Blended Fabric Sheets Vs. Cotton Sheets: Which is Best?
Health experts advise that we sleep for 7-9 hours a day . When you do the math, you’ll realise you spend about a third of your life in bed. That’s a long time, right?
So, your bed better be super comfy. The kind that enables you to have a restful night so you wake up feeling fresh and ready to conquer another day.
But there’s one problem: You can’t decide between blended fabric sheets and cotton sheets.
Which material is better than the other? How do you buy the choicest of these sheets in Australia?
Wonder no more.
We’re here to help you analyse these two fabrics. In the end, you will know the best bed sheet fabric to choose for your commercial or domestic use, plus where to get them at the best price and quality.
Let’s begin.
What Is a Blended Fabric Sheet?
A blended fabric sheet is a combination of two or more fabrics. The combined fabrics are superior because they take advantage of the best characteristics of each of the fabrics used.
Therefore, blending fabrics:
- Improves the characteristics in one poor fibre
- Improves the texture, feel, and appearance of your bed sheets
- Reduces the cost of purchase, as blended fibre sheets are cheaper
- Improves cross-dye effects, as one fibre can take up the colour and the other retains its original colour
In the end, you get comfier, stylish, and easy-to-maintain bedsheets.
What Are the Common Types of Blended Fabric Sheets?
Fabric blends can be made with natural and synthetic fibres. Some combinations may involve two different fabrics while others may involve three or more fabrics.
Let’s explore them.
Polyester/Cotton Blend Bed Sheets
These bed sheets are a hybrid of polyester and cotton fabric. They have the best properties of both polyester and cotton fabrics.
| Polyester Properties | Cotton Properties |
|---|---|
| Soft and strong fibres | Hypoallergenic |
| Durable | Absorbent |
| Resistant to chemicals | Versatile |
| Resistant to stretching and shrinking | Breathable |
| Resistant to mildew and abrasion | Absorbent |
| Have a strong affinity to water and dries quickly | Resists pilling |
| Easy to wash and dry | Easy to clean |
| Retains its shape after washing | Wrinkles easily |
When you combine the two fabrics, you get bed sheets that are:
- Strong, durable, and affordable
- Breathable and less likely to pile after washing
- Less likely to shrink
- More affordable
If you like polycotton sheets, you can buy them now:
Wool/Cotton Blend Bed Sheets
To understand how awesome the blend of wool and cotton sheets are, let’s first look at the properties of wool.
Wool is:
- Easy to clean
- Naturally flame-resistant
- Eco-friendly and sustainable
- Springs back to retain its shape
- Unfavourable for growth and breeding of dust mites
- Remains cleaner for longer since it is naturally antistatic
- Hypoallergenic due to resistance to bacteria, mould, and mildew
- Absorbs harmful pollutants from the air and doesn’t emit them
- Has balanced thermal insulation properties; it’s warm in winter and cool in summer
Therefore, cotton/wool blended sheets:
- Are soft, durable bed linen that is easy to clean and care for
- Keep you dry and warm when the weather is cold
- Don’t wrinkle after washing (no need to iron)
Linen/Cotton Blend Bed Sheets
Linen and cotton are both natural fabrics. They come from the flax and cotton plant, respectively. Before we look at what this blend has to offer, let’s first explore the linen fabric.
Physical Properties of the Linen Fabric
Image from: SlideShare
Therefore, we can conclude that linen:
- Has poor elasticity
- Has a high natural lustre
- Is strong, durable, and dries quickly
- Keeps you cool and fresh in hot weather
- Is smooth and gets softer with each wash
Both linen and cotton bring their own beauty to your sleeping experience.You can expect comfier and more breathable bed sheets thanks to cotton’s resilience and softness, plus linen’s smooth and fluid qualities. They hardly wrinkle and they keep a crisp look.
Linen/Silk Blend Bed Sheets
We’ve just looked at the properties of linen. Let’s now take a closer look at the silk fabric and how a blend of linen and silk bed sheets can enhance your sleep.
But first, check out how silk is made.
Properties of Silk:
Image from: Sewport
- Expensive
- Durable and light
- Requires special care
- Highly absorbent and dries quickly
- It’s an all-climate fabric: warm and cosy in cold and hot weather
- Hypoallergenic because of its natural protein structure
- Appears delicate yet remains robust
- ts smooth surface resists soil and odours
- Has moderate abrasion resistance but remains the strongest natural fibre
Linen/silk bed sheets may be expensive (both fabrics are luxurious), but you will get durable bed sheets with an unbeatable lustre. You’ll love the smooth, crisp feel of these blended sheets.
Linen/Rayon Blend Bed Sheets
We’ve already discussed linen properties and seen that it’s an absorbent, cool-to-touch fabric with a natural lustre.
Rayon is a man-made fibre made from cellulose obtained from wood pulp or cotton.
Properties of Rayon
- Drapes well
- Breathable
- Blends well with other fibres
- Can get damaged while ironing
- Dyes easily, resulting in beautiful colours
- Inexpensive but looks and feels luxurious
- Can shrink when washed, and thus must be dry-cleaned
- Some variants of rayon are known for their silk-like feel
- Not a very strong fabric, and more so when exposed to light or moisture
- The manufacturing method is harmful to the environment and to the safety of the workers if the chemicals used are not handled carefully
A blend of linen and rayon makes breathable bed sheets with a beautiful lustre and silky feel. However, the sheets may require dry cleaning and frequent ironing because linen and rayon fabrics are prone to creasing.
Cotton Sheets
Cotton is referred to as “king” in the bedding market. Many people find cotton comfortable to sleep on, plus it is the fabric that is easiest to clean and maintain.
But that’s not all! Cotton remains so special because:
- It’s pure and natural, coming from the cotton plant
- It’s strong, tough, durable, and flexible
- It remains soft and comfortable for a long time
- It lets out the heat when you get hot and keeps you warm when you are cold
- It gets softer after each wash for ultimate comfort
Did you know that the quality of your cotton sheets depends on the fibres used? Here’s more...
Combed Cotton
The fibres go through a process whereby shorter spikier fibres and impurities are removed for a smoother, softer fabric.
Poly Carded Cotton White Fitted Bed Sheet
Egyptian Cotton
This is special, long-length cotton grown only in Egypt, India, and China. The fabric is known worldwide as the strongest, most beautiful, and lustrous cotton. Egyptian cotton bed sheets with a high thread count are deemed luxurious.
Pima Cotton
This is superior quality cotton grown in Australia, Peru, and the United States of America in Pima, Arizona (where its name originated from).
Pima cotton sheets are of a higher quality than the standard type of cotton sheets. They are an affordable choice if you are budget cautious.
Supima Cotton
"Supima" is higher quality Pima cotton. It is the trademark name for 100% Pima cotton, which has been grown only in the United States. “Supima” is the short name for superior Pima.
- Supima cotton can be more expensive than other types of cotton
- Supima cotton has extra-long staple fibres that make the resulting fabric strong, soft, and durable
- Supima cotton produces the premium quality cotton sheets that are not only pure but also provide excellent comfort and strength
It’s Time to Choose: Blended Fabric Sheets or Cotton Sheets?
Go for blended sheets when you want to enjoy the best qualities of each fabric.
Go for cotton sheets if you are looking for the softest, strongest, and easiest to care for all-natural fabric that has been around for over 7,000 years, tried and tested.
Where to Buy Bed Sheets
It shouldn’t be complicated to buy bed sheets. Australian Linen Supply is a reliable store to buy blended fabric or cotton sheets.
Other Australians are already loving their experience and products from Australian Linen Supply:
"Your customer service was great with a great response time. Cheers!" - Sue
"Very easy to deal with, order accurate and on time." - Sally
"Product: perfect, great value; Team: professional and friendly. Thanks." - Matt
Join them now and be our next happy customer. Shop bed linen now.
Credit:
Feature Image: Pixabay Image by DWilliams
