5 Best Jersey Sheets, Tested & Reviewed

There are several criteria we evaluate for every sheet set we test. Here's how we assess each one:

✔️ Softness: Consumer testers come into our Lab to feel and rate each fabric for softness and comfort, either in a blind comparison or by sleep testing them in their own homes.

✔️ Dimensional stability: Each sheet is marked multiple times, based on a standardized testing method, washed and measured to evaluate shrinkage over time.

✔️ Wrinkle resistance: After laundering, we move the sheets to a room with specialized lighting to assess any creases or wrinkling using industry standards.

✔️ Fabric strength: We prepare swatches of fabric and load them in a machine that evaluates tensile strength (called an Instron). This machine then pulls apart each sample to measure the force needed to break it.

✔️ Pilling resistance: Our Martindale Abrasion Tester (pictured) rubs swatches of each sheet fabric together 1,000 times to evaluate the pilling resistance.

✔️ Consumer Testing: At-home testers also rate aspects like temperature regulation, fit, ease of use and appearance and provide in-depth feedback on how the sheets held up over time as well as any likes or dislikes.

✔️ Material: Jersey sheets are available in a ton of different fabrications. Here are some of the most common fibers you'll encounter:

• Cotton is the most popular fiber for its soft, durable and "natural" feel on your skin. It has a unique breathability thanks to its structure. You may come across long-staple or combed varieties, which are often smoother and more durable, but be wary of Egyptian cotton labeling: Cotton origin is often hard to prove, and brands have mislabeled their sheets when they weren't actually made of this luxury cotton fiber.
• Polyester is a more affordable option with better dimensional stability and wrinkle resistance than cotton. But while it's smoother, it may not feel as luxe compared to cotton, so you'll often find that brands blend the two fibers as a compromise.
• Regenerated cellulose fibers like rayon, viscose, modal or lyocell are made from wood pulp that is chemically processed into fibers. These materials are incredibly soft and silky, even when compared to cotton.

✔️ Durability: It can be difficult to tell which jersey sheets will be the most durable, and we're often surprised by our test results, so we try to share as much information on how different sheets perform in our tests. Generally, polyester fibers tend to be more durable than cotton or rayon because they're more resistant to things like shrinkage and pilling. But there are also cotton and rayon sheets in our tests that score higher than we expect, as well as polyester options that don't perform well.

✔️ Depth: No matter how stretchy jersey fabric is, make sure the sheets you're interested in can actually fit your mattress, especially if you're using a mattress topper, as you'll have to account for the extra height.

✔️ Certifications: The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the easiest way to check whether any sheets are fully organic, as it requires strict standards for the entire manufacturing process. In addition to this, there are other certifications you can look for to avoid high levels of unwanted substances in your sheets. Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and Oeko-Tex Made in Green certifications ensure that there are no unsafe levels of chemicals, and the Made in Green certification ensures that the product was manufactured in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible facility.

✔️ Care instructions: Most jersey sheets are machine washable, but some may call for cold water or delicate cycles. If you get night sweats or don't wash sheets regularly, washing sheets in warm or hot water is ideal, so look for ones that can withstand higher temperatures.

Grace Wu is a textiles product review analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute and has evaluated hundreds of bedding products using specialized laboratory equipment in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Textiles Lab and feedback from hundreds of consumer testers. She's written several stories on various types of sheets, including linen sheets, flannel sheets and percale sheets. Prior to joining GH, Grace earned a Master of Engineering in Materials Science & Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Fiber Science from Cornell University.

This story was most recently updated by Writer and Product Analyst, Olivia Lipski, who covers everything from tech to travel, home, fitness and more, and frequently collaborates with the Textiles Lab. To make new recommendations, she consulted testing data and consumer feedback from the Lab's most recent jersey sheet tests.