About a month ago, both sets of our sheets developed rips in the fitted sheet. I saw this coming - they are several years old and had been getting very thin to the point of developing small holes - it was only a matter of time until they completely fell apart. I just didn't expect it to happen within a couple of weeks of each other!
The plan was to continue to use the remaining set of sheets until I could find new sheets, but I ran out of time since the last set ripped so soon. So I needed sheets in a hurry...
Coming from a textile background, I fully understand that quality sheets are not determined by thread count. Usually anything over a 400 thread count is not worth the money. That's right, high thread count numbers are a ripoff. When you see a 1,000 thread count sheet, what you don't see is how they arrive at that number. Usually the higher thread count sheets (500's or higher) are 200-300's with a multiple-ply thread. The marketing geniuses also don't tell you how many chemicals are used to make sheets feel soft or that Egyptian Cotton is the equivalent of Pima Cotton grown in Egypt but with a higher price tag. I won't explain it all here, but if you are interested, just Google it. Or you could just take my word for it because I used to sell sheets for a living. :)
My price point is $40 for a queen-size set of sheets. I like solid Ivory colored ones because there are usually fewer dyes and chemicals and it matches my bedroom. Only 100% cotton will do in our house since my husband prefers soft sheets.
I was in a hurry since I had no sheets to fit the bed. The girls and I went to Marshall's because we were there anyway and we didn't have time to go anywhere else. We found a nice set of Ralph Lauren Dunham 300 TC Sateen sheets. I wasn't thrilled, but it was the best set I saw there and it was priced at $39.99. The set included a flat sheet, an extra deep fitted sheet and 2 pillowcases. They weren't perfect, but they washed well and we slept pretty good in them. Rating: B, because they were 300's, sateen sheets typically aren't as durable and the color wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
The next week I bought our second set of sheets at Sam's Club. They had the Christy 450 Ultimate Sheets for the same price as the 300's at Marshall's. The bonus about this set is that it includes 2 extra pillowcases! These sheets totally kick booty - I give them a grade A+++. They are comfortable and soft and we slept well on them. This is clearly the best buy of the two products, and I plan to buy another in a few months. For $40, you just can't beat this set of sheets.
If you are in the market for sheets, don't waste your hard-earned money on the junk the marketing folks are trying to sell... don't fall for the high thread count trap! You can find an excellent set of queen-size sheets for $40.
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