What Is The Highest Thread Count For Bed Sheets? Part A
What Is The Highest Thread Count For Bed Sheets?
They say the more, the better. But that may not necessarily be the case when it comes to bed sheet thread count.
When shopping for bed sheets, you’ll likely come across 200 thread count sheets, 950 thread count sheets, 1400 thread count sheets, and so on. Some might wonder, what is the maximum count? And more importantly, what does it mean and how does it affect quality?
Bed sheets with an astronomical number of threads usually cost more, but they’re not always a cut above the rest. You may end up paying more for the marketing than for the quality.
In this article, we’ll shed light on the highest thread count bed sheets, common misconceptions about them, and why getting a grasp of such measurement is never a bad idea.
WHAT IS BEDSHEET THREAD COUNT?
Thread count is a unit of textile measurement that refers to the number of threads woven into one square inch of fabric. It determines how tightly the threads are woven together. The finer the yarn, the higher it will be.
Closely related to it is the yarn count, which determines the thickness or fineness of the yarn. To understand these terms better, there are a few other concepts you should be familiar with.
Warp And Weft
These are the threads woven vertically (warp) or horizontally (weft) within a specific area. Add them together to calculate the thread count. Let’s say in each square inch of a cotton bed sheet, there are 100 warp threads and 100 weft threads. The listed thread count should be 200.
Multi-Ply Vs Single-Ply
Bed sheet ply refers to the layers or strands of yarn twisted together to form one thread. Single-ply yarns are usually lighter yet more durable. On the other hand, multi-ply threads consisting of two to three strands are heavier and coarser.
By logic, a square inch should have a 200-300 TC but some bedding companies use multi-ply threads to bump up the thread count in bed sheets. That means the warp and weft threads are the same but because two to three strands are counted for each thread, the number is also multiplied by two or three.
Thus it is often that a bedding sheet with an actual thread count of 300 is commonly advertised as having a 600 thread count.
