Bamboo envelope sheets

Bamboo envelope sheets

An envelope sheet is the flat solution. It has no elastic in the hem, but closed corners at each end that you fold down over the mattress like an envelope. Hence the name. The result is a taut, completely smooth surface with not one seam or elastic edge under the body, and that is why hotels, and most people who have tried both, stay with the envelope sheet.

Ours are sewn with a 20 cm skirt. That suits an ordinary mattress without a topper. The sheet goes on by folding the two closed ends down over the head and foot of the mattress, and then tucking the sides underneath.

What bamboo viscose does to a sheet

The fibres are thin and round, so the surface comes out smooth rather than coarse. It shows most clearly in the first moment you lie down: the fabric feels cool because it leads heat away instead of gathering it. Through the night the fibres take up moisture faster than cotton and release it back into the air, so the bed holds an even temperature and does not turn clammy.

The smooth surface has another advantage that is easy to overlook. The skin is pulled less when you turn over, and that goes for the face too if you sleep on your front or your side.

Sizes and how to choose

The envelope sheets come in 90x200, 90x210, 120x200, 140x200, 160x200, 180x200 and 180x210 cm. Measure your mattress for width and length. The 20 cm skirt covers a mattress up to that depth, and if you have a thicker mattress or a topper, a fitted sheet with a 35 cm skirt is the right answer.

If you have two mattresses in a double bed, each mattress needs its own sheet in single width. A single wide sheet across two mattresses pulls them askew the moment one of you sits on the edge.

Why hotels use them

An envelope sheet goes on faster with two people than with one, and it lies flatter than any other sheet once it is on. That is why it is standard in hotels. There is no elastic edge that can slide off the corner of the mattress in the middle of the night, and no seam under the body. The surface is the same from headboard to foot end.

The second reason is wear. Elastic is the part of a sheet that gives up first. It loses tension after a few hundred washes, and then a fitted sheet goes loose even though the fabric itself is still perfectly sound. An envelope sheet has no elastic and therefore lasts as long as the fabric lasts.

Washing and care

Wash at 40 degrees without fabric softener. The softener settles as a film around the fibres and takes exactly the smoothness and the moisture transport you bought the sheet for. Shake the sheet out as soon as it comes off the machine and put it on the bed while it is still slightly damp. Then it smooths itself out and you skip the iron.

Who makes them

The envelope sheets come from Nordic Weaving, a Danish house with roots going back to Nordisk Tekstil Væveri in 1874. The fabric is certified to OEKO TEX Standard 100 in product class I, the strictest class, otherwise used for textiles for infants.

The rest of the bedroom

Both fitted sheets and split sheets sit alongside the envelope sheets under bamboo sheets. The colours run through bamboo bedding and bamboo pillowcases, so the bed can be kept in one tone. You will find the whole range for the home under home and homewear in bamboo.

Frequently asked questions

Does an envelope sheet stay on without elastic? Yes. The closed corners hold the sheet at both ends, and that is the end a sheet normally slips at.

What if my mattress is deeper than 20 cm? Then choose a fitted sheet with a 35 cm skirt instead. An envelope sheet on a mattress that is too deep will not reach properly round the corner.

Does it crease in the wash? Less than cotton. Put it on while it is slightly damp and it smooths itself out.