Wait, Do We All Hate Linen Sheets?
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Occasionally agolden Apple of Discordrolls into the Strategist Slack and ignites debate so vigorous that you have to drop what you’re doing and enter the arena. It started innocuously enough: Strategist editor Lauren Levy dropped a Parachute press release announcing new colorways for its linen bedding. Then the comments began to trickle in — did anyone else find linen sheets uncomfortable? Too hot for the summertime? Do we … actually hate linen sheets? “I actually think linen in general is dead,” writer Kat Gillespie commented. “Are we ready for that convo?”
Ready or not, the linen-sheet skepticism was out in the open. Below, a condensed and edited transcript of what followed.
Lauren Ro, senior writer:I don’t like linen sheets! They are not cooling to me, and I get stuck to them.
Lauren Levy, lead editor:I just realized after using them for many years that they aren’t as cozy as I want my sheets to be.
Bella Druckman, junior writer:I know that linen sheets are supposed to get softer with time, but I’m too impatient for that. They’re rough and itchy on my skin!
Winnie Yang, senior editor:I agree with your take, Lauren. When the sheet is newish and stiff, it drapes away from your body. But once it’s broken in, it drapes so closely you’re wrapped in it. To me, that feeling of the sheet being too soft is … almost greasy?
Amelia Jerden, sleep writer:I was a big lover of the Parachute linen sheets precisely because they are softer and thinner, but mine recently got a hole after only a few years’ use, so I don’t know if I would get another set.
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Erin Schwartz, writer:Does anyone have those heirloom-weight linen sheets?
W.Y.:We’ve had a Linoto top sheet for a year now and it is still nice and almost starchy. I would never get a linen fitted sheet.
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A.J.:The thing I do like about linen sheets is that they’re not slippery. Bamboo sheets from Cozy Earth are the worst offender for slipperiness, which is sad because they are so soft and I love how they feel. I like that linen is textured, though cotton is probably the right middle ground.
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Kat Gillespie, writer:I think hotel sheets are always the goal. Crisp and cool, not a wrinkly, sweaty mess.
Liza Corsillo, senior writer:To me, linen breathes, whereas some tightly woven cotton does not and makes me feel claustrophobic. But linen doesn’t keep its shape so the fitted sheets end up going slack in the middle.
Simone Kitchens, senior editor:Can we talk about the bagginess? A sheet should be insanely taut; why are so many so loose?
Ailbhe Malone, senior editor:I use these sheet suspenders to keep it taut. I never have to adjust them — just when I change the bed.
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E.S.:A lot of it is the fiber density of linen — linen threads are thicker than cotton threads, and they’re less tightly woven together. Sateen is super-tightly woven, percale is a little less so, and linen is pretty loose, which makes it more prone to bagginess.
W.Y.:Sateen feels the greasiest of all.
E.S.:I wasn’t with you until now on the greasy thing, but I agree that sateen feels greasy.
A.J.:What are the cotton sheets that are neither greasy nor crinkly? That’s what I want.
E.S.:I tried linen sheets for a week, then retreated to my L.L.Bean pima cotton percale.
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B.D.:I love my Brooklinen sateen sheets andBoll & Branch hemmed sheets. Clearly I like my sheets greasy.
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S.K.:These “crinkled” percale from Coyuchi are my favorite. They’re lightweight and so soft without that threadbare gross clinginess you get with a lighter-weight linen.
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L.R.:Hilary Reid and I both have this sateen bedding from Biscuit — it’s incredibly soft and smooth. And Simone and I love the washed matte sateen from Morrow. Those definitely have a little greasiness factor, but I still love them. Andthese from Boll & Branchfeel like lived-in percale.
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Biscuit Home Dorothy Sheet Set
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S.K.:The Morrow Soft Goods sheets are now second in line after the Coyuchi. A little greasy.
Ambar Pardilla, writer:Get a few sets of Anthropologie’s printed cotton-percale sheets on sale and you’re set for years. Is this a safe place to say I’m a big hater of plain-white sheets?
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E.S.:I think you speak for the Zeitgeist. I feel like white sheets are going the way ofmillennial gray— chic five years ago, now it just seems boring.
L.L.:I want only dark sheets; I also have to admit that I like some greasy sheets. I have washed sateen from Matteo that I mostly bought because they have the best colors.
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Matteo Organic Sateen Sheets Set
E.S.:Are there any linen-sheet defenders in the chat?
A.M.:I just love them — they are like a lovely cocoon. I like a swishier sheet as I am a wriggly, sweaty sleeper. I’m now trying Piglet in Bed’s linen-cotton sheet. It is literally the best of both worlds — feels like linen, lasts like cotton.
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A.J.:I want to defend them, but there are probably too many cons — the bagginess, holes, etc. I just like how they feel, specifically the Parachute ones. They’re airy while still having some weight. I like the texture and lack of slipperiness. I think there’s also a psychological element to why linen appeals to me — it’s sort of homey and ancient.
W.Y.:I still think linen for a top sheet and duvet cover is great.
L.C.:I use a linen duvet cover without a duvet insert as a top sheet or lightweight blanket. I like the nubbiness, and I find the color is intense but not fake looking, like a nice natural dye. I imagine wrapping it around myself down by a lake.
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