Fabric design

Think about the most amazing sheets you've slept on at a great hotel. That deep, luxurious sleep makes you want to stay in bed. We set out to design those same sheets - click the tabs below for the choices we made, the reasoning behind those choices and the truth about bedding.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THREAD-COUNT

“Now you see 1,000 thread count sheets but you just can’t get that many threads on a loom,” says Pat Slaven, a textile expert at Consumer Reports.

180 VS 1,000

An honest 180 thread-count sheet has 90 vertical threads and 90 horizontal threads. A 1,000 thread-count sheet also has 125 vertical threads and 125 horizontal threads. But the manufacturer uses a thread that has 4 plys (ie, it’s made from 4 thinner threads twisted together) and then quadruples the count.

THEM: CHEAP MULTI-PLY YARN

More often than not, this 4-ply thread is made with cheaper, weaker cotton that requires the extra plys because it’s less durable. So, in most instances, a higher thread-count is actually an indicator of an inferior product.

thread count pictogram showing how fabric is woven

A50: FINE SINGLE-PLY YARN

At Authenticity 50, we use the highest quality American-grown cotton. This allows us to spin an extremely fine yet durable single-ply thread. And that thread makes for a much softer, and longer lasting fabric. So you can enjoy our sheets for years to come.

PERCALE WEAVE

THE 5-STAR HOTEL WEAVE

5-star hotels have known for a long time that the Percale weave sleeps better - and that's why they all choose Percale, rather than Sateen, for their sheets.

PERCALE

Pros:

Crisp hand-feel
The longer you use them, the softer they get
Highly breathable: provides a ‘cool’ sleep on warm nights and a ‘warm’ sleep on cool nights
Extremely durable
Easy to care for

Cons:

Expect wrinkles, especially with no formaldehyde-based wrinkle treatments
Non-shiny appearance

SATEEN

Pros:

Smooth hand-feel
Shiny appearance
Slightly more wrinkle-resistant
If you have highly sensitive skin Sateen may work better

Cons:

Less durable
More susceptible to pilling
Doesn’t breathe as well
Shine fades with washing / use

AMERICAN GROWN COTTON, THE FOUNDATION OF A GREAT SLEEP

There’s a reason the American-grown cotton is some of the most popular in the world and it shows in the product. It's a clean, simple supply chain that supports local workers and agriculture. And it's cleaner and more efficiently grown than overseas cotton - and btw it uses ZERO container ships to transport across the globe for the lowest carbon footprint!