How to Choose Your Bedlinen

We spend more than a third of our lives in bed, so the right bed linen will protect you, your mattress and home hygiene.
By Brigette Teo

COMFORTER/DUVET
They provide warmth, colour and volume to your bed. Often doubling up as bed covers, the duvet is a convenient, fold-free way to make the bed - just throw over and go!
Best Fabric These range from white down (very expensive and best for cold climates) to polyester (cheaper and easy to machine wash). If you're willing to spend the money, silk fillings are ideal for warm weather as they're so airy and cool. The duvet's warmth is measure in togs - the higher the tog, the warmer the comforter. In the tropics, you won't want a tog higher than 4.5.
Spend From $49 to $150 for a queen size comforter and from $10 for a cotton cover.
Colours & Patterns Plain coloured duvets are more versatile, especially those with reversible sides so you can flip them over to get a bright or dark look. Darker colours like navy, maroon or brown give a heavier, warmer look than white, cream or light shades.

QUILT
From Ikea's practical designs to antique patchworks, these come in every fabric, texture and pattern. The quilt is used as a decorative bed cover to protect the blankets, sheets and linen underneath from dust. Quilts are not to be confused with quilted bed protectors, which protect mattresses under bedsheets.
Best Fabric Anything from cotton to silk, but non-allergenic is useful if you suffer allergies.
Spend From $20.
Colours & Patterns From patchwork to modern chintz.

BEDSHEET
The quality depends on the number of woven threads per square inch. A higher the thread count means the sheets will be softer, smoother and more durable.
Best Fabric Cotton is the most popular. It can be pure, or cotton mixed with linen or polyester. Some luxury options include pure or hypoallergenic silk and satin. The best quality is Egyptian cotton because of its strength and smoothness. Top brands are around 250 threads per square inch. Next down is Percale - cotton or cotton-polyester mix with a thread count of at least 180 threads per square inch.
Spend From $49.90 to $162 for a queen size bedsheet.
Colours & Patterns It's best to match bedsheets to the colour and style of your covers.

BED SPREAD
Bed spreads give instant elegance and character to plain bedsheets. A bed spread is thinner cover than the quilt, but a sensible, lighter option as a protective cover for your sheets and blankets in the tropics.
Best Fabric The best options: cotton, satin or silk.
Spend From $12 for a basic throw to significant amounts for designer options.
Colours & Patterns Bed spreads and sheets should complement each other.



How to clean bedlinen

• Change bedsheets and pillow cases at least once a week in our weather. Have at least three sets of sheets per bed to rotate.
• Some comforters and quilts can be machine washed but others need to be dry-cleaned or laundered, especially if they can't fit into your average washing machine.
• Wash sheets in cool water under 40 degree Celsius.
• Set wash cycle on "gentle".
• Use mild detergent and avoid using bleach as it breaks down fabric fibres.
• Remove sheets from dryer while still warm and fold them immediately so they don't wrinkle.
• If sheets are wrinkled, tumble for another 5 to 10 minutes with a damp washcloth to "unwrinkle".
• Store linens in cool, dark, dry spots. If storing in garment bags, use cotton, linen or muslin (not synthetic).
  
• To brighten yellowed linen, dissolve denture-cleaning tablets in a tub of warm water and soak for 20 minutes.

where to buy?
AUSSINO 290 Orchard Road #04-41, Paragon Shopping Centre. Tel 6887-5718. With 10 outlets islandwide, Aussino has a wide selection of bed linen: queen size sheets from $25-$100; quilts $40 to more than $250.

ISETAN SCOTTS 350 Orchard Road, Shaw House Level 4, Living Department. Tel 6733-8366. Wide range of imported bed linen, from Paris, US, Italy. 330-thread count queen size sheet by Urblanc Maison costs from $55.

JOHN LITTLE 277 Orchard Road, Specialists' Shopping Centre, 4th level. Tel 6737-8222. A one-stop shop for great value bed linen especially during seasonal sales. Queen size bed sheets range from $58 for Elle Paris and $65 for the same by Friven.

BARANG BARANG 1 Kim Seng Promenade #01-35 Great World City. Tel 6738-0133. The feel here is ethnic, with a selection of sheets, throws and bed spreads. The Cavelli Jacquard Collection's fine queen size bedsheets have 700 per square inch threadcounts for around $130.


Extracted from Simply Her / November 2005