I have silk panels from L&T but haven't put them up yet so I can't tell you how satisfied I am, though I certainly expect to be. I did want to give you a heads up on how to save even more money, though. When I bought my panels they had two promotions that overlapped - the 25% off sale, plus they had any size panel for the lowest size price. So I bought my 84" panels for the price of 64", plus the 25" store promo, plus the 20% off coupon! I figured out I saved about 60%. It was just a fluke that I walked in the store when they were running two promotions, but maybe a friendly salesperson there can tell you what kind of sales are on the horizon... Nicole

Yes, percale vs linen is equivalent to lemons vs watermelons. Then there are the various issues attendant to each. Percale is a weave. But the type of cotton used to make them and the place of manufacture are the difference in price and quality. All percale today will be imported. Countries of manufacture are most often China for anything accessibly priced. There are outliers, of course, but this is generally true. Portugal and Italy manufacture the highest quality percale sheets today, with Italy doing the highest end sheeting. Linen sheeting comes from Belgium, France and Ireland mainly. Where it's manufactured also ranges from China to Italy and there is some linen sheeting made in the USA by artisanal ranges like Rough Linen and Linoto, principally. Sheets have become an investment. But they are a necessity. I think it's a good idea to buy extra pillowcases, which always can be used, and test. I say test because you don't really know what cotton percale or linen sheeting will feel like until they have been washed at least 12-20 times. The reason is the finishing agents used. Until those are completely out of the fabric you don't know what it feels like. With low-end percale if you feel a little prickly sensation, that's because the cotton fibers are shorter and there are more ends. That's why the Italian-made percale is so expensive -- it's done with the longer fiber cotton and over time feels like silk. A sheet retailer I spoke to believes that the cotton used for sheets is the single most important component. It's important to do a little googling when coming across something like Thomas Lee's "Perfectcale," or Wamsutta "supercale" which is are marketing term, not types of cotton or weaves. There are American cotton industry websites that explain cotton and its history quite well and also explain the quality differences. But the reality is that is no way to verify cotton origin or quality when you actually buy it. You'd need to send sheets to a test lab for that. The best analogy I can give for this is a white cotton shirt. Older ones that must be ironed get very soft and smooth over time. Anyone going with percale needs to accept that it must be ironed or low dried then hand smoothed -- this is not "wash n wear" bedding. Anyone who wants no -wrinkle bedding should be looking at synthetic blends, not spending for classic percale or linen. Anyone going with linen needs to accept that it's going to dry more quickly but will also take some manipulation and a lot of time to soften up. At it's best, linen also should be ironed which will make it stiff initially. Practicalities with beds also come into play. I remember the time before fitted bottom sheets. I'm not going there again. I cannot stand a messy, rumpled bed. I don't want to remake the bottom sheet daily. Some don't find this. It's just takes awareness of the choice. Aside from that sheets are hit and miss today. The reason is that retailers may not keep the same sourcing over time. There is inadequate information given by retailers either because they don't know or the don't want to disclose. OTOH, most people have no idea what they are buying and even reading the range of reviews makes it difficult to tell. A negative review from someone complaining that percale rumples and isn't smooth out of the dryer is worthless. One reviewer says the sheets are wonderful and smooth; another says they are like sandpaper. That can be individual perception or a change of supplier. No way to know. So welcome to the great game of bed linen roulette. This link to Making Sense of Buying Bed Sheets may be helpful.

@homepro01 -- Good to know about Linoto. They are local for me. I've used Cuddledown's down pillows and duvet for more than 20 years and could not ask for better IMO. I've been to their store in Maine and like that they are U.S. made. My interest in their sheets is mainly the linen sheets, which look lovely (though Italian-made which I'm told by an industry source is tops in terms of quality). I did sent a wedding gift of their sheets to a cousin and she was thrilled. Sorry about your Batiste sheets. No idea. But if you're looking for batiste you might checkPerfect Linens. I believe they have some and I've been very impressed by a set of their embroidered sateen sheets, and I'm a percale person.

Ok....First night on the Linen/Cotton sheets (55% Linen, 45% Cotton). First impression climbing into bed is that they are not ultra smooth and you kind of stick/cling to the material...not skin, but pajamas (I sleep in boxer briefs and a thin t-shirt). They feel "heavier" than 100% linen, but are not heavy in a cumbersome way. These sheets are cut well, and they are not as crazy big as the Restoration Hardware 100% linen. The RH linen fitted and pillowcases are normal sized, but OMG, the top sheet almost hangs to the floor. I guess better than too small! These cotton/linen sheets, to me at least, feel cooler during the night. I did not ever feel too warm, as I oddly do with the 100% linen. The 100% linen feel silkier on skin and pajamas, but these blended sheets felt good. I really like them. I do not love them yet, but all reviews say they get better with each wash & dry. I am happy I bought them. Also, they wrinkle much less than pure linen.