What makes our bedding so special?

Our customers often tell us that our bedding is the best they’ve ever tried. To understand why, we need to explain a bit more about how it’s made.

Hampton and Astley’s co-founder Caroline Brooks has the inside story…

“The fabric we use for our bedding is woven to our very specific requirements so it’s entirely unique and bespoke to Hampton and Astley. You won’t find it anywhere else and you won’t find any better.

The confidence we have in the quality of our bedding comes from experience – we personally try out all the alternatives on the market, to make sure ours is the very best.

So what makes it so special?

Long-staple Egyptian cotton

The starting point is the quality of the yarn. We only use the highest quality single-ply, long-staple Egyptian cotton yarn, made from the longest and strongest fibres.

Shorter fibres tend to stick out of the fabric, making it coarse and weak. So we choose only the longest staples, as these can be spun into stronger and finer yarn to make a smoother, finer fabric. The result is bedding that is softer, lighter, smoother and longer lasting than most others.

 

Thread count

The next thing we consider is the thread count. This is the number of threads woven into a square inch of fabric. To calculate thread count, count the number of threads that go vertically (called the warp) and add them to the number going horizontally (the weft).

Our bedding has a thread count of 300 (190 vertical threads + 110 horizontal threads) per square inch of fabric, as this creates super soft and breathable bedding with a luxurious, dense finish.

A higher thread count doesn’t always mean a better quality fabric. Some alternative brands we’ve tried have a higher thread count than ours, but feel much thinner. Some you can even see your hand through. So what’s the difference?

Single-ply yarn

Fabrics with a higher thread count can feel thinner and less soft if they’ve been made with lower quality, shorter staples. These may have then been spun into multi-ply yarn to inflate the thread count and make it sound more luxurious to customers.

With multi-ply yarns, multiple threads are twisted together to make the overall thread count higher. Fabric woven with multi-ply yarn usually feels rougher than single-ply, because the shorter threads stick out of the weave. We only ever use the longest staples, spun into the finest, single-ply yarns.

Finishing touches

The delicate straight piping along the edges of our bedding demonstrates the quality of the craftsmanship that goes into its creation. The fabric is given an anti-crease treatment that helps create its uniquely silky-soft look and feel that drapes beautifully, with the minimum of ironing.

No harsh chemicals are used during any of the manufacturing processes. Our bedding is OEKO-TEX certified, meaning it's been created in a way that guarantees it's free from harmful chemicals or other toxic substances. So there’s absolutely no chemical smell when you unwrap it.

Sustainable manufacturing

The factories we use are committed to sustainable development and to reducing impact on the local environment. They use purely renewable energy, using rooftop solar technology to generate the power they need. So they’re not dependent on the local electricity supply and have their own in-house production plants.

Our manufacturing partners are certified fair trade suppliers (including Fair Trade USA), members of the Forest Stewardship Council and also the Better Cotton Initiative. BCI is a global not-for-profit organisation and the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world.

Every aspect of the bedding’s design and manufacture has been perfected and refined to make it the very best on the market, guaranteed.”