Dunelm Bedding Mattress Review
The most useful bedding retailer in Britain for one specific reason: deep fitted sheets at sensible prices.
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Verdict
The most useful bedding retailer in Britain for one specific reason: deep fitted sheets at sensible prices. Modern mattresses run 28 to 34 centimetres and standard sheets are cut for 25, which is a nightly irritation that costs almost nothing to fix.
Buy it if
You have just bought a deep mattress and your sheets keep pulling off the corners.
Avoid it if
You want the highest quality cotton available. This is value bedding, and honestly so.
See the current Dunelm offer
Dunelm carries deep fitted sheets in a range of depths at low prices, which most retailers do not.
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Dunelm on Amazon UK
Compare both. Dunelm own-brand lines do not appear elsewhere.
No code needed. Prices on Amazon change frequently, so check the seller and the returns terms before you buy. Opening in a new tab.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Strength | Deep fitted sheets in multiple depths at low prices |
| Own brands | Fogarty, Dorma and others |
| What to check | The depth rating on the packaging, not just the bed size |
| Thread count | Treat above about 400 with scepticism. See below. |
The scores
Not luxury bedding, and the most practically useful bedding range in Britain.
Consistently good, particularly on clearance.
Fine rather than exceptional. You are not paying for long staple cotton.
Manages moisture adequately.
The reason to shop here. Multiple depths, clearly labelled, cheap.
Reasonable for the price. Value bedding wears faster than premium cotton.
Standard high street terms.
The sheet problem nobody warns you about
Check the depth, not just the size
Standard UK fitted sheets are cut for around 25 centimetres.
Modern hybrids run 28, 31 and 34 centimetres. A standard sheet on a 31 centimetre mattress will pull off the corners, usually in the middle of the night, and it will keep doing it for the life of the mattress.
Fitted sheets are labelled with a depth. Look for it. A double sheet is not one size, it is a family of sizes.
This is the most common practical complaint after buying a modern mattress and it costs very little to avoid. Buy deep fitted sheets on the same day as the mattress, before the first night.
Thread count above 400 is usually misleading
Thread count is the number of threads per square inch, and it is the most misused number in bedding.
Up to a point it correlates with quality: a 200 count sheet is coarser than a 400. Beyond roughly 400, a single-ply cotton weave physically cannot fit many more threads into the space.
So how does a 1,000 count sheet exist? By using multi-ply yarns. Several thinner threads are twisted together and counted individually, so a 250 count fabric woven from four-ply yarn can be marketed as 1,000. The thinner threads are weaker, and the resulting fabric is often less durable than a genuine 300 count single-ply sheet.
What to look at instead: the fibre and the staple length. Long staple cotton, sold as Egyptian, Pima or Supima, makes smoother and stronger fabric than short staple cotton at any thread count. Percale and sateen describe the weave: percale is crisp and cooler, sateen is smoother and warmer.
A 300 count long staple percale will outlast and outperform a 1,000 count multi-ply sheet, and usually costs less.
Percale or sateen, and why it affects temperature
The weave changes how a sheet feels and how warm it sleeps, and it is a more useful distinction than thread count.
Percale is a simple one-over-one-under weave. It is crisp, matte, and it breathes well. It is the hotel-sheet feel, and it is the better choice if you sleep warm.
Sateen floats several threads over one, which produces a smooth, slightly lustrous surface. It feels softer and warmer, and it traps marginally more heat.
If you have just bought a cooling mattress and you sleep hot, a sateen sheet set is working against you. Percale is the correct choice and it is usually cheaper.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Thread count is treated as the primary quality measure for bed linen, and above roughly 400 it stops meaning what buyers assume. A single-ply cotton weave cannot physically fit many more threads into a square inch, so very high counts are achieved by twisting several thinner threads into multi-ply yarn and counting each strand. The thinner threads are weaker, and a genuine 300 count long staple percale will outlast and outperform a 1,000 count multi-ply sheet.
Should you buy it?
Yes, and it is where I would send anyone who has just bought a deep mattress. Deep fitted sheets in clearly labelled depths at low prices is a genuinely useful thing that most retailers handle badly.
Ignore thread count above 400. Buy percale if you sleep warm, check the depth rating on the packaging, and put the saving toward a protector.
Questions people ask
Why do my fitted sheets keep coming off?
Standard UK fitted sheets are cut for around 25 centimetres and modern hybrids run 28, 31 and 34. Fitted sheets are labelled with a depth, so look for it: a double sheet is not one size, it is a family of sizes.
Does thread count matter?
Up to about 400, yes. Beyond that a single-ply cotton weave cannot fit many more threads into a square inch, so very high counts come from twisting thinner threads into multi-ply yarn and counting each strand. A 300 count long staple percale outlasts a 1,000 count multi-ply sheet.
Percale or sateen?
Percale is a simple one-over-one-under weave: crisp, matte and breathable, the hotel sheet feel, and the better choice if you sleep warm. Sateen floats threads over one another for a smoother, warmer finish that traps marginally more heat.