bubonico

I'm pondering buying some satin sheets for my girlfriend. I've personally never slept on any sheets that weren't cotton. Are satin sheets good for long term use or are they just super sexy? What about silk or velvet? Any personal experience or advice would be appreciated.

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noodle

Satin sheets are great in theory. Just make sure the air conditioning is on. I get really hot while I'm sleeping on those, and I'm very cold natured. But, they're lots of fun when you're not necessarily sleeping...

I love my Supima Cotton 400 thread count sheets. Sublime softness that gets better every time you wash them. I've never gotten any complaints, either.

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maleficent

silk is slippery and gets wrinkled really easily so it looks like crap after one night. PLus some need to be dry cleaned, and if they don't get dry cleaned, do you seriously want to be ironing sheets?

High thread count cotton sheets, fredweena's described 'em right, it's a softness that just feels good and feels silky.

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braisler

100% silk are the way to go if you can find them. Super lightweight and smooth feeling, but surprisingly warm once you get settled in. We bought a set through amazon.com for $100 on sale a few months ago. Satin will develop runs and tears pretty easily depending on what kind of sleeper you are and what other activities are going to happen on those sheets. The ones we bought are holding up really well and can be washed and dried at home. They can get a little wrinkly after a few nights, but you will want to wash your sheets at least once a week anyway.

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Bill O'Rights

Ok...I'm old, so my days of satin waterbed sheets are long since past. Put away, along with my silk shirts and gold chains. Silk sheets, as mal has pointed out, just look like hell after one use, and tend to...um...well...stain rather easily. Nobody wants that. Put me down as another one in the high thread count cotton sheet camp. Now for the ultimate in snuggly coziness, on a chilly winter's night, nothing beats a good set of flannel sheets. God...I really am getting old.

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THGL

Plus silk sheets and silk "undergarments" create an almost zero friction environment. You'll do a lot of sliding around.

My vote is for cotton, the higher the thread count the better.

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Irishsean

Unless you want to put velcro strps on your pillowcases, don't go with silk, lol!

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ratbastid

lurkette had a set of red satin sheets in college. I always felt like I was a sandwich with too much mayo--always slipping out the other side. Worse, they were Queen size sheets on a Twin bed... Still, we felt sexy in them.

We have a set of sheets now that is made of modal, which is a fabric made from beechtree fiber, and it's WAY softer than any cotton sheet I've ever come across. You lay on it and you just have to squirm around some, they're so soft. Bed Bath and Beyond has them for reasonably cheap here: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...=-1&sku=104324

lurkette

I LOOOOOOVE my modal sheets. They're so soft and comfy and sexy I can't even describe it. BB&B also has bamboo fiber sheets, which if they're anything like my bamboo fiber tshirt are both unbelievably soft and very cool. Both modal and bamboo are natural fibers so they won't get as sweaty as satin, and they're flexible weaves so they breathe better (and wear better) than silk. My only complaint is that the modal releases a lot of lint at first till you've washed it a few times.

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MooseMan3000

I'm gonna have to go with lurkett and radbastid on this one. I was actually looking up the name of the sheets when I scrolled down further and saw their posts. I've had a couple sets of their "Pure Beech Jersey" sheets, and they are fucking amazing. I've never had a set of cotton sheets that felt as good as these.

Actually, now that I look at it, rat linked to a different set than the one I have. He got the "sateen." I have "jersey." At half the price, you think they'd be less comfortable, but I prefer the jersey feel. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...=-1&SKU=102743

And for BillO'Rights, they come in flannel, too. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...=-1&SKU=105656

Charlatan

I am a big fan of high thread count good quality cotton sheets.

I find silk or satin sheets are: a) kind of cheesy rather than sexy b) liable to get pilly c) not warm enough

The best is when I stay in a really good hotel and they have the best linens on the beds... they are both soft and firm -- if that makes sense.

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5757

Yep... good ol cotton does the trick for me. I think it's sexy when you can climb into bed and focus on your partner...snuggle down...cover up and feel warm....get busy and not have to worry about if you're going to be slipping and sliding all over the place. Also, silk sheets are going to slide off of the bed altogether. That would annoy me!
Me and my partner need to be the ones doing the slipping and sliding Theres nothing worse than finding an awesome position 'ooh baby thats the spot..stay right there' and then a leg slips and ruins that great spot you found! Grr.

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Redlemon

I need to ask about this. I've picked up a couple of high thread count cotton sheet sets (one jersey, one sateen), and both became rough after a couple of washes. I get lots of 'pills', especially in the areas where our bodies lie. What am I doing wrong?

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sailor

I know exactly what youre talking about, I was just about to say the same thing. Really nice, soft sheets, but with a crispness to them, almost like they've been slightly starched. I love it.

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Strange Famous

very strange.... I could have sworn I posted in this, but I cant see my post!

Anyway, I just sleep on a matress, I dont have any sheets.

But I used to sleep on a sofa for a couple of years and now I have a bed, and a bed is more more comfy, and sexy.

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Charlatan

Redlemon: Sateen and Jersy aren't the best for durability. Try for Egyptian cotton sheets, they have longer fibres.


Terms to Understanding Cotton Sheets

Egyptian Cotton
Long staple variety from Egypt with fiber length of around 1 3/8" known for it's luxurious softness. At one time Egyptian cotton sheets were sold primarily in the more expensive stores but today you can find them in most linen departments. The longer the fiber, the more luxurious and durable the grade of cotton.

Pima cotton
Known for it's strength and durability this cotton was developed in the southwestern U.S by a careful breeding of Egyptian cottons which fiber length averages 1 ½".

SuPima
This is a certification mark used by members of the SuPima Association of America and certifies that the fabric is 100% Southwestern cotton grown by members of the association.

Thread Count
Thread count is the number of threads per square inch of fabric and determines the softness and durability of the item.

Sateen
This has a stitch of four over, one under, placing the most threads on the surface, making it lustrous and smooth, although not as durable as other weaves.

Pinpoint
This is a stitch of two over and one under. It is very durable but not as soft as other weaves.

Percale
This term is used to indicate that the sheets have a thread count of 180 or higher.

Link
Don't assume that higher thread counts mean better quality Durability, strength, and pleasant touch depend as much on the quality of cotton, weave, and finish as on thread count. For example, costly cotton sateens may have thread counts of 310 or up, but their weave makes them much less durable and, because the cloth is thinner, less absorbent than lower-thread-count, plain-woven percales. Even among percales, which today come in thread counts rising from the traditional 180 to 310 and more, my favorite has a thread count of only 200. It has better body, crispness, durability, and absorbency than thinner, higher-thread-count versions.

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maleficent

The sheets (and preferably a mattress pad) are there to also protect the mattress. A mattress is a pretty big investment, it's get pretty grungy after a few months of sleeping on it without sheets...

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MooseMan3000

Well, I have a set of the modal jersey sheets mentioned before from BB&B. I've had them for a little over two years now, and I've slept on them nearly every night of those two years. I also abuse my sheets horribly by eating in bed, getting sawdust and other stuff on them, spilling candle wax on them and then scraping it out with a knife, and having far too much sex on them for my own good. I also wash them every week or two. These sheets haven't gotten rough at all. The first hole appeared a few weeks ago. I think 2 years under those conditions is a pretty good lifespan for something that's "not the best for durability." Plus, jersey feels sweet.

The durability and comfort have a lot to do with the material the sheets are made out of. I said it before, but I'll mention it again. I've never had better sheets than the "pure beech 100% modal" sheets from BB&B. And that includes high and low thread count Egyptian cotton. I highly recommend them.

Irishsean

Now these are sexy sheets! And my girlfriend loves them!

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lurkette

IrishSean - WHERE did you get those?!? I LOVE them!!!

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denim

What are the care requirements? I don't see that at the BB&B web site.

Like I need another set of sheets. I've already got five for my one bed. Two of them are high thread count cotton. Mmmmm... One is something else, I forget what, but it's deep red and NICE.

noodle

Jersey and sateen being the problem. You're not doing anything wrong, they just get like that from sleeping on them. Sateen sheets have something about them that makes them almost shiny. What ever that is always tends to make them pilly. Jersey sheets do just like tshirts that are rubbing in the armpits. I get my Supimas at Linens-N-Things. Everyone laughs because I have a top and a bottom sheet in different colors. But they were $11 each for king size because there wasn't matching sets. Bombdiggity. Pale yellow and dark blue aren't that bad... are they?

The sateen sheets I've slept on have always ended up making me sweaty, too. They don't breathe right. I won't settle for less than 100% cotton either. All this is making me tired! Gonna climb in my soft, clean sheets soon.

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ryfo

Cotton is the best, make sure its a quality product. Maybe I am biased, but I think any sheet is sexy if Mrs Ryfo is on top of it!!!

SiN

all I have to add, not being a sheet conniseur (yet ...) is that satin is great for pillowcases for those who care about not messing up their hair too much

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HoneyPot

Satin is just sexy material. Thats all there is to it. I also think silk is a close runner up.

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Charlatan

SiN... it's funny but the satin pillow cases I slept on once (i.e. for one night ) kept snagging on my stubble.

I can imagine it would have drove me nuts if I had to use them every night.

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shesus

I like very soft cotton sheets. I actually had a great set that I bought pretty cheap at...I hate to admit this but it was 6 years ago....Walmart.

I have some of the expensive cotton sheets and they aren't very soft. I've never slept on satin sheets, but they never sounded appealing to me. For cuddling, although they aren't sexy but very comfy, I love flannel sheets in the winter. However, they can get 'messy' since they are thicker than regular cotton.

God, I sound like such a bad person in this post... Walmart and flannel....what a turn off

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lurkette

Denim, as far as I remember the Modal gets washed just like cotton. Doesn't require any special care.

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miko

Based on the reviews here, I told my wife about the modal sheets and we bought a set at bed bath & beyond last week. Have only slept in them for a few nights but they are AWESOME! So soft and and so light. And they don't make you sweat like sateen. Best sheets i've ever had. Now I just hope they hold up ok. Seems like they need a little more careful washing. I think it said to wash them in cold water only and dry on low. My last set of really soft sheets ended up getting all ball-y. I hate that.

Gilda

I voted for cotton. Never cared for satin on the occasions I slept on those, and never slept on anything else.

I have no idea what thread count or weave we have at home, as what I have is what I bought at Target whose color I liked. Grace couldn't care less.

Now I'm just feeling inadequate as a homemaker. I feel compelled to go out to the bedding store and get some high thread count Egyption cotton sheets post haste. Or the beech tree ones. How did I not know about this? I'm so ashamed.

Gilda

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qweds

ok so i just got those modal sheets from bed bath an beyond, in no small part owing to the testimonials i saw on here.

so far i think they're are definately the sexiest thing in my appartment, they far outsex both me and my 2 roomates combined. and one of them is a midget and the other is canadian so that's no small task.

i just hope they stay this nice for a while

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tim(mah)

Miss Ina

I love my jersey sheets. It's like sleeping in your favourite t-shirt, but all over. It's true that they pill a bit, but it really hasn't been much at all, at least not on mine. I own three pairs of jersey sheets; I can't sleep on anything else.

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qweds

hey,

does anyone know where to get a modal duvet cover? what i have now just wont work with my new sheets. i didn't see anything on the bb&b site, but i wonder if that brand is sold anywhere else...?

thanks

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tim(mah)

Powderedmaggot

Satin for sexy.
Cotton for comfort and durability.
Silk for sexy and comfortable, not as sexy as satin but close and far more comfortable than cotton, thier durability sucks though.
Flannel is really nice on cold winter nights.

Poppinjay

I have to help Bill O' Rights feel less like an aging sleep-o-phile.

Flannel. I like cotton, but flannel is so nice. Especially if they're plaid. Then it's like a whole Catholic school girl fantasy.

Before I got married, I only bought cotton. I was enough of a human to buy percale, but not much else.

Before I became human and was basically a caveman, Like Strange Famous I slept on a bed. What the heck do you need sheets for?

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fightnight

I had to say cotton due to sheer lack of experience. Someday....

nightstuff

I like things natural, and went for quality cause I thought "I'm worth that, and it cant hurt my sex life either", so: Hi-thread count cotton, quality mattress, solid oak frame.

One thing I urge, regardless of which sheets you go for, is to change them frequently. Just looove the feeling of fresh sheets on a comfy bed.

seagrass

I, too, bought those modal sheets from BB&B, and I love them...can't believe how soft they are, and they don't make me sweat!

Kalibah

cool silk sheets during the hot summer


omg

DasMarklar

"Egyptian" cotton has always managed to do the right thing for us. Nice and cool to the touch, good texture, and easy to clean - don't see much of anything wrong with any of that.