Clearing up a common misconception: fine linens come in a variety of thread counts

Over the years we have heard a lot of talk about fine linens and thread count. Even before we opened our doors, people poked their heads in the store as we were setting up and asked how high the thread count was of the sheets would we be carrying.

We hope to set it straight with for all the thread counters… All fine linens are indeed just that, superior in quality and woven of very fine threads. This means that the cotton used is a long staple fiber, usually Egyptian, that can be woven in a thread count over 200 threads per square inch. Thread counts in fine linens can be anywhere from 200 to 1200 threads per square inch, but thread counts over 500 threads per inch can only be double ply yarns, meaning that two threads are wrap together as one, but counted as two. Many of the sheets that we have seen over 800 threads per inch tend to be very heavy in weight, thus defeating the entire purpose of fine. But there is also great sheeting available in linen, silk and micro-fiber, which have no thread count guidelines to follow.

Thread count should be only one factor used in making your purchase of fine linens. The technology behind the weave and/or the finish are just as important, as well as the "hand". Some people prefer the crisp feel of a percale weave, others like the silky finish of sateen. Similar products from one manufacturer to another can have entirely different qualities from each other depending on the cotton used, the weaving and the finishing of the cloth. We have heard a wide variety of descriptions from our customers on the type of sheet they prefer: soft, hard, silky, spongy, slick, smooth, bouncy, cool and "just like my grandmother's". So we offer a wide selection of sheeting in a variety of thread counts--percales, sateens, damasks, linens, silks and micro-fibers--and let you make the decision on how they feel to you.