Thread count. These two simple words have raised many an eyebrow in recent years. In this article you will discover many tidbits of information that will assist in your understanding of what thread count is, the myths and truths about it, why it may or may not be important, and how it can affect the way you approach shopping for fabrics, such as bed linens in the future. Thread, as defined in the Webster Comprehensive Dictionary is: A very slender cord or line composed of print cotton silk fabric suppliers two or more yarns or filaments, as of flax, cotton, silk, or other fibrous substance, twisted together. Now that you know what a thread is, let’s apply it to thread count. Thread count, put simply, is the number of warp-lengthwise thread and weft-widthwise thread woven together in one square inch of fabric. When cotton was first used in making fabrics, thread count as we know it today, didn’t exist. It only became popular as a marketing tool in the last 2 or 3 decades.

This led to much confusion for the consumer, as some manufacturers used this to promote their products as higher in quality due to the thread count used in their fabrics. The real misleading part about that was the manufacturers were advertising higher thread counts than the actual thread counts used in the material and the first myth was born. Some manufacturers would count each thread to calculate their thread count and some would count each fiber or ply that made up each thread for their calculations. This is where most of the confusion came from for the consumer. Now, the acceptable practice for thread count is counting each single thread as one, no matter how many plies or fibers are in each thread. If you look on the label and find single-ply, which is one thread, two-ply or four-ply, the two or four ply means the individual threads have been twisted together to produce thicker thread that in turn produces a heavier fabric.

The finer the thread means the more threads per square inch, which results in a higher thread count. The truth about thread count is really in the type and quality of cotton used to make the fabric. The long staple or fibers found in Egyptian cotton are the most desirable and better quality. It has the longest fibers, which make stronger, softer and more durable fabrics. The quality of the thread is most important in thread count. If the quality is inferior then the thread count doesn’t make that much difference in the finished product. For example, a 400 thread count fabric made with inferior quality fibers can produce a fabric no better than a 200 thread count fabric made with higher quality fibers. This is where the consumer needs to be wary, read the labels carefully and ask questions about the type of cotton or blends of cotton used in the fabric.