The Brooklinen
Brooklinen vs Boll & Branch: Which Sheets to Buy
Two direct-to-consumer bedding brands, two soft sateen sheets, about $70 apart for a queen. The difference is mostly in the cotton and the paperwork behind it.
Side by side.
Tap either one to check today’s price.
The Boll & Branch
Line by line.
Boll & Branch has the edge on 3 of 9 lines, Brooklinen on 1, 3 even.
| Feature | Brooklinen | Boll & Branch |
|---|---|---|
| WeaveEven | Sateen | Sateen (four over, one under) |
| Thread count | 480 | Not published |
| Cotton | 100% long staple cotton | 100% long staple organic cotton (the edge) |
| Certifications | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | GOTS, OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Fair Trade Certified factory (the edge) |
| Made in | Portugal (per Brooklinen) | India |
| Fitted sheet | Mattresses up to 16 in | Mattresses up to 17 in (the edge) |
| In the setEven | Flat, fitted, 2 pillowcases | Flat, fitted, 2 pillowcases |
| CareEven | Wash cold, gentle cycle; tumble low | Wash cold; tumble low or medium; no bleach or softener |
| Queen price | About $209 (the edge) | About $279 |
The verdict
Which to buy.
Buy the Brooklinen Luxe Sateen if you want a soft, smooth sheet for less and do not need organic cotton. Buy the Boll & Branch Signature if organic, Fair Trade cotton matters to you or your mattress is deeper than 16 inches.
The sheets worth the money.The pillow for stomach sleepers.The bath sheet, and when it beats a bath towel.
Brooklinen and Boll & Branch both built their names selling sheets online, and both sell on Amazon through their own storefronts. Each has a best-selling sateen: Brooklinen's Luxe Sateen and Boll & Branch's Signature. Both are long staple cotton, both are soft and smooth rather than crisp, and both come as a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillowcases.
The Brooklinen is the cheaper of the two and publishes a thread count, 480. The Boll & Branch costs more and publishes no thread count at all. What it offers instead is organic cotton certified to GOTS, sewn in a Fair Trade Certified factory in India. Whether that is worth about $70 on a queen set is the real question here.
Both brands also make a percale, the crisp, cool weave, and those are included below for anyone who reads this and realizes they sleep hot.
How we chose
- Fabric. Weave, cotton and thread count where the maker publishes one.
- Certifications and origin. Organic, chemical safety and labor certifications, and where each set is made, from the makers' own pages.
- Fit. How deep a mattress the fitted sheet takes.
- Price. What a queen set costs on Amazon from each brand's own storefront.
AThe Brooklinen
Brooklinen Luxe Sateen Sheet Set Hotel-Quality Luxury - Queen, White
A soft, low-sheen 480 thread count sateen at a fair price.
- Made in
- Portugal (per Brooklinen's site)
- Keeps for
- Several years of weekly washing; sateen shows wear sooner than percale
- Weave
- Sateen, 480 thread count
- Fiber
- 100% long staple cotton
- Certification
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100
- Fitted sheet
- Up to 16 in deep
- Pieces
- Flat, fitted, 2 pillowcases
Luxe Sateen is Brooklinen's best seller: 100% long staple cotton in a 480 thread count sateen weave, with a smooth hand and a slight sheen. Brooklinen's own page describes the current version as designed in Brooklyn and made in Portugal, and the set is certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100. The queen set is a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillowcases.
Sateen floats more yarn on the surface than percale, which is why it feels smooth and drapes heavily. The fitted sheet is cut for mattresses up to 16 inches deep, with 12 to 16 inches the best fit, according to Brooklinen's size guide. Wash cold on a gentle cycle and tumble dry low.
Skip it if you sleep hot; sateen is the warmer weave. Skip it too if your mattress and topper together run past 16 inches.
The catch. Warmer than percale, and the fitted sheet is an inch shallower than the Boll & Branch.
Where to buy
AmazonCheck price →BThe Boll & Branch
BOLL & BRANCH Signature Hemmed Sheet Set, Queen, White
Organic long staple sateen with the certifications to back it, at a higher price.
- Made in
- India
- Keeps for
- Several years; sateen shows wear sooner than percale
- Weave
- Sateen, four over one under
- Fiber
- 100% long staple organic cotton
- Certifications
- GOTS, OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Fair Trade Certified factory
- Fitted sheet
- Up to 17 in deep
- Hem
- 7 in on flat sheet and pillowcases
Boll & Branch's Signature fabric is a four-over-one-under sateen woven from long staple organic cotton. The maker says the cotton is grown on a family farm in India and the sheets are made by artisans there, in a Fair Trade Certified factory. The set is GOTS certified for the organic fiber and tested to OEKO-TEX Standard 100.
It has a gentle drape and a soft sheen, and Boll & Branch says the fiber ends lift slightly with each wash, which is part of how it softens. The flat sheet and pillowcases carry a 7 inch hem, and the fitted sheet takes mattresses up to 17 inches deep. Wash cold, tumble dry low or medium, and skip bleach and fabric softener.
The brand does not publish a thread count, so there is no number to compare with the Brooklinen. Skip it if organic and Fair Trade certification do not matter to you; the Brooklinen does the same job for less.
The catch. Costs about $70 more than the Brooklinen for a sheet that feels similar, and it sleeps warm.
Where to buy
AmazonCheck price →Also 01If you sleep hot, from Brooklinen
Brooklinen Percale 4-Pc Sheet Set for Hot Sleepers, Luxury - Queen, White
Brooklinen's crisp, cool percale, for sleepers who find sateen too warm.
- Keeps for
- Several years of weekly washing
- Weave
- Percale, 270 thread count
- Fiber
- 100% long staple cotton
- Certification
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100
- Pieces
- Flat, fitted, 2 pillowcases
Classic Percale is 270 thread count, one-over-one-under percale in 100% long staple cotton, certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100. It feels matte and crisp, the way a good hotel sheet does, and breathes better than either sateen above.
It costs about the same as the Luxe Sateen on Amazon, so choose by how you sleep, not by price.
Skip it if you want smooth and soft on the first night. Percale starts crisp and softens with washing.
The catch. Crisp and a little rough when new; it wrinkles more than sateen.
Where to buy
AmazonCheck price →Also 02If you sleep hot, from Boll & Branch
BOLL & BRANCH Percale Hemmed Sheet Set, Queen, White
The organic, Fair Trade version of a crisp percale.
- Made in
- India
- Keeps for
- Several years; percale wears longer than sateen
- Weave
- Percale
- Fiber
- 100% long staple organic cotton
- Certifications
- GOTS, OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Fair Trade Certified factory
- Fitted sheet
- Up to 17 in deep
The same long staple organic cotton and the same certifications as the Signature, GOTS, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and a Fair Trade Certified factory, woven as percale. Boll & Branch compares the feel to a crisp button-down shirt.
The fitted sheet takes mattresses up to 17 inches, with a 7 inch hem on the flat sheet and pillowcases, and it is made in India.
Skip it if you want soft and smooth rather than cool and crisp, or if the certifications are not worth the premium to you.
The catch. Priced like the Signature, and it wrinkles as any percale does.
Where to buy
AmazonCheck price →More head to heads.
Thread count is not the whole story
A 480 thread count sateen and an unnumbered sateen can feel very close. Fiber length, yarn quality and finishing matter as much as the count, and many good makers stopped printing it. Compare weave and cotton first.
What the certifications mean
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests the finished fabric for harmful substances. GOTS certifies that the cotton is organic and that the processing meets its rules. Fair Trade Certified applies to the factory and its workers. Both sets here carry the first; only the Boll & Branch carries all three.
Caring for sateen
Wash cold, dry low, and take the sheets out promptly. High heat and fabric softener shorten the life of sateen, whose long surface floats pill and abrade sooner than a tight percale.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brooklinen or Boll & Branch better?
They are close in feel. Boll & Branch uses certified organic cotton and a Fair Trade Certified factory and costs more. Brooklinen is cheaper and publishes a 480 thread count.
Which is softer?
Both sateens are made to feel soft and smooth from the first night. The bigger difference is between sateen and percale: the percales from both brands are crisper.
Where are they made?
Brooklinen says its new Luxe Sateen is made in Portugal. Boll & Branch says its sheets are made in India.
Which fits a deep mattress?
Boll & Branch's fitted sheets take mattresses up to 17 inches. Brooklinen's are cut for up to 16 inches, with 12 to 16 the best fit.
Which is better for hot sleepers?
Neither sateen. Choose either brand's percale, which is cooler and more breathable.
Sources
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