The Best King Sheets

After a long, stressful day, it feels good to climb into bed and go to sleep. A comfortable set of sheets can make the entire experience even better. But with so many sheet sets promising luxury, though, it can be challenging to know what to look for while shopping for bedding.

Some look to thread count as the determining factor, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Through manufacturing processes, a company can make sheets that show a high thread count even when using poor-quality materials. The sweet spot for thread counts is between 300 and 500, but it’s important to also look at the type of materials and threads used in the construction.

As you’re shopping for sheets, you’ll see many high-quality sheets mentioning long-staple cotton. Staple length matters because longer staples produce softer fabrics that are also more durable. Sheets made from longer-staple cottons are more resistant to fraying, pilling and even fading.

There are three classifications used for staple length:

• Short staple: This is the most common, and it refers to cotton plants that have individual fibers measuring 1-1/8 inches.
• Long staple: This type of cotton has fibers measuring 1-1/4 inches.
• Extra-long staple: If you find sheets promising extra-long staple cotton, they came from a cotton plant with individual fibers measuring 2 inches.

Although Egyptian cotton typically features long-staple cotton, making it superior, there are many sheet sets on the market falsely claiming to be Egyptian cotton. Go only with trusted brands and be suspicious if a low-priced bedding set promises to be Egyptian cotton.

• When shopping for sheets for a king-size mattress, it’s important to pay close attention to the depth of your mattress. This is known as the pocket depth. Few mattresses fit “standard” specifications of 7 to 9 inches anymore. If your mattress has been purchased in recent years, you’ll likely find it runs between 15 to 22 inches in depth. Knowing this will help you ensure your fitted sheet is large enough to stretch the full length of your mattress.
• Some fitted sheets feature elastic around the entire bottom, while others put the elastic only on the four corners. If you have a preference, be sure to look at that while you’re shopping.
• A sheet set promising comfort and luxury is enticing, but make sure you’ll enjoy that same luxury after each washing. Some sheets tend to pill or become rougher in texture after going through the wash.
• Check the size of the pillowcases that come with your king sheet set. You don’t have to use king-size pillows with a king mattress, but you may find your sheet set comes with cases for that size.