So you’ve made up your mind.  Whether you’ve been searching for sheets that are a close approximation of your grandma’s crisp sheets from your childhood or you have been trying to find a set of sheets that won’t pill the first time you think about washing them, you’ve finally decided to take the plunge and pony up for a nice percale sheet set.  Before you start throwing around your credit card, here are 4 common mistakes that people make when they start shopping for percale sheets.

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Mistake #1: Thread Count

Don’t fall prey to this insidious marketing technique.  Thread count is important, yes.  However many people who don’t know the whole story try to pass it off as the most important thing in the world.  Better to ask how the thread count is calculated.  Are the sheets made of single yarns or 2-ply, 3-ply, or even 4-ply yarns?  And are these multiple ply yarns used to boost the thread count?  Percale sheets are famous for their crispness.  This can be achieved with a thread count in the 200 range.  North of 400 or 500 thread count many people would not be able to tell the difference.  One of the advantages of percale sheets is their simplicity.  Follow that trend and don’t get suckered into buying 1000 thread count sheets. The radically increased price doesn’t always correlate to radically better sheets. And trying to get 1000 thread count sheets on the cheap leads us to the next point.

Mistake #2: Going Cheap

Trying to buy the perfect sheets for a perfect night’s sleep in the bargain bin of the cheapest store in town isn’t the right way to approach this.  Most things that are of good quality aren’t exactly cheap.  The same is true of percale sheets.  Thomas Lee offers sets that receive high marks from several reviewers.  They run around 200 bucks.  The Company Store has their own percale bedding sets, also highly regarded, that will set you back about half that.  And of course many other places offer sheets made from cotton for a range of prices.  Just remember that you truly do get what you pay for. Sometimes there are bargains to be had, and if what you’re getting is truly a bargain, then that’s awesome (just make sure to tell us about it it). But buying something that is cheap isn’t quite the same thing as buying something that is a bargain.

Mistake #3: Buying Something Other Than Cotton

To paraphrase the great Henry Ford – you can have any material you want as long as it’s 100% cotton.  At it’s core, percale is simply a weaving method. As such, there ends up being a rather wide variation of what kind of material is used to make and be sold as such. This includes linen and polyester blends as well as the afore mentioned lovely cotton.  If you’re buying your first set of percale sheets, save yourself some time, energy and frustration and go with 100% cotton.  Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton or some other brand name are all fine.  Just don’t forget mistake #2 and try buying something super cheap.  Spend a reasonable amount of money on your firs set (or your second, or third) and the odds will be greater that you’ll be much happier in the end.

Mistake #4: Not Being Able To Touch Your New Percale Sheets Before You’ve Committed To Them

Notice we didn’t say “buy” them, but rather “committed” to them.  In the modern world many things are purchased sight unseen over the Internet.  This is usually fine, but be aware of the return policies of the stores you’re looking at. Buy a new set of sheets, get them delivered, and they just aren’t what you want? Being able to return something in this situation, despite the hassle of doing so, will allow you to sleep better at night (no pun intended). Still, the fewer the hassles the better – having to jump through many hoops just to return a set of sheets will usually mean you will just keep the sheets.  This will result in your unhappiness with percale sheets when really the fault is with the store and their return policy.  If you don’t like them you should be able to return them, simple as that.  If the store won’t let you do that simple thing, keep looking.

So there you have it, 4 common mistakes that people often make when they go shopping for percale sheets.  Do your best to avoid them and you’ll find your sleepy time is much happier.

Still don’t know what to choose? Then head on over to our Amazon Shopping Guide and let us, well, guide you.

OPS