Cotton
 There are basically three different breeds of cotton used in the linen business today: Upland (standard, lowest quality), Pima (a cross-breed between Upland and Egyptian, next best to Egyptian), and Egyptian (longest staple, finest fibers, best quality).

Egyptian cotton is agreed by all to be the best cotton available on the market for its long but fine staple, which creates both durability and extreme softness. Further, combing the cotton fibers increases both durability and softness.

All the cotton sheets available at Poggesi Italian Home Style are 100% combed Egyptian cotton.

Linen
 Linen is made from flax. The fibers from this plant are even stronger than those of cotton, which is why linen can be and is handed down from generation to generation, and was used by the ancient Egyptians to mummify the pharaohs. Linen is more expensive, but ultimately a very good investment in your bed.

Thread-/Yarn-Dyed vs. Piece-/Vat-Dyed
 There are two ways that a fabric can be dyed with pigment. One is thread- or yarn-dyed. This involves dying each individual thread before the fabric is woven, so that each individual thread is saturated in color. In general, yarn-dyed fabrics resist fading much more than piece- or vat-dyed fabrics, which involve weaving first, and then dipping the whole fabric into a vat of dye, so that only the outer layer is coated in color. In general, piece-dyed fabrics will be warmer than yarn-dyed, as the spaces between fibers can be clogged up with dye, and fade faster, but yarn-dyed will usually be more expensive.
There are two basic weaves that Poggesi carries in cotton:

Plain/Percale
This is a simple 1:1 thread weave. This creates a matte, flat appearance and a soft, powdery finish to the fabric.

Sateen
Sateen is a name given to a satin weave that is entirely cotton. So, although the fabric is 100% cotton, the 3:1 satin weave creates a sleek, satiny sheen to the textile.

Which to choose? Which to choose is almost entirely a personal preference issue. But here is a little background information to help you make the best decision for you.

Temperature
Sateen is considered a good winter sheet, as the weave is dense and holds in warmth. For a good summer sheet, we recommend linen or percale as opposed to the sateen. Keep in mind, also, whether you get cold or hot during the night and therefore which will provide the most restful night for you.

Aesthetics
In addition, consider the aesthetics of your choice. If you like a little bit of a sheen to your fabrics, choose the sateen. If you prefer a more matte appearance, percale or linen is a better choice. Linen has a bit more obvious a visual texture, so keep that in mind as well. If you are concerned about wrinkling - linen will wrinkle, it has a distinct wrinkle pattern, which some do find visually appealing, actually. Any 100% natural fiber (as all Poggesi sheets are) does have a tendency to wrinkle. It is, however, a matter of giving up some smoothness for comfort. In exchange, the natural sheets are much softer than any sheets which keep wrinkling down by adding harsher synthetic fibers.

Texture
Sateen has a smoother, more sleek feeling to it. It is a "satin", in fact, composed entirely of cotton, so the texture will be accordingly "satiny." Percale has a softer, more powdery finish to it - it is more obviously what people consider "cottony". Linen is initially a bit more "textured" due to its loose weave, but it will soften up with time more than any of the cotton sheets.

Durability
Although all our sheets are made of the best, most durable, long-staple cotton in the world, and all will last you a good number of years, there are some slight differences in the durability of the various weaves that you might want to take into account. Linen is the most durable, and is often passed down generation to generation. Percale is the next most durable weave, as the simple one-to-one weave is less likely to snag or pill over the years. Lower threadcount percales, such as our hotel line, will be slightly more durable than higher threadcounts, but the difference is not a large one. Sateen is the least durable, although, again, Egyptian cotton sateen will last a good time longer than lower-quality cotton sheets. The nature of the sateen weave makes it more susceptible to pilling and snagging, and might become a little bit flannel-like with time. If you love sateen sheets but don't love the pilling that comes with it, we recommend that you iron your sheets occasionally, to keep the weave in place, and your sheets in top form.



A word on threadcount...

The threadcount matters less than the quality of the fiber that makes up the fabric, and in Europe, threadcount is not even discussed. You can compare a high threadcount sheet in a low-quality cotton and a more modest threadcount sheet in Egyptian cotton, and the Egyptian cotton will feel better and last longer. ALL Poggesi bedding is made of 100% Egyptian Cotton, the best quality cotton available. One difference that threadcount does make is in the density of the fabric, which can affect aesthetics (how see-through is it), to some slight degree the softness of the "hand", and warmth (higher threadcounts will be warmer because there is less chance for the air to pass through the dense weave). One other thing to keep in mind though, is that a more modest threadcount (200-400) can be easier to take care of than a higher threadcount sheet, as the more dense the fabric, the more chance there is for damage and wrinkles. The highest threadcount we carry is a 600 TC, which is about as high as can be manufactured without cheating.
Be nice to your sheets and they will be nice back

All our sheets and towels are machine washable. As they are natural fibers, though, they can shrink or be damaged if improperly taken care of. The rule of thumb is to wash on cool, dry on low.

Wrinkling/Ironing
Our sheets also iron well, if you are concerned about wrinkling. But we realize that the larger sheets are unwieldy and inconvenient to iron constantly. In Italy, the Italians mostly line-dry to take care of that problem. If this is impossible, the next best thing to do is to fold once and hang your sheets over the shower curtain rod. The weight of the water in the fabric after washing will pull out most wrinkles. Another thing you can do is iron directly on the bed. We do recommend that you iron your sheets occasionally to keep them in top form.

Fabric Softeners and Drier Sheets
Fabric softeners and drier sheets do affect towel absorbency power, so avoid them when washing towels or robes.

Other topics/Bleach...
Bleach is not recommended, but very mild bleach can be used.


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