Textile Tuesday: The Great Thread Count Conspiracy

I just looked at sheets from a venerable department store’s online catalog.  The advertisement was beside itself with giddy.  For one day only, I could buy a 6-piece sheet set (my choice of the size) for only $79.99!  But, get this!  The sheets have a thread count of 800!  And we know that the higher the number the better it just has to be, right???

Welllll….yes and no.

Count is an indication of the quality of the fabric.   The higher the number, the better the quality for any fabric because it may have less shrinkage and less raveling at the seam edges.  Count is usually determined with a fabric counter which measures the number of yarns, not threads, per inch in each direction.  Count is written with the warp (lengthwise grain of fabric) number first –80 x 76– or, more common in advertising, the total number–156.

But when we start looking at counts, we have to consider both the end use of the product and the type of yarn used to create the fabric.  For example, before taking this textiles class, I thought my muslin sheets were the end-all-and-be-all.  I loved the feel of them and would scour thrift shops looking for muslin sheets.  However, I’ve learned that muslin sheets are really considered a “harder-wearing lower price point” product (isn’t that a nice way of saying “cheap?”) made from carded yarns.  The snob in me should have been looking for percale sheets because they are made from combed yarns.  We won’t even talk about the poly-cotton sheets *shudder*  The point is that if a 600 count fabric is made out of “lower price point” yarn, I will not have the same results as I would have with a better quality yarn.

But, if I’m making a pair of work pants, I wouldn’t want to use percale, even if it had a count of 600.  That’s why we also have to consider the end use.  To help us determine if a fabric is appropriate for what we want to use it for, we also have to consider the fabric’s weight.  When buying fabrics online, note what the retailer says about it.  Fabric weight describes how much a fabric weighs for a given area or length of fabric:

Lightweight or top-weight fabrics weigh less than 4 ounces per square yard.  They are softer and drape well.  Top-weight fabrics are used for blouses, shirts, dresses, linings, sheets, curtains, and sheer drapes.

Medium-weight fabrics weigh from 4.0 to 6.0 ounces per square yard.  They are used for heavier or stiffer shirts, blouses, dresses, linings, winter-weight sheets (such as flannel), draperies, upholstery, and table linens.

Heavy-weight or  bottom-weight or suiting weight fabrics weigh more than 6.0 ounces per square yard.  They are used for apparel bottoms like pants and skirts and for suits.  These fabrics are the sturdy, durable, and stiff fabrics used for outerwear, work clothing, upholstery, draperies, and bedspreads.  These are the fabrics that end up costing a bundle a ship because of their weight.

The mnemonic device I came up with to help me remember the weights is to pretend that they are my body’s measurements: Bust = <4 oz; Waist = 4-6 oz (it’s the transitional area); Hips = >6 oz.

Finally, one other thing to consider is the fabric’s finish.  My introduction to finishing was during a fabric buying spree.  I was infatuated with a inexpensive fabric until it was pointed out that the fabric was heavily finished and that it was probably so cheap because the finish was hiding a major flaw–like it being off-grain.  I never knew there was such a thing as finishing fabrics!

Adding finish, however, doesn’t always mean that there is something wrong with the fabric.  In fact, most fabric has a little something added to it to make it more appealing.  The type of finish we are all familiar with is printing (“applied design”).  You know a fabric has been printed if the design shows on only one side but not the other.  Other finishes change the appearance and/or hand of the fabric.  For instance, the finish may make the fabric stiffer, reduce its tendency to wrinkle, or change its luster (amount of light it reflects).  I unsuccessfully looked for a website to direct you to because the things that they do to fabrics during the finishing process is pretty amazing.  If you stumble upon one, please let me know via the comments section so that I can share it with everyone.

Now, as you go forth and shop during this holiday season, keep in mind that the retailers just want you to be dazzled by a thread count and not worry about yarn quality, weight, and finishes.  But we now know better and can be better consumers as a result of it.

Interesting article from Linenplace.com: “The Truth About Thread Count”