Luxor Linens Blog

Don't Throw in the Towel (or how to know what's what in towels)

2009-11-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

Valentino Hotel Collection Egyptian Cotton Spa Towels
100% Egyptian Cotton Luxury Heavy Weight Towel

You’ve no doubt heard of thread count when choosing new bed sheets and linens and you know that higher thread count means softer, stronger fabric; but how do you know what kind of towel you are getting when ordering online? Is there a way to understand “towel” fabric?

The most important feature of any towel is its fiber content. Most towels are made of cotton or cotton blends. The quality level of cotton is based on the length of its staple or fiber; the longer the cotton staple used the more luxurious, durable and absorbent the towel will be. Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton, SUPIMA®cotton and Turkish cotton all are long staple cottons and all provide the softness desired as well as the strength and absorbency required in a towel.

Towels are measured by weight and are given in GSM (or grams per square meter) and are a measure of the density of the material. A towel that weighs less that 400 GSM is a thinner, lightweight towel that may not be as desirable as a higher weight towel, unless of course you are packing a beach towel, perhaps, in a bag to go to the beach.

Melrose Ave. Egyptian Cotton Luxury Towels
100% EGYPTIAN COTTON STRIPED AND BORDER TOWELS

The higher the GSM, the thicker the towel and thus the heavier the towel will feel. If you are shopping in a store, you can hold a towel up to the light; the more light that shows through, the lower the GSM. However, when shopping online, you can go by the GSMgiven to know how thick and heavy a towel is before you buy it so you know exactly what to expect.

Towels are available in various sizes as listed below (not all sizes in all styles):

BATH: The standard, rectangular towel for drying your body off after a shower or bath.
BATH SHEET: Larger than a bath towel, it's a luxurious, rectangular size towel that you can really wrap yourself up in.
HAND: Small, rectangular size for drying hands after washing.
WASHCLOTH: Small, square size for use in and out of the tub or shower for body, hands and face.
FINGERTIP: Similar to a hand towel yet smaller in size and often used in guest bathrooms, when entertaining or for decorative purposes.
TUBMAT: Rectangular or square, dense and absorbent it is used for stepping out of the tub or shower.

Towels are available in various types as listed below (not types in all styles):

TERRY: When you see terry, it simply means that the towel has loops. The most absorbent towels will be made of cotton with loops across the entire surface. The longer and closer together the loops are, the more durable and absorbent the towels will be.

VELOUR: Velour towels, unlike terry towels, have cut loops which make the surface of the towel smooth. This surface lends itself to a clear display of a printed design and is ultra soft, though not as absorbent as terry.

Monaco Luxury Egyptian cotton Velour Terry Bath Towels
100% Egyptian cotton Bath Towel

DECORATIVE: These towels also come in various styles:

JACQUARD: Pattern is woven directly into the fabric.

Madison Avenue Jacquard Egyptian Cotton Luxury Bath Towels
100% Egyptian cotton Bath Towel

PRINT: Design is printed on the surface of the towel.

Londolozi Egyptian Cotton Velour Elephant Safari Towels Luxury
100% Egyptian cotton Bath Towel

EMBELLISHED: Accented with decorative trim and/or designer embroidery.

Other terms it may help to be familiar with when choosing towels:

COMBED: The fibers of the towel are combed to create soft and strong yarns by removing short uneven fibers. The fibers left behind are long, straight fibers that are even and aligned.

Four Seasons Egyptian Cotton Luxury Spa Towels
The finest Combed Egyptian cotton

ZERO TWIST: Twist refers to the number of twists per inch of yarn, therefore the lower the amount of twist in a yarn, the longer the loops leaving the towel extremely plush. With long staple cotton yarn, like Egyptian cotton, low or zero twist fabric can be achieved.

Giolla Resort Egyptian Cotton Luxury Bath Towels
100% COMBED ZERO TWIST COTTON JACQUARD TOWELS

Please visit Luxor Linens for the finest Egyptian cotton sheets.

We are making it our mission at Luxor Linens to keep our customers informed and educated about the products we sell. We welcome your questions or suggestions: feel free to contact our Customer Service Department if you have any questions or would like help in choosing towels and bed linens.

Follow us on Twitter @LuxorLinens

Duvet or Not Duvet, Any Questions?

2009-10-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Duvets originally developed in northern Europe where the winters are long and cold. Called fedderbetten, or featherbeds, in German, their use has been reported since the 1700s. Having a ‘featherbed’ underneath you as well as on top assured the sleeper of a warm, soft night’s sleep.

Item shown:Giolla 800tc Egyptian Cotton Duvet Cover Set

A duvet is a loosely quilted comforter that is generally placed into a large fabric sheeting envelope which is fastened with buttons or snaps.

A duvet has quilted channels or baffles sewn into the construction to prevent the loose down from shifting. Early duvets were a large, single space that allowed the down to shift in the night causing ‘cold spots’; spots that had no down provided no more covering than a sheet and afforded no warmth. Eventually, channels or baffles were sewn into the duvet to prevent down shifting as well as to make smoothing out the duvet easier for the bed maker.

Duvets covers are washable and provide a protective covering for your down comforter which can be difficult to clean and must be aired out on occasion. In Switzerland and Germany, duvets traditionally were hung out of a window to gather the breeze and sit in the sun to dry out the moisture collected in the down. This tradition continues today as a way to freshen the bed linens.

Duvet hanging out of the window in Switzerland 2006.

Being used in continental Europe for centuries, duvets took quite some time to catch on in England and the United States. Samuel Johnson, the famous author and poet, at some time in the 1700s described an unusual advertisement for: "some Duvets for bed-coverings, of down ... warmer than four or five blankets, and lighter than one." But they didn’t catch on. Perhaps, in part, because in America at the time, quilting blankets (quilts) was becoming the traditional way to keep warm and create a colorful bed covering.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that Victorian Britain recognized the duvet for its lightness and warmth compared to the woolen blankets traditionally used at that time. Still, the duvet was introduced as a blanket type covering and not used as it is in places like Germany and Switzerland.

In Europe, a duvet is traditionally used alone with only a bottom sheet while in the U.S. we use a comforter inside a duvet cover as a blanket.

Please visit Luxor Linens for the finest down comforters and duvet covers. We have down comforters, duvet covers and featherbeds; everything you need to complete the set and make your next night’s sleep your best night’s sleep. You can read about the history of featherbeds here.

We are making it our mission at Luxor Linens to keep our customers informed and educated about the products we sell. We welcome your questions or suggestions: contact WendyH at LuxorLinens dot com. Follow us on Twitter @LuxorLinens

Duvet Airing Out of the Window photo courtesy of: So gesehen.

Not Your Grandma’s Featherbed Anymore

2009-10-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

It was nine feet high and six feet wide, soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty 'leven geese, took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It'd hold eight kids 'n' four hound dogs and a piggy we stole from the shed
Didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun on Grandma's feather bed
Grandma’s Feather Bed by Jim Connor recorded in 1974 by John Denver

Feathers and eider down in particular have been used throughout the history for warmth in bedding and clothing especially in colder climates. Somewhere around the 14th century, wealthy land owners began to make what we now know as a featherbed. Most people slept on mattresses made of hay as it was plentiful and cheap. It was only the wealthy who could afford a featherbed because it took many, many geese and ducks to supply enough down to make a bed. Live birds could have their downy breast feathers harvested several times a year, even so, it usually it took years to gather the 50+ pounds of feathers needed to make a full mattress. These mattresses were so difficult to obtain that they were considered part of a dowry for an unwed woman or heirlooms to be passed down from one generation to the next.

By the 19th century, regular folk had figured out that they too could gather enough down to make their own featherbeds. Special care had to be taken to ensure the long life of the bed. The feathers had to be aired out which would reduce the dampness and the smell.

A ‘tick’ is cotton or linen bag filled with wool, cotton, straw or feathers and sewn shut. The material the bag was made of is called ticking. Ticking used with feathers needs to be tightly woven so the feathers don’t leak out. Sometimes wax or soap was put on the ticking to help prevent this. Usually featherbeds were used in conjunction with an existing mattress much firmer and usually filled with hay. The featherbed was laid on top of the other mattress to provide softness and warmth while sleeping. Today, featherbeds are utilized in much the same way as those people did centuries ago. Featherbeds are placed on top of an existing mattress to provide comfort and warmth.

Originally, featherbeds were constructed the same way as pillows with only one bag or sack. The one-sack featherbed had to be fluffed and straightened everyday due to the shifting feathers and to release moisture. Eventually, baffles were sewn into the material thereby creating pockets of feathers which would not shift from one place in the mattress to another and thereby needing less fluffing and airing out. In Germany, featherbeds were hung each day from the window, big billowing gobs of fabric and feathers hung from second story windows so the breeze would air the bed and dry the down. Other countries utilized different methods but each day, some sort of turning of the mattress was instituted to ensure the long life of the mattress.

Item shown:Heiress 600 + Fill Power Luxury White Goose Down Featherbed

Now, most luxury featherbeds are constructed with baffle box designs, sewn-through channels and multiple layers that provide the air needed to keep the feathers dry and fluffy and yet also keep the feathers from shifting. No need to shake out or hang the mattress every day.
Feather tick on top of you as well as underneath, assured the sleeper’s warmth even on the coldest of nights. Duvets and down comforters were used in northern Europe centuries before the concept came to North America.

Please visit Luxor Linens for the finest luxury white goose down featherbeds . We have down comforters, duvets and featherbeds; everything you need to complete the set and make your next night’s sleep your best night’s sleep. You can read about the history of duvets here.

We are making it our mission at Luxor Linens to keep our customers informed and educated about the products we sell. We welcome your questions or suggestions: contact WendyH at LuxorLinens dot com. Follow us on Twitter @LuxorLinens

Boy in Bed photo credit: George Eastman House

Egyptian Cotton Sheets

2009-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Egyptian cotton is one of the strongest and natural fibers in the world. The reason people fall in love with Egyptian cotton sheets is both for the durability and for the luxurious feel. Smooth and soft, Egyptian cotton sheets represent the care and precision that was maintained from planting to manufacturing.

Egyptian cotton is considered the best because it produces the smoothest, longest threads of any cotton type. The history of your Egyptian cotton sheets is as rich as the Nile delta where the Egyptian cotton itself was grown.

The Nile river delta is historically known for its agricultural richness. The moderate climate and rich soil provide the perfect combination needed to produce Egyptian cotton. Egyptian cotton is different from cotton grown elsewhere in the world. Its fibers are longer, softer and more durable than other cotton types.

The finest feeling high-quality sheets start by using a long staple, about three inches long. The staple is the part of the cotton that is pulled off a ball of cotton. Cotton with a shorter staple can result in yarns that break or fabric that pills. The cotton is then spun into a continuous yarn. High quality spinning insures the durability and continued smoothness expected with normal use. Yarns are woven into sheeting (either percale or sateen) and finished.

Egyptian cotton is unique not only for its properties: softness, length and uniformity, but also for its processing. Hand treated from planting until the final processing with prized techniques passed down from one generation to the next. Egyptian farmers have learned how to produce superior plants without the use of chemicals. The weeding is done by hand and organic fertilizers are used. Heavy machinery is not needed for harvest as it is picked by hand. Finally it is rolled with a special ginning process that will not damage the exquisite fibers.

Finishing is a process applied to the sheeting after it has been constructed on the loom. Certain companies like those in Italy and Switzerland have finishing techniques that are heavily guarded secrets. Other companies in other countries may be able to purchase the exact machinery and looms that they use, but they have yet to master the technique necessary to properly finish luxurious fabrics. No matter what the techniques, if Egyptian cotton isn’t used, the quality will be less than expected.

If any of these steps is compromised, the result will be sheets that are rough, pills, aren’t durable, and don’t launder well.

This article was brought to you by Luxor Linens where you can find luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets.

We are making it our mission at Luxor Linens to keep our customers informed and educated about the products we sell. We welcome your questions or suggestions: contact WendyH at LuxorLinens.com . Follow us on Twitter @LuxorLinens

Photo Credit: Betsssssy