Please help me find new bedding in the UK

H

Hummingbird

Established Member
I'm bedridden with severe ME and have allodynia, as well as temperature control issues and visual issues, so finding a duvet cover that is soft enough is very difficult.

100% cotton is probably best but open to suggestions, but no silk, velvet or textured fabric.

I've previously got on with some Next ones, but they seem to have changed the quality of the duvet covers and weave of the sheets. If there are any fabric experts who can advise as to how this affects feel that would be great. The last ones I bought were washed a lot and worn in for me but unfortunately didn't soften up like usual. They would be fine for a healthy person, just not me.

Has anyone tried this brand? I would really like this first one for obvious reasons :emoji_bird:, but there's too much visual information.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/paol...llowcase-set-1000180094?defaultSkuId=30719350

I'm considering the second one, but unsure if I can manage the images.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/paol...llowcase-set-1000190657?defaultSkuId=30744160

Deep blues, purples, greens are best for my eyes. Low contrast is important. I would prefer not to have plain, but that's fine if necessary.

I love art, flowers, nature but my eyes don't agree!! Bonus points for any hummingbirds!!

I would really appreciate any replies, this has been written for me and any replies could take a while, but please know they are appreciated.

Thank you fellow MEEPS!!
 
Sly Saint said:
maybe not the best choice as one review says
"
Paoletti duvet and pillow case
The pattern is a bit scratchy"

you might like this one

View attachment 16201

https://www.kaleidoscope.co.uk/prod...bird-duvet-cover-&-pillowcase-set/_/A-88J447_

100% cotton but sateen finish which I'm not familiar with.
Click to expand...

Sateen is something I can't bear the sensation of but we are all different. Cotton bedding for me feels like different types. There is is cool crisp cotton which to me sounds like the noise sails make (my favourite).
Then there is Sateen which is soft but for me even with a good thread count feels slimy and heavy.
Another cotton sheet I have is low thread count and comes in either a summer or winter heaviness.
 
I had a sateen cotton bed cover and pillow cases that were the softest I’ve ever used so I would recommend. But the ones I tried were super expensive from House of Fraser Hotel collection on a massive discount so could be just getting something really expensive works. This was a few years ago too.

Also they were plain white.

With patterned bedding the design is often printed on fabric surface rather then dyed in.

If this is the case the surface can be scratchy. As someone mentioned above. You may be able to find this out by email inquiry.

I have found even plain colour bedding can be stiffer depending on the type of dye used.

Muji does nice soft colour bedding which I’ve used but only as a guest. But maybe not suitable for you because they have bad customer service so if you had to return not ideal and also always plain except maybe checked, because minimalist.
 
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Have you ever tried jersey bedding, @Hummingbird? I haven't, I just saw it on sale when I recently replaced my duvet and decided to buy some pillowslips as well. I think it's made from fabric similar to t-shirting.

I'd certainly second the comment about cotton sateen. I use Next's sateen sheets (the most recent ones aren't as thick and smooth as some I bought a few years ago, but I still like them). I also have some tropical print duvet covers that I once got in a half price sale, and they're probably the smoothest fabric I've ever bought. The cotton is treated to have a polished finish, and when the fibres have been relaxed by washing, they become a sort of slippery soft—a bit like silk, but without that characteristic 'catch' on the surface. If you've had success with cotton sateen before, maybe look for something that was quite expensive but has been reduced in price? It's a good way to get high quality fabrics.

I've bought several own-brand bedding items from Dunelm in the last three years because they're stylish and cheap, but their fabric base isn't the best. The cotton is quite hard, which doesn't bother me at all (I actually like rough textures—an autism thing!), but you might find them a bit unyielding.
 
Like kitty says

I love T-shirt material/jersey bedding unbleached 100% cotton. Feels comforting like nothing else.

I would have some but I am an active sleeper and I get horribly tangled up my limbs get trapped. Cause of the stretch I guess. It is relatively heavy so can feel like too much.

Also sadly it takes a hundred years to dry.
 
Thank you so much for all your replies, very much appreciated and helpful. Hope to reply at another time, but just another quick question, has anyone ever tried a Joules duvet cover? I've found this one on ebay, but can't find it on the website, so it must be old stock.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284249080503?hash=item422e90c2b7:g:3okAAOSw3gBgbczX

I tried looking on their current duvet covers for reviews, but the ones I checked didn't have any reviews.

Might buy the pillowcases first to see what they're like. Not sure I can manage the pattern, but worth a try.

This was recently bought for another bed in the Hummingbird household, with the view that I might manage it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174656898603?hash=item28aa5cc62b:g:PGYAAOSw4XRgOo5N

It may be 200 thread count, 100% cotton but sadly it felt very stiff and not relaxed. Still like that after washing. Hope the Joules would not be like that, but not sure there's any way to tell online, other than looking at the photos very carefully?

Edited to add: It says the Joules one is percale which is what the Next sheets I liked were. They took a while to wear in, but I was happy with them until they changed the weave. It made turning over in bed so difficult. The listing didn't change but they felt so different. It's confusing how fabric can be called the same but be so varied in quality, feel, weave, etc. https://www.next.co.uk/style/st127092/652585#652585
 
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I asked a friend about this today—she used to work in the garment industry, so whilst she's not an expert, she does know a bit about fabric.

She wrote this for me, saying that there are several things that influence how cotton handles:-

  • The fibre used
    Egyptian Nile cotton has one of the longest staples and is very soft. It needs to be bought from a reputable source, as some manufacturers only finish their cotton in Egypt, they don't grow it there. American pima/supima cotton has similar qualities, but can be affected the same dodgy trade practices. If it's cheap it's unlikely to be genuine, unless it's heavily discounted stock clearance.

  • The weave
    Lots of them, but sateen is the softest, percale the crispest, Oxford one of the more open and textured weaves. Heavier/thicker fabric will often handle more smoothly than light.

  • The thread count
    The higher the count, the softer the handle. Some manufacturers tell porkies about it, and their supposed 1000 threads per inch might only be 600 if you looked at it under a microscope. Obviously it's still going to be much softer than 200.

  • The treatment of the fibre
    How it's harvested, spun, and which chemicals and finishes are used. Unfortunately this isn't something you can easily unpick as a consumer without a sample.

  • Detergent build-up
    Affects fabric to a surprising degree, as most people don't dose their detergent in an exact way. A soak in washing soda, followed by a thorough rinse, will remove a lot of it and can make the fabric feel softer.

Hope that's of some use!
 
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