Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Dec 28, 2011 12:50 PM
Joined: Dec 23, 2011
Points: 82
I've been lurking here for the past two weeks deciding upon my next mattress, and have finally decided to post. First off, thank you all for so much valuable information. Thanks to this forum and a visit to City Mattress, I've now decided on my mattress. I'm going to order a posture deluxe from FloBeds. These are on sale until the end of this week, and I plan on placing my order Friday. I'm confident in my selection, and hope it turns out to be comparable to the Pranasleep Wahe we tried out at City Matttress.

My next two dilemmas are which Mattress pad to order and finding a quality sheet set. I've narrowed my mattress pad to either the St. Dormeir Natural Wool Mattress Pad, or the 100% Cotton mattress pad sold by Flobeds. The Flobeds mattress already has a good amount of wool sewn into the top cover of the mattress encasement, so I'm not sure if I need additional wool in the mattress pad. I'm also concerned about how well the St. Dormeir pad will hold up under repeated machine wash cycles. Any advice is greatly appreciated as to why one would select the cotton over the wool, or vice versa.

My second dilemma is what sheet set to get. I definitely like 'cool' feeling sheets and like most people want them to be soft to the feel. I definitely like percale and sateen weaves. I've seen the St. Geneve "My Favourite Sheets" recommended here as a good set in my price range, although I prefer a solid sheet rather than one with stripes. I've also read good reviews on the Dreamfit 400TC egyptian cotton sheets which are a solid and also in my price range. Please let me know if you can offer any recommendations on these two I mentioned, or if there are other sets in my price range I should consider. Thanks again for all your help.

Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #14 Jan 14, 2012 2:20 PM
Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 850
Correct the Jeneve's are most likely some kind of Pima cotton, it would be long staple and good quality, but not authentic egyptian cotton or woven in europe so the cost is reasonable.  They are good sheets :)  

I don't want to be negative but I have heard bad things about beddingsuperstore.com  I don't think they even have a retail showroom; you can probably get another online dealer that has a retail showroom to match their pricing though.  

Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #15 Jan 14, 2012 7:41 PM
Joined: Jun 1, 2011
Points: 17
Just checked... they're made in China - which is probably why they're $200.

megalops wrote:

 

 


ZackG, thanks for your recommendation. Do you know what country these are made in? Are these the ones you're referring to?: https://www.linenspa.com/Products/600-Thread-Count-Egyptian-Cotton-Sheets/



Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #16 Jan 14, 2012 10:06 PM
Joined: Dec 23, 2011
Points: 82
ZackG wrote:

Just checked... they're made in China - which is probably why they're $200.
 


Thanks for the response. Being made in China explains a few things, especially the fact they claim to be single ply & 600TC sateen. I don't believe sateen can be woven using single ply at 600TC, but I am certainly no expert. Odds are that these are also not Extra Long Staple Egyptian cotton, and are more likely to be upland cotton grown in Egypt.

I'm glad to hear they are comfortable, but if I'm spending that much on sheets, I want to make sure they're going to last a while. I'm thinking I'd rather pay a little more upfront to know I'm getting high quality.

Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #17 Jan 16, 2012 12:12 PM
Joined: Jan 13, 2012
Points: 22
I am looking forward to how the FloBed works out for you. 

Sheets, well for my nickel the Coyuchi organic sheets are superb and frankly the basic made in USA organic percales are fabulous (really they wear well and soften so nicely - feels great)  I got my basics from HolyLambOrganics.com  (though others sell them).  They will happily send you a swatch for touch/color test.  I'm a bit of a sheet snob (hypersensitive) and frankly have been thoroughly pleased and amazed.  

 

Mattress pad -  both HolyLamb and SoaringHeart.com are somewhat  local for me (SH offers free shipping and currently has a white sale going)  and I absolutely love these companies for a reason. Total information and good stuff.  I went for a wool 'puddle pad' /moisture barrier underneath my thick wool fleece topper and Soaring Heart has a wonderful explanation as to why the wool makes sense - just pop to their wool pad page and they tell you. 

Wool pads are most effective when used underneath a cotton pad - in short, to your question as to whether you need cotton or wool or both - - get both.   

There is a caveat though - no matter if they are washable or not the wool pads do not go in your dryer and that needs to be considered.  (Yes indeed, even the St Dormeir says to not put it in the dryer).  Why? Well in a dryer the oils in the wool would be stripped and they become useless.    So I put a protective cotton cover over my mattress, then the wool pad and my thick wool fleece topper, which has a thick cotton backing. They need air more than soap and water to stay fresh.    The wool pad does not move around on our bed at all even though there are no straps or attachement points.   For full encasement protection the cotton pad at Soaring Heart is awesome

 

Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #18 Jan 16, 2012 2:23 PM
Joined: Jun 16, 2011
Points: 171
Just have to chime in here for the more  budget-concious. Less expensive doesn't always mean not as good. I had to quickly buy new sheets after my impulse buy of a thick mattress as my old fitted sheets wouldn't go over it. In haste, I grabbed a set of Springmaid "My Carefree Sheets" just because it says they fit up to an 18" mattress. I figured if I hated them I wasn't out much money and could shop at leisure later for something better.

I've bought many many sheets over the years including very expensive ones, and I couldn't believe how smooth, generous, cool and comfortable these sheets are. They feel absolutely luxurious, wash like a dream and don't shrink or pill. I also love that they're solid colours and no flowers etc. which I dislike. I immediately went out and got 4 more sets and I doubt I'll ever buy anything else.

Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #19 Jan 16, 2012 2:24 PM
Joined: Dec 23, 2011
Points: 82
SallySmiles wrote:

I am looking forward to how the FloBed works out for you. 

Sheets, well for my nickel the Coyuchi organic sheets are superb and frankly the basic made in USA organic percales are fabulous (really they wear well and soften so nicely - feels great)  I got my basics from HolyLambOrganics.com  (though others sell them).  They will happily send you a swatch for touch/color test.  I'm a bit of a sheet snob (hypersensitive) and frankly have been thoroughly pleased and amazed.  

Mattress pad -  both HolyLamb and SoaringHeart.com are somewhat  local for me (SH offers free shipping and currently has a white sale going)  and I absolutely love these companies for a reason. Total information and good stuff.  I went for a wool 'puddle pad' /moisture barrier underneath my thick wool fleece topper and Soaring Heart has a wonderful explanation as to why the wool makes sense - just pop to their wool pad page and they tell you. 

Wool pads are most effective when used underneath a cotton pad - in short, to your question as to whether you need cotton or wool or both - - get both.   

There is a caveat though - no matter if they are washable or not the wool pads do not go in your dryer and that needs to be considered.  (Yes indeed, even the St Dormeir says to not put it in the dryer).  Why? Well in a dryer the oils in the wool would be stripped and they become useless.    So I put a protective cotton cover over my mattress, then the wool pad and my thick wool fleece topper, which has a thick cotton backing. They need air more than soap and water to stay fresh.    The wool pad does not move around on our bed at all even though there are no straps or attachement points.   For full encasement protection the cotton pad at Soaring Heart is awesome

SallySmiles, thanks for your response.

I too am looking forward to my new flobed. Although I already placed my order for it, I won't be taking delivery of it until early February, due to my request.

Regarding Coyuchi, I did get swatches of their 220 percale and their 300 percale. The 300 feels very nice. Unfortunately, their percale fabric is made of cotton sourced and woven in India. The sheets are finished in USA, albeit of imported materials. I'm also a bit concerned about the fact that they don't mention the type of cotton they use which leads me to believe it is upland cotton. These assumptions don't mean they're not quality sheets, just that they seem pricey for what they are. If they were less than $200 a set, I'd seriously consider them. Being close to $300 a set leads me towards the St. Geneve stuff.

Regarding the mattress pad, I've decided to stick with 100% cotton. I'll probably get the one from flobeds, but will check into HolyLamb and SoaringHeart. I received a sample bed kit from flobeds, and am very impressed with the amount of wool sewn into the encasement. I can compress it to about 3/8", but once I release it, it expands to 1.5". Because of this thick layer, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine with just a cotton protector pad.

One other sheet set I found was these: http://www.daxstores.com/organic-cotton-sateen-sheets-and-pillowcases.html. They also make a 200TC percale. I got swatches of each, but the percale felt a little rough. Their 280 TC sateen was surprisingly nice despite the not so high threadcount, especially after I washed it once. These are made completely in USA. I may consider getting a set of these for my son's bed, just to see how they feel after a few washings.

This message was modified Jan 16, 2012 by megalops
Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #20 Jan 16, 2012 4:14 PM
Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 850
I am reading the label on a St. Dormeir pad right now and it says machine dry on medium heat gentle cycle.  Says not to overdry, so I would say low heat would be even smarter....but they do launder well.  Anyway wool or cotton is good for a mattress pad so long as they are easy to care for.
Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #21 Jan 17, 2012 10:50 AM
Joined: Jan 13, 2012
Points: 22
megalops - the 'basic' sheets that I have from Holy Lamb are USA grown, not Coyuchi -  I was only ok with at first until starting using and washing - i love them. 

 

I have seen the St Dormier at many sites and three of recent finds did state that they were to be 'machine washed and air dried' - so that would be a plus since you pointed out several others say low heat in dryer. OK then!!      Yes, I have washed my 100% wool 'puddle pad/moisture barrier' with no loss of function and minimal loss of fiber.   If it were not for the very thick backing on my fleece topper I would have a cotton mattress pad over the wool pad.

My thick wool fleece topper can be machine washed - but it would take a commercial machine without a doubt - 

Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #22 Jan 24, 2012 8:42 PM
Joined: Dec 23, 2011
Points: 82
My new flobeds is still about 3 weeks away, but in the meantime I picked up 2 very nice sets of sheets. We've tried both sets out and a extremely pleased with them. Both came from Tuesday Morning stores.

One is a generic 464TC percale from Italy. The percale is obviously a 2 ply yarn woven at 232 TC tightness, and was labeled as Le Telerie Toscane THEOREMA Solid Percale. The tags on these sheets only state 100% cotton made in Italy. These are an extremely nice set of sheets, and are extremely heavy in actual weight, even though they are fairly thin and breathable. I may actually weigh them before they get washed the next time, as they were much heavier than any other king sized sheets I've ever felt. Also very smooth and soft for Percale. I can't wait until these have been washed several times. I may go back and get another set even though my wife is not crazy about the two remaining colors they had. These were only $160 a set.

The other set is a 310TC Sateen from Portugal.  The Sateen was labeled under Peacock Alley Oasis which I believe is a name they created just to liquidate products through Tuesday Morning. These Peacock Alley sheets claim to be Egyptian cotton. These sheets are extremely soft, but sleep a tad hotter than the percales.These were $90 a set. An excellent deal compared to anything else I've seen in that price range

The only other quality sheets I saw at the 4 Tuesday Morning stores I went to were Sferra, but most of which were made in China. They were all jacquards and sateens, and overpriced for Chinese sheets as far as I'm concerned. The Sferras they had from Italy were all in sizes other than King.

If anyone is looking for some qualiy sheets, I highly recommend Tuesday Morning stores.

This message was modified Jan 24, 2012 by megalops
Re: Quality King size sheet set for less than $250? Also a Mattress pad question.
Reply #23 Jan 26, 2012 7:31 PM
Joined: Dec 23, 2011
Points: 82
Does anyone here have any familiarity with Hudson's Bay wool blankets? These: http://www.woolrich.com/woolrich/browse/subCategory.jsp;jsessionid=B8C77BB306027C978F6FCB16D79DA4F0.app03?icCategory=MM_cat10100
seem to get excellent reviews most everywhere, but are quite expensive. I'd need an 8 point blanket for a king sized bed, and have found them as low as $365 with free shipping. Just wanted to know if anyone here can recommend, or knows of a wool blanket of similar quality for less?

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