Jun 22, 2024 8:31 AM

Our Favorite Linen Sheets to Upgrade Your Summer Sleep

Linen might not be your first choice for bed sheets, but give it a try, especially in the warmer months. Here’s the linen we love sleeping on.

I fell in love with linen bedding years ago. I bought a bright yellow linen duvet I was certain would bring my bedroom together. The yellow was just a phase, but sleeping on linen just clicked. Linen has a rougher texture and a lived-in look, which can turn some folks off from sleeping on it. But the fabric is breathable and dries fast, so you'll stay cooler as you sleep and avoid sweaty sheets. (That's why linen apparel is popular in the summer.)

Linen is also strong and durable, softening up (slowly) after each wash without becoming thinner or weaker. Linen tends to be more expensive and since high-quality linen will last a long time a linen sheet set is an investment not only in staying cool as you sleep (which is very important for sleep quality) but also in gorgeous bedding you can enjoy for years.

I love sleeping on linen so long as it isn't too scratchy, which is one of the many things I looked for while testing and searching for the best linen sheets. I also looked for breathability and airflow, weight of the sheets, and looked for any other texture or temperature issues beyond linen's infamous scratchy-ness, and compared sheets based on these factors. I also researched where each set sources their linen from, and where it's produced (which can impact both the quality and the price point). These are the best linen sheets I've slept on, all having been tested for at least seven nights and at least two washes. I always wash sheets before my first night of testing and I tend to rotate my sheets every few nights.

Read our Best Sheets guide if you want something a little softer, and check out our other bedding buying guides, including the Best Pillows, Best Mattresses, Best Cooling Mattresses, and whether you need a duvet.

Updated June 2024: We've added more details about our testing process, a review of Naturepedic's linen sheets, and an explainer on where linen comes from.

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What's So Great About Linen?

Photograph: Judy Davidson/Getty Images

Linen is a woven fabric made from flax plants. It is a highly breathable material so it keeps you cool during the summer months as it doesn't trap heat. It's great for people who sleep hot. It's rougher at first than a simple cotton set, but it should soften up the more it's washed. Linen often has a higher price than other sheets, but it's generally more durable than percale or cotton, so a good sheet set should last a long time.

They're not for everyone, but if you love linen apparel, you'll probably love linen sheets. If you're unsure, start with a single piece (like a duvet or flat sheet) and see what you think. Most of the options we recommend come in a linen set, but you can also buy many of these pieces separately, allowing you to try a linen pillowcase or fitted sheet before wading into a full-on linen bed.

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Photograph: Nena Farrell
Our Favorite Linen Sheets
The Citizenry Stonewashed Linen Sheet Set
The Citizenry's linen sheets are my Goldilocks linen. They're lightweight and breathable, but still have a nice drape and are some of the softest sheets I’ve slept on in testing (though still not as soft as other kinds of sheets). These have it all: a great combination of softness and breathability, lots of gorgeous color options, and the company even sells different parts of the set separately if you need to replace the pillowcases or a fitted sheet.
They’re cool enough for warm nights, but not so cool that I wouldn’t use them year-round. These sheets are also OEKO-Tex certified, meaning they have been tested for harmful substances and have been deemed harmless. The Citizenry's sheets are made with French flax (more on that below in Decoding Your Linen) and processed in Portugal. Fun fact: the mill employed to make these has been manufacturing linens since 1921!
Includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases.
$299 at The Citizenry
$299 at The Container Store
Photograph: Nena Farrell
Lighter, Cooling Linen
Pottery Barn Belgian Flax Linen Sheet Set
Pottery Barn's linen sheets are super airy and lightweight, more so than any other linen I tested. The top sheet felt like it was floating over me as I slept, even though I had a comforter sitting on top of it. While a touch stiff, these sheets have that linen texture without feeling scratchy on my skin. They are comfortable, and I slept fantastic with these and a comforter in the spring weather. Pottery Barn's linen sheets are also cooling without having that icy touch other kinds of cooling sheets (like bamboo or treated nylon) tend to have. If you sleep warm, get these. They also come in tons of fun colors to choose from.
Pottery Barn's linen sheets source flax from Belgium—thus the Belgian Flax name—but the sheets are processed outside Europe. Still, the sheets have been tested to meet the OEKO-Tex standard like the majority of our picks, and the company claims it is also made in a Fair Trade Certified factory, ensuring proper working conditions for laborers.
Includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases.
$299 at Pottery Barn

Photograph: Nena Farrell
Extra Soft and Splurge-Worthy
Cultiver Linen Sheet Set
If you told me Cultiver's sheets weren't linen, I would almost believe you. My husband certainly would—I asked him what he thought of the new sheets after changing them from one of his favorite soft sateen sets, and he replied, “You changed the sheets?” He had no idea we were sleeping on linen.
Cultiver’s linen has a softness from the beginning, which you usually don't find in linen. They’re the softest linen I’ve ever tried. It also felt silky and a little cooling to the touch, which isn't typical of linen until it's been through several washes. Cultiver's linen also has several colors you can peruse through and everything is sold separately if you want to try one item or need to replace a pillowcase. The only downside is the price; such soft linen doesn't come cheap. Cultiver sources the flax for its linen in Europe, and has manufacturing partners in Portugal and China.
Includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases. Has options to buy pieces individually.
$445 at Cultiver
Photograph: Quince
Best Affordable Linen
Quince European Linen Sheet Set
Quince's linen sheets were initially softer and less itchy than the ones from Brooklinen, and they're almost $130 cheaper. However, they run just slightly warmer. If you don't feel like you're a particularly hot sleeper but want linen, it's a safe bet. You can return them for free within a year, too, which is nice.
Quince also has a bamboo-linen blend set ($100), which I also really like. It's an even better price than the linen-only set and feels lighter and silkier while maintaining some of the weight and stiffness of linen sheets. I found it a little more cooling than heavier linen too.
Quince's sheets source flax from Europe, but produce their sheets in China and India. They're also OEKO-Tex certified.
Includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases.
$170 at Quince

Photograph: Ikea
An Affordable Linen Duvet
Ikea Dytag Linen Duvet Cover
Before trying linen sheets, I used a linen duvet cover for years and loved it. Ikea's Dytag duvet served me well—it's soft and light to the touch and keeps me cool while I sleep. It got softer after years of use too. The butter yellow shade is no more, but there are still a couple of colors to choose from, and it comes with two pillowcases. It's great for hot summers if you need help staying cool, especially since a duvet cover can replace your top sheet. Ikea also has matching Dytag linen sheets ($139) which we haven't tried yet.
Make sure to pair it with the right size comforter or else you might find it won't stay centered in this lightweight duvet. Ikea's linen is a little more affordable than others since the flax is sourced from a variety of places; the brand says the materials are sourced from France, China, and Belgium, while it's produced in China, Pakistan, and India.
Includes a duvet cover and two pillowcases.
$129 at Ikea
Photograph: Avocado
An Organic Option
Avocado Organic Linen Sheets
If you have an organic mattress, you might as well get organic bedding to complement it, since the sheets are what will directly touch your skin. It can also be a nice way to go organic when you can't afford an entire mattress.
Avocado makes our favorite organic mattress, and they make linen sheets, too. And heavy sheets, at that. Avocado's organic linen sheets are some of the heaviest WIRED Senior Reviewer Scott Gilbertson has tried, and this set will likely last you many years. Plus, there's a matching duvet cover ($439).
Avocado's linen sheets are certified organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard, generally abbreviated as GOTS. Avocado sources its linen materials from France, and produces these sheets in India.
Includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases.
$449 at Avocado

Photograph: Brooklinen
Honorable Mentions
More Linen We Like
Not all sheets are created equal. The linens below are good but not as great as our picks above.
Brooklinen Washed Linen Core Set for $271: WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano says that when she first used these sheets, they felt itchy for the first few minutes, but the feeling disappeared quickly. She says they're some of the coolest sheets she's slept on. Our other picks don't feel quite as itchy at the start, but these are still great linen sheets at a good price.
Casaluna Linen Blend Sheet Set for $105: These sheets aren't soft, but have a hefty weight that makes them feel luxurious. They're warm though—I felt warmer sleeping on these than the ones above and sateen sheets. Still, they're a good price, but they are a blend rather than 100 percent linen.
Naturepedic Linen Sheet Set ($550): This sheet set has a nice weight to it while still being cool to sleep on, but wasn't as soft as our other picks. It does have a ton of options to buy individual linen pieces which is nice, comes in great colors, and is GOTS certified organic.
Photograph: The Citizenry
How to Care for Linen
Linen Care Tips
If you want your linen to last for years, you have to take care of it. Our preferred way is to wash with cold water and mild detergent. Line-drying is the best option for getting the longest life. Make sure you check the tag and follow the wash instructions since some makers might have specific recommendations. You should also wash any sheets you buy before you sleep on them, and washing linen will help start to soften them up—remember, it takes a while for softening to happen!
I already break one of the rules we recommend—I tumble dry all of my linen and have done so for years with fine results since I don't have space to line dry. But if you use a dryer, expect to clean up a lot of lint. With every set I've tried, the lint tray gets super full, and some sheets like Quince's filled the lint trap so much that it started to overflow.

Photograph: Cultiver
Decoding Your Linen
Linen Terminology Time
You'll often see terms like “Belgian Flax” and “European linen” used to describe various linens. Some of these are in the name, some aren't—Pottery Barn's sheets are named Belgian Flax, while The Citizenry's sheets mention that they're French flax but sustainably made in Portugal. So what does it all mean? Which is best?
Europe has a long history of growing flax and making linen, which is what linen sheets are made of. It's a preferred source, particularly Belgium and France, which is why some sheets will call out those countries specifically. But according to World Linen, there isn't a huge difference in the different European countries—it's mostly a marketing tactic. You'll likely be just as happy with any European source of linen, and there is a European Linen certification sheets can receive to confirm that's where they're sourced from.
Having Europe in the name doesn't necessarily mean it was made there, though. After the flax is grown, it needs to be processed, spun and woven into sheets, which may or may not happen in Europe. Some companies use the term “Belgian Flax” or “European Flax” to signify that the flax is from that area, but it wasn't processed there. Some companies make sheets in other European countries, like The Citizenry's Portugal-made sheets, while other makers might do production outside of Europe, like Quince, who processes its sheets in China and India.
Another term you might see when shopping for linen is something like “woven to 160 g/sm” on a product page for linen. This describes the weight of the linen and fabric. It's similar to silk, which also describes itself in weight rather than thread count to give you a more accurate idea of how heavy the sheets will be. Weight is also what shouldn't change about linen: it'll get softer over time, but it won't get lighter. If you have a preference for a certain weight of sheets, you can see if these details are included to find out exactly what you're buying.

Nena Farrell covers consumer tech at WIRED and specializes in smart home products and parenting gear. She previously wrote for Wirecutter and Sunset. She lives in San Diego, where she can be found pushing her child around in various strollers.

Writer and Reviewer

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