We all love a good set of sheets!

When you cover your bed and pillows with a fresh set of sheets, and get into bed, it's a feeling that's hard to beat.

The feeling of soft and smooth sheets against your skin evokes a comfort level that few things can match.

But it can get better!

High thread counts are overrated. There's really no perceptible difference after 300 thread count. In fact, they range anywhere between 250-300 thread count.

You can visit the most excellent hotel or a 5-Star resort, and the sheets they use aren't 600, or 800 thread count. They're usually 275-300 thread count. 

What? That can't be true - that's just crazy! Right?

No, it's actually true.

If you took a time machine back to the 1980s, the luxury "top of the line" sheets topped off around 300 thread count. The regular "Martha Stewart" type of sheets were in the 200's. And they were just as soft as today's sheets.

How is that possible? 

Well, the thread counts haven't actually changed. The way manufacturers manipulate the thread counts is what has changed.

Before high thread counts were all the rage, individual threads were used to make a sheet set. These were "single-ply" threads. These days, manufacturers use thinner strands, then spin them together. This is called a "dual-ply" or "multi-ply" thread. 

And they count these dual-ply threads as 2 threads. So, what was once a 300 thread count sheet set, is now a 600 thread count sheet set. If a 3-ply thread is used, the thread count is 3 times as high. So what used to be a 300 thread count sheet set, is now magically 900 thread count.

You get the point.

So if you do the math, a proper 300 thread count sheet set, is actually better than a modern 500 thread count sheet set. Those 500 thread count sheets are really just a 250 thread count set in disguise.

So how can you do better?

Stop buying retail sheets, and buy hospitality-quality sheets from the same places that hotels buy theirs.

Let's take a look at an example.

Comfortwill sheets which are made by Standard Textile are usually featured at popular hotels like The Courtyard by Marriott, Sheraton Hotels, etc.

These sheets are 70% cotton and 30% polyester.

But why a blend? Aren't 100% cotton sheets best?

No, not really. A blend is actually better. It combines the best of both worlds, and if woven correctly, it actually negates the weakness of polyester.

Cotton is soft, but not really smooth. Polyester is smooth, but not really soft. And a 100% polyester sheet can be too slick.

As a blend, these sheets are soft, and smooth, but not too smooth.

Also, polyester tends to hold on to heat, which is why you tend to sweat a lot in polyester sheets. The Comfortwill sheets shown above are woven in a way to create little pockets, which allows heat to dissipate.

So, we have a sheet that is soft, smooth, and dissipates heat. Which is why it's used in hotels!