Fitted sheets are not the most exciting purchase you will ever make, but it’s worth getting decent ones.
The material they are made from is the first thing to consider. The three main choices are:
- polyester/polycotton fitted sheets – these aren’t very breathable and can be itchy if you’ve got allergies. They’re popular though because they are cheap, they don’t shrink so easily and they don’t need ironing as much (Ed: does anyone actually iron their fitted sheets?). They are sometimes called ‘microfibre’ fitted sheets. Expect to spend about £5-£20
- cotton fitted sheets – these are more breathable but the quality of them varies. They are quite wrinkly, but most people can cope with that as they are covered up most of the time. Expect to spend about £10-£30
- 100% Egyptian cotton fitted sheets – these are made from longer stands of cotton, which is posher. Again, quality varies greatly but the good ones are lovely. There’s a big range in thread counts with lower numbers feeling ‘crisp’ and higher numbers feeling ‘silky’. Expect to spend about £20 – £100+
The second thing you need to do is measure your mattress depth. A 12 inch (30cm) fitted sheet should be fine for most mattresses that are around 20cm-27cm deep. However, mattresses with a ‘pillowtop‘ (i.e. a fixed topper for extra comfort) can be as much as 38cm deep so you’d need to buy 16 inch (40cm) extra deep fitted sheets or something similar.
Personally, I add on a few extra centimetres (Ed: *raises eyebrows*) to make sure that the fitted sheets go on without a big struggle every time. So, for a mattress which is 25cm deep, I buy fitted sheets which are at least 30cm deep (12 inches). You might be a bit less cautious than me though…
The science of fitted sheet materials
If you want to really get into the detail of bedding materials, then take a look at a research paper by Chanda, Ahirwar and Behera called ‘Appraisal of Bed Linen Performance with Respect to Sleep Quality’ (2020). They advise that ‘The GSM (g/m2) of the fabric, also referred to as the areal density of the fabric, also plays an important role i.e. higher GSM means that the bed sheet is plusher and more comfortable’. This information isn’t always provided by retailers, but it’s something else to look for.
Anyway, we’ve picked out five of the best fitted sheets in the UK including cotton, Egyptian cotton and polyester fitted sheets. We’ve tried to include a range of prices and styles of fitted sheets including some cheap options. Prices are for double fitted sheets. You’ll obviously pay less for single fitted sheets and a bit more for king size fitted sheets and super king size fitted sheets. I imagine you’d guessed that already.
1. Soak & Sleep Classic 200 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton Fitted Sheets – £22 (standard depth) or £24.50 (extra deep)
These good value fitted sheets from Soak & Sleep will do the job nicely if you like bedding which feels crisp, fresh and cool (as opposed to silky and smooth fitted sheets). They come in white, grey or ivory – so not exactly a colourful range.
They get terrific reviews (4.6/5 from 850+ customers) and they’re available in a standard depth of 30cm or as extra deep fitted sheets (40cm). If your mattress is more than about 25cm deep then I’d probably go for the deeper ones to make changing them a bit easier.
Is the thread count high enough?
200 thread count might sound a bit ordinary when you can buy fitted sheets up to 1000+ thread count, but it’s not quite as simple as saying that a higher number is better. It’s more of a personal preference thing depending on how you like fitted sheets to feel.
High thread count fitted sheets (400+) feel silky and smooth but 200-300 thread count is less dense so it’s light, crisp and cool.
More important is the fact that they’re made from 100% Egyptian cotton which has something called ‘long staple fibres’. That’s generally agreed as being the best material to use for bedding.
Apologies if this getting a bit boring (Ed: I think it might be…) but the other thing to mention is that there are several different ways in which you can weave cotton together which affects how it feels.
These fitted sheets have something called a ‘percale’ weave which is cool and strong. Other options are things like brushed cotton or flannel cotton which feels fleecy, soft and warm.
Soak & Sleep as a brand gets terrific reviews (4.7/5 from 22000+ customers) and has won customer service awards.
Pros: award winning brand, naturally breathable cotton, good value, Egyptian cotton, available as extra deep
Cons: doesn’t feel as silky as a higher thread count product, limited choice of colours
Similarly priced alternatives:
- More colourful option: John Lewis & Partners Crisp and Fresh 200 Thread Egyptian Cotton Standard Fitted Sheet (£24 for a double fitted sheet). Choice of about 20 different colours and says it is suitable for ‘up to 30cm’ deep mattresses. Similar specification to the Soak & Sleep fitted sheets.
- Warmer option: Silentnight Brushed Cotton Fitted Sheet (£16 for a fitted sheet and pillowcases). It’s not as posh because it is just standard cotton rather than Egyptian cotton. However, it will feel warmer because it is ‘brushed’ cotton which is fleecy.
2. M&S Egyptian Cotton 400 Thread Count Sateen Fitted Sheet – £29.50 (deep) or £34 (extra deep)
These M&S Egyptian Cotton fitted sheets are a good choice if you want high quality fitted sheets which feel soft, silky and luxurious (as opposed to ‘crisp and light’).
They come in a good choice of eight different colours and are available in two depths – deep (30cm/12 inch) or extra deep (38cm/inch). As mentioned earlier, I always add a bit extra when measuring the depth of a mattress as otherwise you risk taking your eye out whilst trying to change the beds.
These fitted sheets aren’t cheap but they are made from Egyptian cotton which is breathable and feels nice to sleep on. You’re also paying a bit for the higher thread count which is what gives them the smooth, silky feeling. These fitted sheets are also woven in a particular way to make it feel soft and silky (it’s known as ‘sateen’).
Customer reviews are very good with an average of 4.5/5 at the time of typing.
How about an upgrade?
If you’re feeling flushed and like really smooth and silky fitted sheets then you can go for an even higher thread count, such as this 800 thread count fitted sheet from John Lewis & Partners (£130).
I’d be a bit of wary of cheap fitted sheets which have a very high thread count. Some manufacturers use clever counting to bump up the numbers. A decent brand like John Lewis & Partners will explain in the specification how they’ve been made. Others aren’t so transparent.
Pros: M&S quality, higher thread count gives smooth and silky feel, positive customer reviews, available in multiple depths, choice of colours
Cons: more expensive than some, some people will prefer the cool and crisp feel of a lower thread count, cotton wrinkles and loses shape more than synthetic materials
3. Amazon Basics Microfibre Fitted Sheet – £7 (standard depth)
This Amazon Basics Microfibre Fitted Sheet is 100% polyester and is designed to feel soft (rather than crisp). It comes in a huge range of colours and the usual sizes (i.e. single, double, king and super king size fitted sheets). Amazon often list sizes as dimensions, so look out for:
- Single – 90cm x 190cm
- Double – 137cm x 190cm (or sometimes 135cm x 190cm)
- King Size – 150cm x 200cm
- Super King Size – 180cm x 200cm
I personally don’t buy polyester or polycotton fitted sheets, but I shall overlook my own prejudices as they do have some advantages over cotton fitted sheets.
Plus, this particular one from Amazons Basics has a review score of 4.5/5 from more than 120,000 reviews. Just take a moment to consider the fact that 120,000 people took the time to review a fitted sheet (Ed: aren’t you doing the same thing?)
Back to the point
Anyway, the main advantages of manmade fitted sheets are that they don’t wrinkle as much and can cope with lots of washing without losing their shape. Lots of hotels and B&Bs use polycotton or polyester fitted sheets for that reason.
They also tend to be cheaper and come in a bigger range of colours. That’s less of a big deal than it is with duvet covers or pillows which you actually see on display in your bedroom.
The downside is that manmade fitted sheets don’t tend to be as breathable and can feel a bit itchy if you are prone to allergies.
Pros: very cheap, thousands of positive reviews, very big range of colours, copes with regular washing
Cons: less breathable than cotton
4. John Lewis 200 thread Count Organic Cotton Fitted Sheet – £24 (standard depth)
Organic cotton fitted sheets are still a bit of niche choice but there’s a good argument for alleviating your shoppers’ guilt and picking them over non-organic alternatives.
As you probably know, producing cotton uses a huge amount of water and pesticides. According to the blurb, this organic fitted sheet ‘uses 91% less water than non-organic cotton and a 94% reduction in greenhouse emissions’. It’s got something called GOTS certification, which is an organisation which sets standards for these things.
But are they any good as fitted sheets?
You’ll have noticed that it isn’t Egyptian cotton so it doesn’t have those ‘long staple fibres’ which make for the best bedding. Also, the range is much smaller so you can only choose one depth (30cm/12 inch). On the plus side, there are a few colours.
It’s 200 thread count so it should feel cool and crisp rather than silky and smooth.
Pros: organic accreditation, good brand, choice of colours
Cons: standard cotton rather than Egyptian cotton, not as silky and smooth as higher thread counts, no choice of depths
5. M&S Supima Cotton 750 Thread Count Bedding – £95 (standard depth), £105 (deep) or £125 (extra deep)
Were you a wild teenager? Do you drive a motorbike? Do you refuse to floss?
If so, you’re a free spirit who refuses to live by what The Man tells you to do.
Take your rebellious spirit one step further by shunning Egyptian cotton fitted sheets and go for Supima cotton instead (Ed: think you might be over-egging this one)
What is Supima Cotton?
Supima cotton is a decent alternative to Egyptian cotton as it has similar ‘extra-long staple’ fibres, which are ideal for fitted sheets. Supima Cotton is more famous in the USA than it is in the UK.
These ones have a very high thread count, which makes it feel soft. They come in grey or white and are available in three depths (10 inch/25cm, 12 inch/30cm and 15 inch/40cm).
Customer reviews are very good, albeit from a relatively small number of people (60 at the time of writing).
Pros: M&S brand, soft thanks to high thread count, two deeper versions available
Cons: less well known than Egyptian cotton, no choice of colours
