Thread Count and the Quality of Cotton Fabric

​David Raminfard is a Southern California entrepreneur who guides KasLen Textiles and delivers a full range of fabrics that meet the needs of commercial customers. One of the areas in which David Raminfard has in-depth knowledge is thread count, which helps define the quality level of cotton sheets.

A measure of how tightly fabric is woven, thread count is the number of threads within a single square inch. The calculation involves adding together the warp (lengthwise) and the weft (widthwise) threads. As an example, a cotton sheet with a 200 thread count has 100 warp and the same number of weft threads per square inch.

In general, the higher the thread count, the softer the feel that the fabric has. However, there are creative counting techniques in play by some brands, such as using multi-ply yarns. This means that today’s consumers are best served by looking beyond thread count and examining the actual cotton quality, as well as brand reputation. With a trusted brand, a thread count of 250 to 300 is average, while 500 or higher implies luxury sateen.

Cleaning Drapes, David Raminfard

Shop