A thread about thread...

Okay, raise your hand if you know what the term warp & weft relates to!

Don't know? It's the way they rate woven fabric. Warp threads run up and down (lengthwise) and weft threads run side to side (widthwise) and measured by the square inch. By definition, thread can be described as a fine cord of a fibrous material, such as cotton or flax, usually made of two or more filaments twisted together and used in needlework and woven into cloth.

Cloth making has been going on for thousands of years and with the exception of a few rock stars, it took us out of the era of wearing animal hide for covering. I was almost going to say clothing, but that involves cloth... a woven fabric product. That came after the days of wearing hides.

Cloth is usually rated in thread count... the number of threads per inch. Bed sheets, typically have a high thread count of thinner threads versus burlap that is less threads per inch of a thicker thread. Satin sheets from silk typically have a very high thread count greater than 400 where common cotton sheets would be in the range of 200 to 300 and Egyptian cotton 300 to 360 threads per inch.

My first wife liked satin sheets. I found them annoying. They were tight fitting and it felt like I was on a trampoline. I'm currently using a memory foam mattress with memory foam topper and conventional bed sheets. although cotton is my favorite, it leaves the fitted sheet with wrinkles. Yesterday, I was shopping for bath towels that are 100% cotton and came across sheets made of Jersey that is a cotton blend. The difference in Jersey is it's a knitted material (and not woven) making it stretchy which is softer than bed sheets. Jersey will probably be in my next purchase to try out.