The 15 best bed sheets and bed linen sets

What's the price of a good night’s sleep? As anyone who has recently invested in new bed sheets will tell you, this can range from ‘total bargain’ to ‘selling a kidney to fund them.’ As always, it’s more about good value than a good price. But what you’re prepared to pay is just one of the things to consider when dressing your bed. You also need to think about the materials you prefer, how easy they are to wash and iron, and whether you like a cool, crisp feel as you climb between the sheets or more of a warm cocoon to snuggle into. And that’s before you even get into whether you like the look of them.

If it’s time to update your bedding, we've trawled the shops to find the best bed sheets in every style and for every budget. We consulted our Mumsnet forums to find out what’s important when it comes to choosing bed sheets and which brands and materials are the best for making your bed look lovely and feel cosy. We combined this research with expert and consumer review to help us pick the top performing bed sheets. So sit down, relax and read on. But no snoozing at the back there. There’ll be plenty of time for that later. 

Here are the best bed sheets to buy.

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Best bed sheets: our pick of the best of the rest

What are the different types of bed sheet?

Bed sheets are either flat sheets or fitted sheets. A flat sheet is a piece of fabric that you lay on your mattress. You then fold the sheet around the mattress corners and tuck it in at the sides. A fitted sheet has elastic all around the edges. This elastic grips the mattress and stops the sheet from sliding around.

Fitted sheets are easier to put on and less likely to come untucked, but traditionalists often prefer a flat sheet as it gives more leeway on sizing.

What are the different bed sheet fabrics?

Then there are a huge variety of different fabrics to choose from. Here are a few of the most common:

• Cotton – breathable, long-lasting and easy to wash

• Egyptian cotton – known for being the world’s finest cotton. It's handpicked to put less stress on its fibres, and it can be elongated to create softer, stronger cotton with more threads per square inch

• Brushed cotton – cotton that has been brushed on one side during the manufacturing process to give it a softer, warmer feel. Often used for winter bedding

• Polycotton – a mix of polyester and cotton. Washes easily and dries quickly with little or no ironing

• Linen – spun from flax (a renewable source), it has longer fibres than cotton, which means it's more durable and a favourite in hotels for this reason. While it can feel slightly stiffer than cotton when new, linen softens beautifully with age without wearing thin. Its weave means it's highly breathable while also helping to filter out allergens. It’s also good for anyone with sensitive skin

• Silk – for a bit of Hollywood starlet glamour, silk is naturally hypoallergenic. It will keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, and beauty experts swear by silk pillowcases for keeping hair tidy and skin wrinkle-free. Comes at a premium

• Bamboo – eco-friendly, soft, great at temperature regulation and ideal for those with sensitive skin. It's more expensive than cotton and takes careful looking after

• Lyocell – made from wood pulp and also known by its brand name, Tencel. It's sustainable, soft and great at wicking moisture away from the skin to keep you comfy in bed

What is the best material for bed sheets?

It depends what feel you want and how big your budget is. If you want a cosy feel, brushed cotton is a good option. If you get hot in bed, bamboo or Tencel will be best. For a hotel-chic look, linen or Egyptian cotton are the way to go, or look for hypoallergenic materials if you suffer from allergies.

Think about how much you’re paying and how long you want the sheets to last too. Linen, for example, will last for decades. It will age but usually just gets better with age. Cotton, on the other hand, will last for five to 10 years depending on the quality and thread count.

What is thread count?

Thread count refers to the number of threads woven into one inch of any given fabric. You count both the warp (the threads that go vertically) and the weft (those that go horizontally).

In general, the higher the thread count, the better quality the fabric, but other factors, such as the different fibres and weaves, also have an impact on the feel and quality of the fabric.

What is the best thread count for bed sheets?

Don’t be dazzled by very high thread counts. They’re a bit like expensive wines – once you get to a certain level, you’re really not going to notice the difference.

A thread count of between 200 and 800 will give you a sheet that you can really feel the difference in. Most on our list are between 200-400 and users report that they feel lovely and soft so anything above 800 won’t necessarily feel that much better. Below 200 will be cheaper, but won’t last as long or feel as nice to sleep in.

What do the various weaves mean when it comes to bed sheets?

You might also see fabrics referred to as 'percale,' 'jaquard,' sateen,' etc. These refer to the patterns the threads are woven in and this, along with thread count, can make a big difference to the feel of the sheets. Duvet covers might be jaquard or chambray, but sheets are usually percale or sateen weave.

• Percale – the weft (horizontal) and the warp (vertical) threads are woven alternately, like a chessboard. This weave gives a crisp, cool feel

• Sateen – here, the weft goes over several warp threads rather than over and under each one. Sateen tends to feel softer, smoother and warmer than percale

• Jacquard – this weave produces patterns in the fabric. It tends to feel quite heavy

What are the best bed sheets you can buy?

Of all the bed sheets we shortlisted, the M&S Egyptian Cotton 400 Thread Count Deep Fitted Sheet offers the best value for money and will last a long time for a reasonable price.

We like the range of colours available, which would look stylish in either a modern or traditional bedroom. They’re super soft and easy to care for so overall, we think these sheets nicely combine quality, practicality and style.

What are the best quality bed sheets?

If you're really looking for that five-star hotel luxury, we suggest going for The White Company's Savoy Collection. They’re not cheap by any means, but these stylishly clean white sheets are luxuriously soft, which makes them worth every penny if you're wanting total indulgence.

How we chose our recommendations

Our first port of call when compiling product recommendations is always the Mumsnet forums. With over 10 million active users every month, we were able to rely on honest, impartial recommendations for bed sheets that have been tried and tested by real people. We look for brands and bed sheets that they rate the highest and make sure to avoid those with poor review.

We then take those recommendations and cross-check them with expert advice, along with reviews on sites like Amazon, M&S and John Lewis. We look at the products with the best customer reviews, taking into consideration the positive and negative feedback on all our bed sheet picks, and used this information to decide which bedding and bed sheets were the best. We then began the process of looking at each of the bed sheets, checking thread count, quality of fibres and fabric, and checking whether the product seemed to stand up to what was promised.

Finally, we cross-referenced all of the above information to find the best bed sheets that had won the most accolades and recommendations across the board to bring you a selection of the best ones at various price points. We think there’s something here for everyone.

Why you should trust us

Mumsnet users are famously discerning when it comes to making big purchases for their homes and we believe that the best people to offer recommendations are real people, who have put their money where their mouth is.

For that reason, we always begin our research with Mumsnetters themselves. We use experienced consumer journalists to work through the recommendations made, and check that the products we recommend are of a high standard and come from companies we’d be happy to deal with ourselves. We also know an awful lot about the importance of a good night’s sleep.

About the author

Gemma Wilcock is a freelance writer and copywriter. At Mumsnet, she creates content providing useful parenting advice, information and top products to make life easier – as a mother of two children herself, Gemma knows how important it is to get the right advice. Gemma loves writing about subjects that will be helpful to the reader – and herself! - such as recommending top products on Mumsnet that help parents in their day-to-day life. She knows how important online reviews are when it comes to making a purchase so she always makes sure to thoroughly research every product so we are recommending the best ones on the market