Everyone by now has heard of Egyptian cotton bed linens because they’ve become so popular in recent years. It was believed for the longest time but cotton was really just cotton and thread counts were the most important things to consider when you went out to buy your sheets.  Well, that’s no longer true.

So what’s the big difference then…? The consumer guidelines for bedding say that the cotton produced in Egypt is generally far superior to all other cotton. Egyptian cotton’s are used to create the bedding we all know and love — the bed sheets, the pillowcases and duvet covers.

Egyptian cotton is famous for having the longest continuous fiber — which means it is stronger than other cotton.  The yarn is also smaller than other cotton, which means you can get more threads into a square inch.  That in turn produces a stronger over all fabric for your bed linen.

Some companies try to fool you by actually taking the threads apart and weaving them back together again, then doubling their thread counts.  This practice adds nothing to the durability and strength of your bedding, so don’t buy your sheets based on thread count alone, but rather concentrate on the quality of the thread and the weave.  I would say that some of my favorite sheets are in the 300 thread count range, are of course 100% pure Egyptian cotton and have a sateen weave.  You’ll never be disappointed with a sheet like this on your bed.

It will become softer and softer over time and can last many years if you take care of it properly.  This means washing in warm water, delicate liquid detergent using oxygenated bleach only when absolutely necessary.  Tumble drying on low, and removing from dryer beef for it is bone dry and even a tiny tiny little bit damp. You’ll hopefully have at least three complete sets of flat and fitted sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers.  One set on the bed, one set in the laundry, and one set in the linen closet.