about bed bugs, freezing is only effective if you have a chest freezer. But 15 minutes in the dryer will kill all stages of bugs, as will steam for those items that can't be easily put in the dryer.

Interestingly enough, it's actually very rare for them to live in fabrics unless there is a heavy infestation. Too much movement. They prefer to hide in the cracks of the bed frame and under the box spring. Modern treatment methods allow to get rid of them with the use of commercial steamers if caught early.

So if you're buying something used and have concerns, do the following: bag the items before bringing them into the house, take them right into the laundry and wash and dry on the highest heat the items can handle. Tie the bags you used and dispose of them immediately, preferably outside.

If you are going to a laundry I would suggest that you dispose of the bags after you put the cloth in the washer and bring fresh bags to put the clean dried cloths into. Putting back into the same bag could re-infect the cloths.

recordaras - I should have included, leave stuff outside to freeze only if you're in a cold climate! It gets down to -30'C here, which is way colder than chest freezers.

The trick with freezing is that you need extremely consistent low temperatures for a long duration of time. The second the sun comes out and your black trash bag gets 10 degrees warmer the whole operation was just ruined. The dryer and steamer are far more effective, so I personally would not trust freezing as a means of bed bug prevention.

MamaP and et al, A way to help keep the folds in your sheets causing the fabric to fail (tear) is to fold on the bias. Here is a video explaining it, using a quilt in the demo. Now I need to refold a few quilts!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+fold+a+quilt+on+the+bias&qpvt=how+to+fold+a+quilt+on+the+bias&view=detail&mid=BCE73AA882471CC75D23BCE73AA882471CC75D23&&FORM=VRDGAR

Hi Recordaras, How's it going? Do you feel well? I often think about you hoping all is well.

Thank you for the bed bug info. I am often reading about this in the news. The US is really having a big problem with the return of these critters.

I used to..in my ignorance think that only certain people got bed bugs but that's not true and I'm ashamed I ever thought that way...it wasnt until a few years ago when someone here warned me about my shopping thrift stores that I even gave much thought although I was taking precautions. . A little research is all it takes to understand. I have been doing a lot of research once this thread started and some things I have questions about yet don't know where to go for answers.... for instance the internet talks a lot about diy bed bug removal in the bed rooms but what if a whole house is infested. ..are people supposed to bag up the entire house. .evety nic nak, wall hangings, dishes...everything. ..and where in the world do they put it all...and TV's and other electronics...how are those treated...its really a scary situation. Its very $$$ to hire a bug company and even thr they can't guarantee 100% success. ...

I can't think of any critter that scares me more than bed bugs. ..I mean heck it takes extreme heat or cold to kill them...they can even live many months without a feeding. The more I read the more questions I have. Lol.

Truely makes me not want anyone in my home which wouldn't eliminate the thousand other ways of getting these things.

Sorry for the rant. ..it's late I was thinking about this and creeped myself out.

Hi Mama! All is well - a little over 3 weeks to go, and definitely ready. I've had a very happy and uneventful pregnancy thus far, but definitely starting to slow down and get a little uncomfortable at this point!

And I think it's pretty normal to not know much about bed bugs until you are faced with them. Trust me, I also thought they were something that only happens in slums to people who live in filth! And then we got them from our upstairs neighbors - he is a dentist and she is a professor, so as educated, well-off and white collar of a couple as can be. But their son came back from college in NYC and brought the bugs back in his belongings. They then made the worst mistake one can possibly make: went to Home Depot and bought a "fogger". This device does nothing to eradicate the existing bugs, but does send them scattering to all your neighbors... And then a year later we got them again, this time from the neighbors downstairs who, due to age, did not realize that they got infested (at the time we thought it was only our two units) and let the bugs get way out of hand to the point of coming up two stories again.

That's probably way more than anyone ever wanted to know about our bed bug experiences, but figured I'd give some background: we've been through this more than once, have worked with a fantastic and very helpful pest control company and I've done so much research that my husband jokes I should just open my own bed bug eradication service to not let it all go to waste.

Here's the thing: bed bugs are a nuisance, but they are definitely not Ebola. Let me calm some of your fears:

• There is definitely a resurgence of them in our country, and anyone who travels should take reasonable precautions when staying at hotels: keep your suitcase on those folding racks, don't put belongings on the bed, and launder everything shortly after coming home. I personally know the signs to look for, so I will do a quick inspection of the bed frame when we check in, but for most people that's probably not necessary.
• The whole house will need to be treated only if the infestation gets out of control. In our case both times the only things that needed to be treated were the bed and end tables and mattress (thorough steaming) and all the bed linens/covers/mattress pads were washed and dried after each treatment. So as long as you are vigilant and catch the first signs vs waiting a year to call the exterminators, it will likely be a relatively simple and inexpensive treatment.
• Signs to look out for: dark brown/black spots, similar to a dot left by a fountain pen. You will see these on the sheets and anywhere where they are hiding (bed frame cracks and slats and underside of box spring is where they will go first). They are very obvious if you know what you're looking for. Bites are actually not a great indicator: our first infestation happened in the summer, we sleep with the windows open and my bites looked just like regular mosquito bites. A good percentage of people also don't react to the bites at all, my husband is one of them, while some will get huge purple welts that last for weeks. And the whole "they bite in threes" thing is not true either.
• Regarding thrift stores, after this experience I absolutely will not ever consider buying used upholstered furniture or anything that goes in the bedroom. Yes you can give it a good steam before bringing in (we bought the same type of steamer that our pest control company uses), but if it's a nicer piece the steam might damage the finish, and if it's something less expensive at that point it's just not worth it. Washable items I'm perfectly comfortable purchasing, as long as they can be laundered right away. And if you've bought too much for one load, keep what doesn't fit bagged and in the bath tub (bugs can't climb up the slippery sides) till you can get to them.
• And last but not least, if you notice any signs, DO NOT try DIY treatment. Go to https://www.bedbugcentral.com/bedbugfree and find a certified professional in your area. The BedBugFree certification means that they are up to date on all the most recent research and treatment methods. The last thing you want is to go with the cheapest "spray and pray" exterminator from Craigslist who will use outdated, harmful and ineffective pesticides.

Once again, that turned out to be way longer and completely off topic on a laundry forum, but maybe someone will find this helpful! I know that there's a lot of shame and stigma associated with having bed bugs, so most people prefer to keep it a secret, but I feel that raising awareness is very important these days.

Lol, now folks have given me the willies about bedbugs. I do really appreciate the information, it’s something I wouldn’t have thought of. I’ve almost never seen packaged bed linens in the resale shops around here. Or at least not old stuff, I sometimes see overruns of more stuff show up.

More often than not if a local shop has linens, they are used and hung on hangers amongst a rack of other home soft goods from napkins to bath towels to placemats. Not many places around here even have that.

I took the time on a rare day off to just go shopping amongst errands ... and was kind of surprised at the lack of bedding in general in my area.