What is a good thread count for sheets?

For most sheets, around 200 to 400 is a sensible range for percale, while sateen commonly runs higher, around 300 to 600.

But thread count is not a quality score. A higher number does not automatically mean better cotton, better construction or a better night's sleep.

These are useful ranges, not rules. The right thread count depends on the yarn, the weave, the cotton and how the fabric was finished.

Does thread count mean the same thing for percale and sateen?

No.

So a 300 thread-count percale and a 300 thread-count sateen are not simply two versions of the same thing.

They are different fabrics with different constructions and different feels.

Comparing them purely by the number is like comparing two cars by the number of seats. The number tells you something, but not necessarily the thing you actually want to know.

Neither weave is inherently better. Percale tends to feel crisp and cool. Sateen tends to feel smoother and more substantial. Which one you prefer is largely a matter of feel.

Is a higher thread count better?

A higher number does not reliably mean a better sheet. Above roughly 400, the figure depends heavily on how the yarn was counted.

Once you get into higher thread counts, the number becomes increasingly difficult to interpret. A higher figure can come from putting more yarns into the fabric, but it can also come from the way the yarn itself is constructed and counted.

This is why a 700 thread-count sheet is not automatically twice as good as a 350.

In fact, very high numbers are worth looking at more closely rather than simply assuming they represent better fabric.

The Sleep Foundation notes that extremely high thread counts can be misleading, particularly when multiple-ply yarns are counted in a way that makes the number appear larger than the actual yarn density.

And this is where things get interesting.

How do brands inflate thread count?

One way is by counting the individual components of a plied yarn.

Thread count refers to the number of warp and filling yarns in a square inch of fabric. But a yarn can itself be made by twisting two or more thinner strands together.

The fabric has not suddenly become twice as dense.

The more straightforward way to achieve a genuinely higher thread count is to put more yarns into the same area of fabric. That requires the yarn and fabric construction to support it.

So when you see an unusually high number, the useful question is not simply: "How high is the thread count?"

It is: "How was the thread count calculated?"

Is inflated thread count allowed?

There are standards for how thread count should be measured. Under the testing method, individual warp and filling yarns are counted as single units whether they are single or plied, so a two-ply yarn counts as one thread rather than two.

In a 2002 advisory opinion to the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission discussed thread-count claims and said that such claims needed a reasonable basis. The opinion referenced consensus testing procedures, including ASTM D 3775, in considering how thread count should be determined.

The opinion also discussed a down comforter case in which labelling changed:

Nothing about the basic fabric suddenly changed.

The important distinction was how the threads were being described and counted.

The FTC opinion is old, but the underlying lesson is still useful: a large number on a label does not tell you much unless you understand what is actually being counted.

What matters more than thread count?

Three things are worth looking at: fibre, weave and finish.

These processes can be perfectly legitimate textile manufacturing steps. But if you care about what is actually on the fabric touching your skin, they are worth knowing about.

A sheet can have excellent cotton and an impressive thread count and still have gone through finishing processes that have nothing to do with either of those numbers.

That is why we think the more useful question is not simply: "How many threads are in my sheets?"

It is: "What exactly is in the finished fabric?"

Why is AIZOME's thread count 340?

Because thread count is only one part of the fabric.

AIZOME bedding is 340 thread count, sateen weave, made from 100% long-staple organic cotton.

That sits comfortably within the range commonly seen for good-quality sateen.

And the number is not something we try to make look bigger.

What matters more to us is what happens before and after those 340 threads come together.

Our cotton is certified organic and traceable through our supply chain. The colour comes from plant dyes rather than synthetic dyes. And we do not apply softeners, wrinkle-release resins, optical brighteners or synthetic antimicrobial finishes after weaving.

In other words, we are interested in the finished fabric, not just the number on the label.

Some of those claims can be checked through independent testing and certification. For example, AIZOME's materials include PFAS testing by TÜV SÜD and formaldehyde testing by QTEC, along with OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class I certification and GOTS certification for organic content.

• GOTS
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Class I
• PFAS tested: TÜV SÜD
• Formaldehyde tested: QTEC

Our products also carry a manufacturing date and unique batch number, allowing the finished textile to be traced through the supply chain.

That is the kind of information we think is more useful than simply putting a bigger number on the package.

So when someone asks our thread count, the answer is 340.

But thread count is not where we think the interesting questions begin.