The material is the part of a sheet you actually feel. It touches your skin all night, decides whether you sleep warm or cool, and quietly determines whether the sheet stays on the mattress or ends up bunched in the corner by morning. Most guides just list fabrics and thread counts. This one explains what each material is genuinely like to live with, so you can choose the one that suits your bed and your sleep.
Why the material matters more than the thread count
Thread count gets most of the attention, but it only tells you how tightly a woven fabric is packed. It says nothing about how a sheet feels, breathes, or fits. A high number can even mean a heavier, less breathable sheet.
The bigger question is how the fabric is made. Woven fabrics (the traditional approach) are rigid by design. Knitted fabrics stretch. Your mattress is soft and flexible, so there is a good argument that your sheet should be too. That single difference, woven versus knit, affects comfort and fit more than any thread count ever will.
The most common fitted sheet materials, compared
Here is an honest look at what you will find on the market and how each one behaves in real life.
Woven cotton (percale and sateen)
The classic choice. Percale is crisp and cool, sateen is smooth and slightly shiny. Both are breathable and durable. The trade-off is that woven cotton has no give, so it can feel stiff, wrinkles easily, and often needs ironing to look its best.
Cotton jersey (knit)
This is knitted rather than woven, the same construction as your favourite worn-in t-shirt. It is soft from the first night, naturally stretchy, breathable, and wrinkle-free. The stretch is the standout: it hugs the mattress instead of fighting it. More on why that matters below.
Polyester and microfibre
Cheap and wrinkle-resistant, which is why it is common in budget sets. The downside is breathability. Polyester traps heat and moisture, so it can feel warm and clammy, and it is a synthetic rather than a natural fibre. Worth knowing if you sleep hot or have sensitive skin.
Bamboo and viscose blends
Marketed as silky and eco-friendly. It can feel lovely and cool, but quality varies a lot between brands, and many "bamboo" sheets are heavily processed viscose blended with other fibres. Read the fabric label, not just the marketing.
Linen
Breathable, textured, and increasingly popular for a relaxed look. It softens over time and suits warm climates, but it is pricey, wrinkles heavily by design, and the coarse texture is not for everyone.
What makes cotton jersey different
Cotton jersey sits in its own category because it is knitted, not woven. That knit gives it a natural stretch that woven cotton, linen and most blends simply do not have. It is the same reason we built the whole brand around it. For the short version of why that matters, see the Why It-Fits page.
In practice that means it is soft from the very first night, with no breaking-in period. It breathes and wicks moisture, so it stays comfortable across seasons. It is wrinkle-free, so there is no ironing, ever. And because It-Fits cotton jersey is made from 100% Australian cotton, it is naturally breathable and hypoallergenic, with no polyester blends. The fabric is OEKO-TEX certified, so it is tested for harmful substances, and it is traceable back to the farm.
How material affects fit (the part most guides skip)
This is where the fabric choice really pays off. A stretchy knit does not just feel better, it fits better.
Because cotton jersey flexes, an It-Fits fitted sheet stays in place instead of popping off in the night. The 360-degree elastic hem grips the mattress the whole way around, and the sheet fits mattresses up to 37cm deep, including ones with a topper. It also flexes up to 8cm beyond standard Australian dimensions, so it copes with mattresses that are slightly longer, shorter, wider or narrower than the label suggests. Colour-coded Magic Corners take the guesswork out of which way the sheet goes on.
That flexibility is why jersey works so well on the beds that give woven sheets the most trouble, like adjustable and electric beds, split beds, and caravan bunks. If any of those sound like your setup, the fitted sheets collection covers every size, and the jersey sheets range shows the full lineup. Not sure of your size, the fitted sheet size guide walks you through it.
Looking after cotton jersey
Easy care is part of the appeal. Cotton jersey is machine washable and quick-drying, and because it does not wrinkle, it goes straight back on the bed with no ironing. A quick rundown lives in the care guide.
The It-Fits take
It-Fits started with a simple frustration. Kathrin grew up in Switzerland, where soft, stretchy jersey sheets are normal. When her mum moved to Australia and could not find them anywhere, Kathrin, who was working in product design and sourcing at the time, decided to make them properly. Jersey has been the entire focus ever since, not one fabric option among many.
Customers tend to notice the difference straight away. "Absolutely the best sheets I have ever had on my bed. They do not move, no more creasing," says Carolyn F. "I LOVE these sheets. They are soooo soft and they actually stay in place," adds Wendy T. You can read more on the reviews page.
If you have spent years wrestling woven sheets back onto the corners, the material really is the thing worth changing.
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