1. Cotton 

Choose 200 thread count and above - anything less will wear badly, rip and develop holes! Be wary of really high thread counts over 800 which can produce very stiff sheets and duvet covers that are not very comfortable to sleep on and are really hard to iron! We picked 600 thread count for our Egyptian cotton bed linen.

Linen can be a fairly expensive material, so expect to see higher prices than you would for cotton. Some brands blend linen with other materials to make it more affordable, so be sure to look for 100 percent linen, if that is what you’re after.