Comparing Our Favorite Linen Sheets
Honorable Mentions
Not all sheets are created equal. The linens below are good but not as great as our picks above.
Avocado Natural Linen Sheets for $549: These were our previous organic pick, but they’re no longer GOTS-certified or marked organic by Avocado. These are still great, heavyweight linen sheets, and still have an Oeko-Tex certification to confirm no toxic materials were used during production.
Brooklinen Washed Linen Core Set for $359: This is the updated version of these linen sheets, but they feel similarly to the previous edition; a little itchy at the start compared to our other picks, and felt a little warm to sleep on too. They’re solid linen sheets, and often have new colors available (seasonal colorways do sell out fast) but all of our picks are softer, and some are cheaper, too.
Buffy Belgian Linen Sheet Set for $279: These sheets feel rough if you touch them with just your hand or sit on the sheets, but lying down entirely on these, they felt much more comfortable. These are solid, breathable linen sheets with flax sourced from Belgium. Both my husband and I had insane dreams the week we slept on these sheets, so if you’re looking for more fun dreams, give these affordable linen sheets a whirl.
Company Store Legends Hotel Washed Linen Sheet Set for $357: If you’re looking for something with a little more heft but don’t want to drop $500+, then The Company Store’s Legends Hotel Washed Linen Sheets sit nicely in the middle of price and weight. These sheets have a little more weight than The Citizenry and Pottery Barn, but don’t feel as heavy as Cultiver and Rough Linen. Many colors and sizes are currently out of stock, though.
Cozy Earth Linen Duvet Cover for $288: This cover has a great softness to it and feels ideal for summertime, but the zipper on my set broke almost immediately. It could just be bad luck, since we usually love Cozy Earth’s home goods.
Ikea Dytag Duvet Cover: My favorite linen duvet cover and pillowcase set from Ikea has been replaced with a few different cheaper lines, including the Angslilja ($40) and Strandlummer ($65). My Dytag lasted me a few years, though cheaper linen sets might not last as long as that set did.
Naturepedic Organic Linen Fitted Sheet & Pillowcases Set for $305: This set is heavy, but still manages to be really breathable; it was downright chilly to sleep on alone in the winter. It’s also a rare organic set, with GOTS-certified organic flax used. There’s no top sheet available right now, but you can get a fitted sheet and two pillowcases together, or separately.
Rough Linen Orkney Sheets for $498: WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson loves these super heavyweight linen sheets, and says they’re best for confirmed linen lovers with how heavy and rough they are. They’re completely sold out, otherwise they’d be a pick in the guide. We’ll reinstate them once they’re back in stock.
Rough Linen Smooth Linen Sheets for $498: These linen sheets live up to the name with a silky, smooth feel, like a linen twist on sateen. They were a little heavy for my liking, but if that’s up your alley, it’s a beautiful set of sheets that will last.
Slumber Cloud Performance Linen Blend for $329: This is a blend set that uses Slumber Cloud’s patented Outlast fiber, which is part of what makes the brand’s cooling Tencel lyocell sheets so good. These linen blend sheets were soft to the touch, but didn’t pack as cooling of an experience compared to regular linen and Slumber Cloud’s other sheets.
Thuma Flax Linen Sheet Set for $315: These linen sheets from the famed Thuma were solid all-around linen, keeping me nice and cool. (So cool that they’re a pick in our cooling sheets guide.) They also had a good weight and structure to them. They’re not quite as soft as our picks above, but were still a little softer than other options like Brooklinen.
FAQs
What’s So Great About Linen?
Linen is a woven fabric made from flax plants. It’s a highly breathable material that doesn’t trap heat, so it keeps you cool during warmer nights. It’s great for people who sleep hot. It’s rougher at first than a simple cotton sheet set, but it should soften up the more it’s washed. Linen is often more expensive than other sheets, but it’s generally more durable than percale or other cotton weaves, so a good sheet set should last a long time.
It does tend to be more expensive since flax is more time-consuming to harvest and process into sheets, but high-quality linen should last you for years to come, making it an investment in both staying cool (which is very important for sleep quality) but also in gorgeous bedding you can enjoy for years. The structure of linen always lends a nice-styled look to even the messiest of beds, too. I love sleeping on linen so long as it isn’t too scratchy, which is one of the many things I looked for while testing and searching for the best linen sheets.
It’s not for everyone, but if you love linen apparel, you’ll probably love linen sheets. If you’re unsure, start with a single piece (like a duvet or flat sheet) and see what you think. Most of the options we recommend come in a linen set, but you can also buy many of these pieces separately, allowing you to try a linen pillowcase or fitted sheet before wading into a full-on linen bed.
You’ll often see terms like “Belgian flax” and “European linen” used to describe various linens. Some of these are in the name, some aren’t—Pottery Barn’s sheets are named Belgian flax, while The Citizenry’s sheets mention that they’re French flax but sustainably made in Portugal. So what does it all mean? Which is best?
Europe has a long history of growing flax and making linen. It’s a preferred source, particularly Belgium and France, which is why some sheets will call out those countries specifically. But according to World Linen, there isn’t a huge difference among European countries—it’s mostly a marketing tactic. You’ll likely be just as happy with any European source of linen, and there is a European Linen certification sheets can receive to confirm that’s where they’re sourced from.
Having Europe in the name doesn’t necessarily mean it was made there, though. After the flax is grown, it needs to be processed, spun, and woven into sheets, which may or may not happen in Europe. Some companies use the term “Belgian flax” or “European flax” to signify that the flax is from that area, but it wasn’t processed there. Some companies make sheets in other European countries, like The Citizenry’s Portugal-made sheets, while other makers might do production outside of Europe, like Quince, which processes its sheets in China and India.
Does Linen Use Thread Count?
You won’t usually see thread counts listed for linen sheets, or even if you do, there’s another term you’ll find along side it: GSM, or a phrase like “woven to 160 GSM.” This describes the weight of the fabric. (“GSM” stands for grams per square meter.) It’s similar to silk, which is also described in weight rather than thread count to give you a more accurate idea of how heavy the sheets will be. The rule of thumb with linen is that under 150 GSM is light, between 150 and 300 is medium, and anything over 300 is heavy.
Weight is also something that shouldn’t change about linen: It’ll get softer over time, but it won’t get lighter. If you have a preference for a certain weight of sheets, you can see whether these details are included to find out exactly what you’re buying.
How Do You Wash Linen Sheets?
If you want your linen to last for years, you have to take care of it. Our preferred way is to wash with cold water and mild detergent. Line-drying is recommended for getting the longest life. Be sure to check the tag, since some makers might have specific washing instructions. You should wash any sheets you buy before you sleep on them, and washing linen will start to soften them up—remember, it takes a while for softening to happen!
I actually break one of these rules. Since I don’t have space for a drying line, I tumble dry all of my linen, and I’ve done so for years with fine results. But if you use a dryer, expect to clean up a lot of lint. With every set I’ve tried, the lint tray gets super full, and some sheets like Quince’s filled the lint trap so much that it started to overflow.
How Do We Test Linen Sheets?
We test sheets by—you guessed it—sleeping on them. We test all bed sheets for a minimum of two nights, often ending up closer to seven nights or more for our top picks. We look for breathability, airflow, and the weight of the sheets, and we research where each maker sources their linen from and where it’s produced (which can impact both the quality and the price point). We’ve tested a little over a dozen different linen sheets so far for this guide.
While the best way to care for linen is to line dry it, we wash and dry linen sheets in regular machines to see how they hold up (and if the lint tray overflows!) and wash them a couple of times before including them in a guide.
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