Where to buy sheets that aren't scratchy?

[Gigi22]

Have you tried using white vinegar as a fabric softener for your sheets? I suggest this because I don't like soft sheets (for me really clean sheets are a bit stiff, right off the clothesline), I put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser, and the sheets got soft on me! Maybe it will work for you?

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Thanks, everyone!

I will look for the brands mentioned and see what I can find around here. MIL is QVC addict so I can add the Northern Nights sheets to our Xmas wish list.

No can do on flannel - never owned a set and never will. DH would burn up (the man is a furnace!). I like cool sheets and so does he.

The ones we got were 500-600 TC but I would have to check the tags to see if they are Sateen or not. I just can't believe how horrible they have become. I wash everything on the delicate cycle with All Free and tumble dry on medium. We don't use any fabric softener due to allergies. I didn't realize vinegar was a good softener. We do use it when washing towels to take away any odors.

 

[ShariVT]

Only you northern nights from qvc here and they just get better everytime I wash them.

 

[ceecee]

I got some Northern Lights flannel sheets as a Christmas gift from my sister probably 18 years ago...still using them and love them! I get out the flannels as soon as it gets cool and use them until May! I like super soft sheets, I got some 1000 ct Eq cotton (cheap) and while they are very soft they have faded, maybe shrunk a little and are very wrinkled after a wash.

 

[csharpwv]

One thing to remember about sheets it to dry them on a medium heat - with nothing else in the dryer- WITHOUT the use of a dryer sheet.

The more you use dryer sheets the less cotton sheets can breathe - and dryer sheets can actually cause cotton - even very high quality cotton - to pill and fuzz.

As I said above - it's important not to dry sheets with towels, with jeans, sock or with anything that has a very high level of lint in the filter after the cycle finishes.

ALSO if you have a traditional drum style top load washer - be sure to wash sheets on a gentle cycle.

This is a beside the point comment - but front load washers and dryers are SO worth the investment in how gentle they are on your laundry. From jeans - to t shirts - to sheets, towels etc. Front loaders are so gentle on your laundry - and the sanitizing cycle for sheets and towels in a major piece of mind. Not to mention the steam cycle for quickly taking wrinkles out of clothes, freshening up dry clean only items, or preventing a stain from setting it before it goes in with the rest of the laundry.

We love our front loaders! Now if they would only put them in DVC Villas!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

I got some Northern Lights flannel sheets as a Christmas gift from my sister probably 18 years ago...still using them and love them! I get out the flannels as soon as it gets cool and use them until May! I like super soft sheets, I got some 1000 ct Eq cotton (cheap) and while they are very soft they have faded, maybe shrunk a little and are very wrinkled after a wash.

Wait - are all the Northern Lights sheets flannel or do they make regular cotton ones?

One thing to remember about sheets it to dry them on a medium heat - with nothing else in the dryer- WITHOUT the use of a dryer sheet.

The more you use dryer sheets the less cotton sheets can breathe - and dryer sheets can actually cause cotton - even very high quality cotton - to pill and fuzz.

As I said above - it's important not to dry sheets with towels, with jeans, sock or with anything that has a very high level of lint in the filter after the cycle finishes.

ALSO if you have a traditional drum style top load washer - be sure to wash sheets on a gentle cycle.

This is a beside the point comment - but front load washers and dryers are SO worth the investment in how gentle they are on your laundry. From jeans - to t shirts - to sheets, towels etc. Front loaders are so gentle on your laundry - and the sanitizing cycle for sheets and towels in a major piece of mind. Not to mention the steam cycle for quickly taking wrinkles out of clothes, freshening up dry clean only items, or preventing a stain from setting it before it goes in with the rest of the laundry.

We love our front loaders! Now if they would only put them in DVC Villas!

We never use dryer sheets. 2 of the kids have eczema so we can only use All Free or Tide Free for our detergent (and we only use a half cap per full load on our Pediatrician's recommendation) and no softener or dryer sheets at all ever. The only other thing we use in the laundry is vinegar in the towels load if they start smelling musty and a half of a color catcher in the darks load. We use the delicate cycle and dry on Medium and our King size sheets go in a load by themselves.

I would LOVE a front load washer! And I agree they would be a welcome addition in the villas.

 

[Taja]

We love the northern nights from QVC. We stick with 300 to 400 thread count. (someone told me years ago that the very large thread counts can be rough because they are so densely woven) they are not only super soft, but last and last. The also have very deep pockets so they fit my large mattress that also has a topper. The sheets never come off on the corners.

Another fan of the Northern Nights sheets from QVC. They make regular and flannel sheets, although flannel tends to be more prevalent in the cooler months (retail months--not actual months! *LOL* )

Look for long-staple cotton, such as Egyptian, Pima or Supima cotton. I agree with 300 TC over higher thread counts.

 

[3-MER]

QVC Northern Nights!

 

[dhcoffey]

Another Northern Nights lover here. Won't buy anything else.

Heather

 

[mdoll4]

I. LOVE. Jersey. Sheets.

Cheap, SOFT, comfortable! From Bed Bath and Beyond.

 

[dd50]

I bought the 600 thread count from Kohl's last year on Black Friday for $39.99 I love them as they are so soft. I had a few soft sheet sets but these were better. Mine are also the "sateen cotton". Right now they are on sale for $79.99 but I will wait for them to get cheaper before I buy another set.

 

[Evi]

The higher the thread count the softer the sheets. Also only buy 100% cotton and know that anything under 400 thread count may pill after a few washes depending on the manufacturing. Personally I like 500-600 thread count sheets there soft but still have a little stiffness to them. Another thing to consider is the higher the thread count the more expensive the sheets a set of 800 thread count sheets will run you a few hundred dollars.

 

[graygables]

I'm a huge fan of The Company Store. All the bedding I have from them is amazing and lasts FORever, getting better with time. There is usually a 20% off coupon floating around as well. I recently outfitted my bed with new sheets, feather comforter, and feather bed and it is

 

[3boymthr]

I was watching a morning news show and there was a story about buying sheets and what was important to look for.

The person being interviewed said that once you got past 300/350 Thread Count you were actually wasting your money. The Thread Counts that they were posting were actually a marketing ploy to get more money for sheets that cost no more to manufacture than sheets with lower Thread Counts. The more important factor for judging the quality of sheets was not the TC because these could be artificially inflated by using really really thin threads which were actually more fragile and more apt to break which would result in scratchy sheets. He said it was much, much, much more important to look at the type of fibers being used in the threads. The more cotton the better and the better the type of cotton the smoother the sheets would be. According to the story, cotton/poly blends were not great and much more likely to pill after a couple of months, regular cotton was okay, supima was better and Egyptian was best. He then went on to describe the various ways of weaving that would then affect the smoothness/softness of the sheets. This part I can't remember.

I will say that I love the Hotel sheets. I get them at TJ Maxx and just picked up a set at Macy's.

 

[laurafergie]

We are officially a year-round flannel sheet family, and we've never been happier or comfier!!

Us too!!

 

[JandJ]

The higher the thread count the softer the sheets. Also only buy 100% cotton and know that anything under 400 thread count may pill after a few washes depending on the manufacturing. Personally I like 500-600 thread count sheets there soft but still have a little stiffness to them. Another thing to consider is the higher the thread count the more expensive the sheets a set of 800 thread count sheets will run you a few hundred dollars.

I totally agree with this. We are very picky about our sheets. When we used to stay at my aunt's house we brought our own sheets because she thought 300 thread count was "soft" We just had to buy new sheets and got Egyptian cotton, 800 thread count. We found them at Tuesday Morning for about $50/set (Queen size) - the "compare at" price was $200.

Looks like people love the Northern Nights so I might try those next time we need a new set.

 

[stefsko]

Check out QVC for sheets. Northern NIghts is a nice brand. 500+ TC King for 49.99. And they wash up great .

 

[Evi]

I was watching a morning news show and there was a story about buying sheets and what was important to look for.

The person being interviewed said that once you got past 300/350 Thread Count you were actually wasting your money. The Thread Counts that they were posting were actually a marketing ploy to get more money for sheets that cost no more to manufacture than sheets with lower Thread Counts. The more important factor for judging the quality of sheets was not the TC because these could be artificially inflated by using really really thin threads which were actually more fragile and more apt to break which would result in scratchy sheets. He said it was much, much, much more important to look at the type of fibers being used in the threads. The more cotton the better and the better the type of cotton the smoother the sheets would be. According to the story, cotton/poly blends were not great and much more likely to pill after a couple of months, regular cotton was okay, supima was better and Egyptian was best. He then went on to describe the various ways of weaving that would then affect the smoothness/softness of the sheets. This part I can't remember.

I will say that I love the Hotel sheets. I get them at TJ Maxx and just picked up a set at Macy's.

Yeah sorry but I disagree have you slept in Frette sheets or any higher grade sheets there is a huge difference int he quality and softness of higher thread count sheets. You may want to think its the same but trust me its not or try it for yourself you won't go back.

 

[Scurvy]

Unfortunately some thread counts are very misleading. A 400 thread count sheet would have 200 threads going up and down and 200 threads going side to side, which would be woven over and under each other. The problem is that some companies want to seem as though they have higher quality sheets than they actually do. So they will double the threads by bundling 2 threads together in place of each one of those 400 threads. That way they can claim that the sheets are 800 thread count. Sheets made that way really are no better than the 400 thread count sheets and depending on the quality of the thread they could actually end up feeling stiffer or rougher than the lower count sheets. It's a safe bet that sheets with a thread count lower than 350 or 400 are not going to be as smooth as those that are at least 350 or 400, but above that it just depends on whether the sheets have a truly high thread count or an artificially inflated thread count. Plus, as a previous poster mentioned, the type of cotton (or other material) which is used will also make a big difference in the quality of the sheets. A lower thread count sheet made with good quality cotton would likely be more comfortable than a higher thread count sheet made of poor quality cotton or a synthetic material.

 

[hugabearjo]

I haven't tried most of the brands mentioned. But, I absolutely love my kirkland sateen pima sheets from Costco. I have had them for almost a year (got them for Christmas) and have used them most of the time. I have one other set that I like but I always wait for my kirkland ones to be finished washing it seems.