A hotel’s boasting about sheets with a
colossal thread count a measure of horizontal and vertical threads
per square inch of linen is like bragging about how many hot dogs
you can stuff into your mouth at once: The numbers can be
impressive but shouldn’t be the sole measure of quality.
“There are only so many threads you can fit in a square inch
before
you end up with cardboard,” says Fidelma Wyse, vice president of
commercial design and special products for Anichini Hospitality, a
luxury hotel linen and textile company based in Tunbridge, Vt.
A top-of-the-line sheet combines a high-quality thread (for
example, Egyptian cotton, composed of long, soft fibers) with a
thread count appropriate to the sheet’s weave. A thread count of
200 is enough for percale, a basic weave that yields a crisp sheet
with a matte finish; 300 is ideal for sateen, a high-sheen
sheet.
Hotels have latched onto thread count as a marketing tool
because it’s easy to sell the notion that more is better. According
to Wyse, the best way to determine a sheet’s quality is to find out
if it was made by a reputable company (such as Bellino, Frette,
Matouk, Peacock Alley, Pratesi or Yves Delorme), because there are
too many variables to keep track of. Note: Even a linen with the
right specs can be ruined in the cleaning, dyeing and finishing
stages.