There’s a lot more that goes into sheet comfort, including the quality of fabric being used. It may actually feel a little rougher, as those multi-ply threads can lose softness. In the end, that 1000-thread-count sheet set may not be any different from one with a 400 thread count.

Beyond that and you may be experiencing some marketing manipulation: Manufacturers know consumers associate a high thread count with comfort, so they might massage the numbers. A thread count of up to 500 is roughly the maximum that can be woven in a square inch. So what does all this really mean for your comfort? It’s true that sheets with a low thread count like 150 or under may feel a little coarse or itchy, whereas those with a thread count of up to 400 are generally soft enough for most people, according to Slaven. “Now you see 1000 thread count sheets but you just can’t get that many threads on a loom,” Pat Slaven, a textile expert at Consumer Reports, said in 2013. That can multiply the thread count significantly without actually increasing comfort.

Manufacturers who boast of high thread counts may be counting each individual fiber, or plies, in a thread. If you had 200 vertical and 200 horizontal, your thread count would be 400.īecause it gets pretty difficult to weave hundreds upon hundreds of threads into a single square inch, a claim of 800 or 1000 seems suspicious. The number is taken from the amount of threads that are sewn in vertically and horizontally, but they’re not multiplied. But what’s really going on with thread counts? Is it materially relevant, or just material marketing?Īccording to HowStuffWorks, thread counts are indeed actual measurements of how many threads in a fabric are woven together in 1 square inch.

Some consumers infer that a lower thread count means sentencing yourself to a string of restless nights by sleeping on what feels like a burlap sack, while a 1000-count bed sheet set belongs in Windsor Castle. Enter your local Bed Bath & Beyond or scroll through your favorite e-commerce website looking for the best bedding and you’ll be deluged with sales copy that touts thread counts: 300, 800, 1000.

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