- In recent years, there has been a trend towards more eco-friendly and sustainable options, with hospitals adopting sheets made from recycled materials or organic fibers. This not only reduces environmental impact but also ensures a safer and healthier environment for patients.
What Is Bed Linen?
- Quality of Fabric: Whether you're choosing fitted or flat, the fabric's quality is paramount. Sheets crafted from premium materials like cotton or sateen not only feel luxurious but also enhance the overall sleep experience.
Both linen and cotton make excellent bedding fabrics and share quite a few similarities — most notably their water-absorbent qualities and that refreshing, airy feeling. But there are quite a few differences as well, and being aware of them can make it easier for you to choose between the two.

Have you ever wondered why we refer to duvet sets as bed linen? The answer is quite simple: linen is believed to be the first fabric used to make bed sheets. It is made from the flax plant which is one of the oldest plants used to make textiles. However, cultivating, harvesting, and weaving the linen was, and still is, hard work.
During Victorian times, the Eiderdown quilt or duvet became popular in Britain though they did not replace blankets which were much heavier and warmer for the Victorians.
Material
As a natural fiber like cotton, linen offers excellent breathability. However, linen is evenmorebreathable than cotton, because the fibers themselves are more hollow, meaning air can flow through more easily. Plus, it usually helps that most linen fabrics have a lower thread count — and thus looser weave — than most cotton fabrics.
Flannel is generally made with either a twill or percale weave. The fabric is then napped to hide the weave. Napping is a finishing technique that gives flannel that signature fluffy, fuzzy feel. Flannel can be napped on just one side, or it can be double-napped, meaning both sides of the fabric are napped, for extra softness. Flannel is also often sheared after napping for a smoother texture.