Here's my problem. In the hot, humid weather of summertime, I can't fall asleep without a sheet on top of me, but I don't want it to cling. I hate the feel of those shiny, high-thread-count, soft, drapy sheets in sateen, especially in the summer - it might feel okay at first, but it's not really ideal for year-round wear. Those so-called luxury sheets feel as breathable as wet silk to me - which means not breathable at all. (Silk, though airy when dry, gets stifling when it's damp, and is much harder to care for, so it doesn't make the best comfortable day-to-day sheeting).
I considered linen sheets, which are airy, smooth, and cool. They would be perfect...if I could afford them.
Which left me with an option I had almost forgotten: those wonderful, old, kinda stiff, sorta wrinkly, but smooth, crisp sheets that rustled loudly against the skin when I was a kid and gave me this great feeling of being tucked in and cozy.
And thread count? Sheets of 200 thread count (which means 100 threads going in one direction and 100 threads going in the other direction, per inch) to 280 thread count are usually what we think of when we think of our grandma's clothesline sheets.
I did use my newly gained savvy to pick out the sheets that earned positive reviews by people of like minds - those who remember their grandmother's sheets and scorned the sissy sateen and impossibly high thread counts (after 400, apparently it's all hype) for those basic, comfy, smooth and firm sheets that are best for everyday use.
Update: Discovering Sheets for Over Ten Years
I started this
blog back in 2011, thinking I was all alone. To learn there were
others who felt as I did was a big and welcome surprise. Since then I've added onto
it and made sure it was up-to-date.
Then came a different kind of cool! A few years ago this very blog was featured in an issue of the Chicago Tribune.
And the fall before that, it was featured in Cottage White, the home décor section from the publisher of Romantic Homes and Cottages & Bungalows. They interviewed me and everything. That year was a double wow.
I'm thrilled that my weird passion for airy bedding, which started out
as a cranky grumble that annoyed my family so much they told me to put
it in a blog, has led to this place being a hub of discussion on this
most critical topic for us coolcrispers. Yes, I did just coin that word!
:) And yes, I do consider bedding a big deal. Menopause among other things has taught me never to
take comfortable sleep for granted.
I've gotten a lot of emails from like-minded folks over the years,
asking me questions. I promise you I do update with the current status of the percale sheets market as
frequently as I can. Currently, my personal favorite recommendation
for sheets is on my Buy Crisp Sheets page, in my review about halfway
down.
Thanks for visiting, everyone. I'm grateful to know I'm not the only one feeling the heat these days. Stay cool and cottony. :D