Lay My Hat

hello...I am wondering if any of you have colored cotton (we will use 100% cotton) sheets. I was thinking of have the duvet covers and top pillows/shams in color and the bottom sheet and the bottom pillows in white.

And do any of you have flannel sheets? It can be quite cool and rainy here in the winter and our house does not yet have central heating only fireplaces/woodstoves and electric heaters...
I know that in past threads colored towels were suggested and we are going to go with colored ones.
thanks aasta

What are flannel sheets? If they are equivalent of jersey cotton sheets, then I highly DON'T recommend them. They are too hot and bobble very quickly. The worst 'tip' I ever followed on LMH was to invest in jersey sheets because of how great they were and the fact they didn't need ironing. I would be very unhappy if I went to stay anywhere with jersey sheets. But maybe they aren't flannel!

I don't think they are the same as those horrible jersey sheets, LV. They are more like flanellette nighties (which you are probably too young to remember ).

They are very warm and soft to the touch but they would be no use at all in summer so probably not a good investment in a property where summer is hot.

I have always found it quite hard to get a good selection of colour in cotton bedlinens which is why I go for white. Also you will almost certainly find it impossible to match it up again if you need to for accidents or losses as the manufacturers change shades subtly year on year and indeed discontinue some altogether to keep up with the fashion colours. On top of that even if you do find the same shade you will probably find that the colours have faded in the wash.

Another solution is to buy all white and get some pretty duvet covers and top pillow cases which have self-coloured embroidery detail. Even if you have to bin one or both pillow cases you can always buy something which will look ok with the cover even if not an exact match.

I like white bedding because it looks so clean and it's what top hotels use ( in my limited experience!) but if I did coloured I would do plain colours and not a patterned design as I think it would look classier e.g. coffee duvet with cream sheets and towels.

In our early days of renting an apartment I used to trim the sheets and top pillow cases (and duvet covers where used) with some of the fabric I had used to make curtains and/or cushions/bedheads in the same room. It gave a really good impression and enabled me to make the bed look 'dressed' in summer without a bedspread (saving lots on washing!).

I kept a supply of the fabric in case I needed to replace anything.

I started with all white but have changed to coloured in some rooms as I have sheets in 4 sizes and it makes it easier to identify which sizes are which.

In winter I use the Spanish thermal sheets for ourselves as they are super cosy but decided against using them for guests as they take up a lot of storage space and if guests haven't seen them before they don't look as appealing as cotton.

I just stick with cotton sheets for guests and supply plenty of hot water bottles.

Just edited this to say that yours sound lovely Pesipuss!

Bellywobble wrote:I started with all white but have changed to coloured in some rooms as I have sheets in 4 sizes and it makes it easier to identify which sizes are which.

I used to spend hours trying to figure out which sheets were for which beds until the light dawned and on those which do not have size labels I have marked them up on the wash labels in indelible ink!

Hello again...Flannel sheets are cotton sheets which have a brushed nap...so they are very coozy in winter....but after reading your comments, i think i will go for regular good quality cotton sheets.
I had thought about hot water bottles, too. do you make them up for the guests and make sure the closeures are tightly closed??
thanks for your comments...aasta

aasta wrote:I had thought about hot water bottles, too. do you make them up for the guests and make sure the closeures are tightly closed??
thanks for your comments...aasta

You can get bags full of wheat or similar which you heat in microwave (usually for joint or muscle pain). We use those ourselves rather than bottles. Maybe they would be safer for guests?

Lol! I colour code my labels too but the laundry lady always folds them inside so they are well hidden!

Aasta - In this modern day litigation minded society I would be afraid that a burst hot water bottle would leave you liable to claims for scalding from guests whether you or they had filled it.

Therefore I would never offer hot water bottles.

Eek! We do! But by and large we don't think they are used much if at all - we are "closed" over the winter months.

I would also stay away from hot water bottles after seeing the horrendous burn my sister-in-law got last winter.

Why not buy really good quality down duvets for winter? Then a nice eiderdown on top that guests can choose to use or not.

We have linen on our bed and I swear by that fabric. Lovely and cool in the summer and so warm in the winter, which you wouldn't think. Expensive but worth it.

Alternatively I have had the 'flannel' sheet from The White Co which is lovely and cozy and unbobbled even after 2 years (it comes with instructions on how to treat it to save bobbling)

The wheat things seem a good suggestion but then won't it be a faff putting them in the microwave and timing it right for guests bedtime?

Mouse
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Mouse, what happened to your sister in law?

I've always thought hot water bottles to be safe (once filled) as long as they are in good condition.

I wouldn't use the wheat bags as I've heard of them exploding if heated for too long.

Her shin got burned simply by having her leg on a hot water bottle BW, and of course its the worst place to heal. The healing took over 10 weeks and she had a scar for months after.
She's an extremely sensible person, so it shows how easily these things can happen.

Mouse
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