If you read my article on Egyptian cotton then you must remember that in the end I said something very important, that you need to look at the thread count of the sheet you are buying if you want to amplify the feel of your precious Egyptian cotton sheets.

All the fuss about high thread count sheets

But the thing about thread count is that you can hear it everywhere. It is like a buzzword. All How I met your mother fans will remember the infamous scene where Barney, our beloved playboy flirted with Jennifer Lopez, where he mentioned the thread count of his cotton suit, and she seemed to melt to the ground? Well, now having researched about the concept I think that there was justification in Anita’s (Jennifer Lopez’s character) reaction.

What exactly is a thread count?

But what in the world is a thread count and why do people often list it down when describing how amazing their bed sheet is? According to Dr. Ning Pan, a professor Textile and Clothing in University of California, thread count is one of the convenient ways of describing the thickness of the yarn. When you add the vertical threads and the horizontal threads per square inch you get the thread counts. This means that the higher the threat count the sheet has, the heavier it is and vice versa.

You do and do not need “best thread count” Egyptian cotton sheets

But should you really be looking at thread counts here? Yes and no.

First I will start off by explain why you need to look at thread counts. You need value for your money and you need your bed sheet to do its job. If you lift up your bed sheet and see ray of light being seen directly through several holes in it then, I am sorry to tell you but, you got ripped off. Let us look at the range of thread counts there is and what you can choose from

• 180 thread count: this is the starting point usually. These are good quality thread count sheets with okay number of thread counts
• 200 thread counts: these are better quality bed sheets which can be used in environments which are kind of humid or often hotter
• 280 to 400: this is the ideal thread counts. This is viable for all the seasons in your country and will not have you feeling overwhelmed or underwhelmed in any way.
• 600: this sort of thread count is ideal for colder countries, these are usually good quality sheets which will last you for a long time.

Too long didn’t read? It is simple, you go for a lower thread count if the area where you live, or are going to, has a hot climate and seldom does it get cold. Higher thread count is for when you live in places with colder climate.

The importance of good thread count sheets

Now coming to why you should not really take much into consideration the thread count while buying sheets. What I mean by this is that I don’t want you racking your head while looking at two sets of bed sheets thinking to oneself “but this has 400 and this has 200… I’ll just buy both”. STOP! Don’t. Thread count is not just it. That is not the main criteria to go by.

You remember when buzzwords like “lite” “diet” came out? It meant that whatever you are eating, even if it is a huge hamburger, will not make you fat because it had “lite” mayonnaise in it? Oh yeah just order 100 chicken nuggets but order a “diet coke” and you’ll be fine?! Well, when the customers finally came to their senses about the scam they were being made a fool with, the bed sheet industry came up with something new. The thread counts. The word “thread count” became the next big thing. That is all the posh people could talk about, or that was always the butt of a lot of jokes that a rich person made.

If you were not good at math as a kid, and cannot do an equation save your life then you are certainly going to get confused by this and just listen to what the company is telling you. The reason I pointed out the poor lacking-in-math babies is because when we see numbers and statistics we immediately think of them as facts, and that somehow the company is very genuine. But please do not fall for this marketing scheme. Yup, good old marketing schemes are at it again.

Dr. Pan, whom we mentioned before, warns the customers of falling for this plot. She states that usually the most thread that can be woven into a square inch can be 400. The customers need to be very aware of the products that boast an increased number of thread count, and not just make this characteristic as the basis of buying the sheet. What some manufacturers, usually do is that they place several multiply yarns, that are not woven in, which will increase the thread count on the label but not refine the feel or the fineness. A lot of websites state that usually thread count higher than 400 is inflated. Now I am not saying that all manufacturers do this, some companies are true to their word, but you will have to search better for those.

What should you really be looking for?

Let me tell you one thing, do not ignore a genuine company that is selling only 200 thread count because you think they are low quality. Usually a low thread count can even mean that they are hand woven, instead of using the chemical lathered machine which can certainly make a mistake.

What I need you to look for when going for a sheet is the fiber, the yarn, the finish, and the dye. There are a lot of other things you could look at as well, but the fiber is the first and foremost thing. Again, I am not saying that you do not consider the thread count at all, but it’s best to keep it around 400, all I am saying is that you be wise when it comes to bed sheets.