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Bed Linen Guide
Bed Linen Guide
Our Bed Linen guide includes lots of great ideas and tutorials to help you get the very best night's sleep.
What are the differences between Slip, Bag, Housewife & Oxford Pillowcases
Difference between cotton and linen
Place one of our valances on the bed base then take a mattress protector and place it over the mattress, add our cluster filled topper with easy to apply anchor straps. Next place either a fitted sheet or flat sheet on top, add a natural filled duvet cover with one of our Egyptian cotton covers, dress with our natural filled pillows covered in either our housewife or mock oxford styled pillowcases, top with a variety of cushions and add a throw or runner to complete the perfect bed. 
Thread Count is the number of threads per square inch in the woven fabric of your Egyptian Cotton or Cotton Rich Bedding most commonly used for bed sheets and duvets covers.
Are Highest Thread Counts really the best when choosing a new Egyptian Cotton Sheet Set? These are questions most companies simply don't want you to know or ask.
Thread Count, and its determination, is actually one of the biggest and most confusing issues today for consumers. While Consumer Reports has done an excellent job of monitoring Bedding products and trends, certain specifics have remained unanswered.
Are you aware that many either Falsify Thread Counts or intentionally mislead consumers as to the actual Thread Count. Did you know that there is in fact a vast difference in how manufacturers are determining Thread Count for Egyptian Cotton and Cotton Rich Sheets, Duvets Covers and Bedding? Manufacturers from many countries such as Egypt, China, Portugal, India and others are using 2-ply or multiple-ply threads up to 4-ply, claiming the Thread Count of their Egyptian Cotton Sheets and Duvets to be double to quadruple what we consider to be the true value. And, while this may seem trivial on the surface level, the impact is substantial in the quality of product you're receiving. Rather than using one single-ply, Long Yarn Egyptian Cotton or Pure Cotton fibre of excellence, the cheapest fibre are instead twisted together to create a longer "thread."
Twisting causes a compromised base resulting in weaker weave, a rougher surface and far less longevity. Most large or national manufacturers use single yarns and, although the thread counts typically stay in the 180-250 range, the single-ply threads used are going to last longer than two threads twisted or tied together. Even though the actual thread count may be lower, use of single yarns typically means that your set is going to have a far superior feel and last much longer.
Egyptian Cotton is the most superior of the Cottons, the most expensive. There are however different grades and lengths, and the term Egyptian Cotton on packaging can be misleading. Because of this, bedding made of Egyptian Cotton no longer means that you’re necessarily purchasing a top-quality item. Fibre length is crucial in determining the quality and longevity of your new sheets, but a difficult factor to decipher as a consumer. Short fibres cause roughness, pilling or have surface balling, and result in extremely poor wear.
Now that you have a better understanding of thread counts, be sure to visit our bed linen section and select the range that most suits your requirements.
What are the differences between Slip, Bag, Housewife & Oxford Pillowcases
Housewife
Housewife is a standard pillowcase typically found in most homes where the pillow fills all of the fabric.
Point A - opening of the pillowcase
Point B - envelope flap is tucked inside the pillowcase
Point C - top of the pillowcase showing a cut away section
Point D - pillow
Point E - envelope flap with the pillow tucked into it
Oxford / Square Oxford
Oxford pillowcases have a border round the edge, similar to a flap, but with no purpose except decorative and it is usually used underneath normal pillowcases.
Point A - opening of the pillowcase
Point B - oxford border
Point C - top of the pillowcase showing a cut away section
Point D - pillow
Bag
Bag style pillowcases are the most popular pillowcase style in the hospitality sector. The majority of hotels use this style as it allows housekeepers to easily change the bedding when time is an issue.
Point A - opening of the pillowcase
Point B - hemmed edge
Point C - top of the pillowcase showing a cut away section
Point D - pillow
Point E - ends of the pillowcase tuck in on its self
Slip
A slip pillowcase is very similar to a bag style, the difference being instead of a hemmed edge, the pillowcase has a self-finished selvedge edge.
Point A - opening of the pillowcase
Point B - selvedge detail
Point C - top of the pillowcase showing a cut away section
Point D - pillow
Point E - ends of the pillowcase tuck in on its self
Calendered Explained
A cotton fabric that has undergone a special finishing process incorporating heat and pressure to appear more lustrous.
A closely woven, plain weave, spun fabric made from both carded and combed yarns. Percale sheeting is the finest sheeting available. The high thread count gives the fabric a soft, silk-like feel.
What's the difference between cotton and linen?
Natural fibres fall into two main groups: protein fibres, which come from animals, and vegetable fibres which come from plants. The main ingredient in all vegetable fibres is cellulose, a carbohydrate found in all plant life. Both cotton and linen are vegetable fibres. Linen is made from the flax plant, cotton is made from the cotton plant.
What is Jacquard?
In fabrics, jacquard is a design created by weaving differently coloured threads together.
Joseph Jacquard invented this decorative weaving technique in 1804. A special loom is used to weave a pattern directly into the fabric.
A Jacquard loom makes it possible to control each warp thread so that each and every warp end can be raised or lowered at will to form an intricate design. Originally controlled by a punched card system sometimes called the first computer, today the loom is fed by computer generated information that eliminates the cards, making design changes faster and more efficient.
Jacquard is characterized as a pattern woven into a fabric; either a surface effect, or a pattern produced with coloured yarns.
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Click here for our helpful glossary of textile industry terms.
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