When it comes to a necessity and benefits of a good night’s sleep, a comfortable bed is extremely important. But creating perfect conditions for sleeping might be harded than it looks. Putting on some flannel sheets or using a few blankets won’t be enough and sleeping conditions will probably be messy and uncomfortable. But how does one create those perfect conditions? Certainly the fabrics of which bed sheets are made are extremely important. The most popular choices are cotton and linen. But which one is more is better? What are the differences between the two fabrics?
Even though these two fabrics are both natural plant fibers (cotton coming from a cotton plant, while linen from a flax plant), they have a lot of differences seperating them.
Linen is the world’s strongest natural fiber. Its durability is so great, some of it is being used to increase the strength of paper money. The fabric is thicker than cotton and has variable lengths, which contributes to its longevity and strength. Strength of cotton is usually achieved by spinning multiple fibres into a yarn and after that just weaving that into a fabric.
Linen is crisper than cotton, but after some handling becomes much more soft and elegant. Both fabrics tend to get wrinkly, but linen fibres have a natural resin, which makes fibrew stiff and creasy at first, but after some handling it usually becomes much smoother. Cotton plant has fluffy fiber clusters called bolls, which are extremely soft to the tuch. That is the main reason why cotton fabrics can achieve much greater softness than any other natural fibre.
Natural fibers interact easily with moisture. Linen is known for its ability to wick away moisture. It can gain a lot of moisture before it will start to feel damp, whill cotton can absorb a staggering ¼ of its weight in water. Linen gains additional strength when it gets wet and can even prevent bacterial growth. That is the main reason why linen is the best fabric for towels. These qualities give linen its popularity, and websites like Offon Clothing offer their clients various linen products, which helps us stay healthy.
Although cotton probably offers greater heat and comfort, linen bedsheets are much more comfortable during hotter times on the year. Its ability to wick away the moisture is especially useful on hot and sweaty, unbearable summer nights.