High Thread Count Doesn’t Really Matter

At some point during the ’90s, the trend of marketing high-thread-count bedsheets as a higher-quality option took off. It’s easy to see why you could fall for it: Higher-thread-count sheets often feel soft and silky, with a nice weight to them thanks to all the piled-on threads. More fabric must be better and last longer, right? But while thread count does affect the density and feel of that fabric, it doesn’t necessarily make it a great bedsheet, or a longer-lasting one.

Part of that is the heat component. “It’s pure physics,” says Kristie Rhodes, manager of woven product development at Cotton Incorporated. “The less yarns you have in an area, the more open areas you have for the air to move through.” Staying too hot at night is a major sleep disrupter, since you need to be able to lower your body heat in order to fall asleep. Heavier bedsheets won’t help you at all in that aspect, no matter if they’re bamboo or linen. Trust me—I’ve tried every kind of bed sheet, and nothing can fix bad airflow on a set of sheets if you’re a hot sleeper.

Thread count can also be a misleading form of measurement. “Manufacturers can manipulate thread count using thinner threads, so it’s important to consider multiple aspects of sheet quality beyond just the number of threads,” says Phoebe Yu, founder and CEO of Ettitude, maker of bamboo home textiles like sheets, towels, and even rugs. Parima Ijaz, founder of Pure Parima, which specializes in Egyptian cotton sheets, agrees and recommends prioritizing the material over the thread count.

But material quality can be difficult for shoppers to gauge unless they’re deeply entrenched in where businesses are sourcing their fabrics from, and have both time and energy to research it. (Or are reading in-depth sheets reviews like you’ll find here on WIRED.) It’s another clear reason why thread count is such a memorable yardstick for shoppers: It’s a nice, clean number shoppers can look at and feel they’ve discerned quality.

Thread Count, Explained

Photograph: Richard-I’Anson/Getty Images

Thread count isn’t counting all the threads in the entire bedsheet, but rather one small area. “[It] refers to the total number of threads woven into each square inch of fabric and is calculated by adding horizontal and vertical weft threads together to create the total number of threads per square inch; i.e., your thread count number,” says Zoe Doyle, the associate brand manager of Mulberry Park Silks.

It’s almost surprising that it’s for such a small area, especially when you think about the bedsheets with counts reaching 800 or even 1,000 threads. That’s a ton of fabric to have in such a small area, and high numbers like that aren’t recommended by any expert or bedding brand I spoke to, whether the sheets are cotton, bamboo, linen, or silk.

Speaking of those different sheet types, thread count comes up in different forms depending on the type of material used. Cotton always uses thread count, while silk and linen sheets usually use weight—grams per square meter or GSM for linen, and momme for silk—as a form of measurement instead. Silk momme actually takes both weight and density of the weave into consideration, according to Doyle. “Momme is calculated by the weight of a 100-yard length of silk that is 45 inches wide,” Doyle says. “If 100 yards of silk fabric at 45 inches wide weighs 19 lbs, it is considered 19 momme.”

Meanwhile, bamboo and lyocell sheets also tend to use thread count, though it’s often not as clearly labeled as a cotton sheet’s thread count is.

Material Over Numbers

Photograph: Nena Farrell

With everyone I spoke to, a common consensus came forward: Better sheets come from better materials, not higher thread counts. Specifically, long single-ply fibers are ideal over lots of shorter fibers woven together.

“The thread count of a fabric matters less than the quality of cotton,” says Doyle. “For example, 200 thread count sheets made of high-quality cotton, such as extra-long-staple Egyptian cotton, will be softer, stronger, and more beautiful than higher thread count sheets made from inferior cotton.”

Long-staple fibers actually can’t produce high thread count sheets the way short fibers can. Shorter staple fibers automatically require more fibers to create the length you need for the sheet, and will need to use a double-ply thread to weave the fibers together. In contrast, a longer single-ply thread would be stronger and smoother to the touch, but won’t need as much actual thread to complete the same job shorter fibers would.

That fiber length also plays a role in how long your sheets will last, and how soon they’ll start to pill. “Thread count aside, fiber length is a crucial factor in durability,” says Akshay Bahl, CEO of Delara Home. “Long-staple cotton, like Egyptian, Pima, or Supima cotton, creates stronger, softer, and longer-lasting sheets with fewer exposed fiber ends, reducing pilling over time. In contrast, short-staple cotton tends to break down faster, leading to rougher textures and less durability.”

Temperature Check

Photograph: Nena Farrell

I could tell you all day about how long-staple, lower thread count bed sheets will probably be softer and last longer. These factors can take some time for you to see, especially if you’re purchasing something like linen that will soften over time. But you’ll likely notice one thing right away if you purchase high thread count sheets: heat retention.

As Rhodes mentioned, it’s a pretty straightforward concept. “Fewer yarns means the sheet is lighter weight, providing a cooler sleep experience,” she says. More thread means less room for heat to escape, leading more heat to be trapped within the sheet and around your body.

Thread count isn’t the only aspect that affects heat retention when it comes to sheets. Style of weave can make the arrangement of those threads, no matter the count, vary with how much heat and air can escape. Cotton, for example, has two popular weave styles—percale, which is a one-over-one thread style, and sateen, which is a three (sometimes four!)-over-one thread style to make it feel silky. Sateen is usually the hotter sheet when comparing cotton styles (unless you’re adding flannel to the mix) due to that weave. Material plays a big role, too. Linen retails less heat than cotton, for example, so heavier linen sheets can still be more breathable than a heavy sateen sheet.

Is there a best thread count at all, you might wonder? You’ll hear different advice based on different opinions and what kind of fabric you’re shopping for. When it comes to testing and rating cotton and bamboo sheets, I’ve consistently preferred thread counts between 200 and 400, with a 300 thread count usually being my sweet spot, especially for cooling sheets. My best advice, though, is to read our reviews of different sheet styles, like linen and bamboo, to get a better idea of how warm and soft each sheet set is to see what works for you.

However, there’s definitely a worst number. “Anything beyond 800+ is often marketing driven and may involve multi-ply threads rather than higher-quality single-ply fibers,” says Bahl.