Beddy buys

Luxurious or loosely matched, linen is the unsung hero of bedtime, so choose carefully, says Carol O’Callaghan.

DID the luxury sheets, which cost a small mortgage to buy, feel like Teflon after three washes? Is it possible you piled them into the machine with grubby tea towels and dish cloths, at an excessively high temperature? Although it seems there are times too when the manufacturer can be a little remiss.

I remember a story in the Washington Post newspaper about a woman who, craving the ultimate in bed-linen luxury, bought sheets with an 800-thread count. After a single wash, they lost that luxury feel, so, rather than return them to the shop, she dispatched them to a laboratory for testing. This showed they actually had a 400-thread count. In typical, litigious American style, she sued the shop.