Rough as fuck!

[Katastrophyy]

My sheets I mean. Brand new from tk maxx, 100% cotton and 200 thread count.
Mum bought them for me and they are gorgeous but feel like sandpaper 😭

Have you washed them?

How can they be ‘gorgeous’ but also feel like sandpaper?

Maybe they are aesthetically pleasing but physically uncomfortable. Just give them a wash and tumble dry OP.

Wash them with soda crystals and white vinegar.

The sheets look gorgeous.
They feel rough.
Does that help you make sense of the whole situation?

Was i supposed to do that? I just whacked them on the bed

sorry just seemed an oxymoron…

bung them in the washer with some conditioner?

You should always wash new bedding, make sure to use fabric conditioner

I always wash new bedding

Yes you can't really know how they are before they've been through a wash and a dryer to soften them up,

Manufacturers usually coat sheets etc with some dodgy chemicals that made them hard but look good in their packaging. Always wash new bedding. Personally even if they felt ok, I can't stand the smell of new sheets no matter how luxurious.

Okay thanks so much, I will try washing and tumble drying tjem now!

You definitely need to wash them first.

Absolutely wash them. @BansheeOfTheSouth has it right.

Okay I have washed and tumble dried it and it still feels like a sack 😒

This is so gross. Yes you wash them!!

As my dear old DM used to say; buy cheap, buy twice.

Cotton can feel rough when it’s new. When the fibres are thick, they don’t bend so easily, I think. I opened a sheet last year that I bought in 1993. The sheet it replaced was from the same batch purchase. The new one felt like sandpaper and it’s still stiff now. Oh my Lord, it’s heaven on my skin.

You can wash them with bicarb in the wash and vinegar or citric acid as a rinse aid and that can help soften things.

If you buy vintage linen someone else has done all the washing and wearing in the softness for you. That's one of the reasons vintage French linen is so expensive.

It isn't remotely 'gross'.

Washing them and tumble-drying them will typically soften things up a bit. But it's not 'gross' not to do it.

I do think the chemical coatings can take a while to wash off. I’ve had towels that don’t become properly absorbent for months. If you wash them in vinegar (cheap white stuff) then it helps break it down.

As an aside I do think manufacturers of clothes, towels, bedsheets should be forced to tell consumers its coated in whatever. Even if just a symbol on the care label then we can all Google how to best remove it. Perhaps this would also encourage manufacturers not to use that shit?

Worryingly these coatings often contain forever chemicals which work their way into water cycle and build up in all of us over time.

100% cotton can feel rough esp at lower thread counts, it's meant to. It's also what I actively prefer 😁

I suspect what you want is cotton sateen, which is the slippery slidey version of cotton and is found in posh hotels.

Look on the bright side - whole body exfoliation every night while you sleep 😂

I think actually my favourite is brushed cotton.

Im pissed off about this though. Who the fuck would want to sleep on something the texture of a hessian sack? Why even manufacture this bullshit?