As a kid I would always wonder why I had to make my bed since I was just going to get into it at night and mess it up anyway. It’s not like anyone was going to see it … and even if they did they’t probably think “See, he doesn’t make the bed either.”
Fast forward, present day. There is something pleasurable about peeling back the covers and climbing into a virginal bedscape, especially if the sheets have been laundered and hung outside to dry. It’s the punctuation at the end of a day. It’s bestowing reverence and adding ritual to our lives. Something that seems to becoming less and less important.
Needless to say, my attitude about making my bed has changed albeit not as quickly as my habits, but I’m working on it. Mostly this change was brought on by the purchase of new sheets and duvet cover. Shopping is not my favourite pastime. Last time I bought sheets was ten years ago. Two sets, on sale, Sears. I thought I knew something about sheets and went on the hunt for a six hundred threat count … that was the extent of my knowledge.
I’ve learned a few things since then such as:
Thread count is totally meaningless if you don’t know the ply of the yarn. There is single, double and even a quad ply yarn that affects the true tread count of the sheets. Believe it or not, sheets marked as 1200 thread count may only be 300 if it’s woven with quad ply yarn.
The softness of sheets is determined by number of variables such as weave type, cotton quality, strand length, ply and workmanship. Thread count alone does not make a sheet soft.
Bed sheets are not like sheets of toilet paper. Two ply is only for comfort in the bathroom. In the bed room Dual ply is created by twisting shorter threads together to make a longer one. This could do two things, reduce quality as well as artificially increase the thread count.
High heat washing is great for sheets. Not so. Cotton shrinks like crazy in the dryer and eventually your fitted sheets will be able to bounce quarters like a boot camp cot because they fit too snugly.
And to finish off, silk isn’t satin, and satin isn’t sateen. Silk is the material made from threads that from tiny holes in the jaws silkworms. Satin is a blend of silk and synthetics whereas sateen is a cotton weave that has more threads on the surface to give it a softer feel.
Well there you have it. Now go make your bed.
Oh, and in case you were wondering … organic cotton sheets are now available at Essentia. The luxury organic sheets are made with 100% Certified Organic Sateen Cotton and processed without any harmful chemicals. The sheets are certified to the most stringent standards for organic cloth ( GOTS Certification ).
