Bed Sheets Reviews

The best guide to bed sheets comes from Consumer Reports, which ranks sheets based on the results of independent tests for attributes like strength and shrinkage. Several of the sheets tested have been discontinued since the ratings were last updated in 2005, but many are still available. One of the strengths of Consumer Reports is that it includes bed sheets that are lacking in quality rather than just listing top performers. The accompanying buyer's guide, which covers topics like fabric choice and thread count, provides some useful insight into getting past industry hype and choosing good sheets for a reasonable price.

Allergy Buyers Club is another site that tests and rates bed sheets, but unlike Consumer Reports, it includes only positive reviews. Because Allergy Buyers Club sells the sheets itself, it should also be considered a less objective source of information. On the other hand, the product reviews themselves include detailed specifications and some discussion of pros and cons. Linenplace.com has a similar but less detailed ranking of the bed sheets they sell. One advantage of their review, though, is that it includes more commonly available products.

User reviews at sites like Amazon.com and Target.com don't match expert advice, but they do provide a user's perspective on bed sheets and can be a good source of information on how the sheets actually perform under everyday use.

The issue of thread count has made it to the courts as well. According to Home Textiles Today, an industry trade magazine, Bed Bath & Beyond has agreed to abide by the Federal Trade Commission's thread-count labeling standard in which the number of yarns per square inch, rather than the number of plies, is counted. As part of the class action settlement, the company is also providing rebates or refunds -- depending on the type of documentation the customer has retained -- to anyone who purchased its bedding between August 1, 2000 and November 9, 2007. Consumers who own sheets from Bed Bath & Beyond can get more information on the settlement by visiting the company's website; a link is provided in our Best Research section.

Thread-count inflation is just one of the quality issues affecting bed sheets; another is the use of overly delicate or otherwise unsuitable fabrics. Cuddledown calls its Heirloom Italian Voile Bedding (*est. $340 for a queen set) "so light it's translucent." Reviewers, however, point out that the fabric, besides being prone to shrinkage, is sheer enough to reveal the less decorative pillows and mattress pads that the sheets are designed to cover.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Because of the tremendous selection of bed sheets available, we found a wide variety of recommended brands. Only L.L. Bean’s Warm Feelings Flannel and Garnet Hill’s Paintbrush Flannel stood out with more than one top rating each. Of the remaining expert picks, Sealy’s Best Fit and Scent-Sation’s Charmeuse Satin are chosen by reviewers we rate highly.