Flannel is now available in an array of colors and patterns –just in time for winter’s chill
It's warm and fuzzy flannel weather
If flannel sheets make you think of jolly snowman patterns or polar bears adrift in a winter wonderland, you need to crawl out from under the covers and take a look around. Elegant prints, rich plaids and sophisticated colors offer an alternative to cutesie patterns (not that there’s anything wrong with candy-cane toting penguins).
Among the stylish options this season are L. L. Bean’s Ultrasoft flannel sheets in solid colors – Bay Leaf, Nautical Red and Silver Blue, to name a few – as well as ticking stripes and buffalo plaids.
Lands’ End includes among its offerings flannels in stripes, herringbone, plaids, floral prints and paisleys.
And other flannels – some spotted at discounted prices – can be found at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, JCPenney and elsewhere.
Flannel bedding is widely available, and while quality, weights and prices vary, it definitely has become an option for more people.
This winter, as temperatures drop and concerns over high utility bills rise, even the unconverted may look twice at them – along with other warm bedding options such as down comforters.
“I sleep on them year-round. They’re just cozy and comforting, and that’s what going to bed means,” said Mimo Fried, an artist who lives in a log house in the Town of Concord.
She orders hers from L.L. Bean – “in all the terrific colors.”
“And then, of course, you have your duvet cover in the same flannel. It’s like going into a cocoon, your flannel cocoon,” said Fried, who sets her thermostat in the lower 60s.
What exactly is flannel? Cotton Incorporated, an American trade group, defines flannel as “a soft, medium weight plain or twill weave fabric, usually made of cotton with a napped finish on one or both sides. The raised surface provides a fluffy appearance and super soft, cozy feel.”
Why flannel? As Cheryl Mendelson writes in her book “Home Comforts: the Art & Science of Keeping House”: Cotton flannel sheets “feel warmer than regular sheets because they have a fuzzy surface that traps air.”
They also don’t have that initial icy feeling that is so unpleasant in a cold bedroom, she wrote (the same can be said for knit sheets).
Not that flannel sheets are for everyone.
“l hate them. They are too sticky for me; your nightgown sticks to them,” said Janet Wetter, a Buffalo resident and development manager for Western New York Heritage Press.
“There definitely are two camps. I think most of my family is non-flannel,” she added.
And there’s often another problem. Even the most compatible people may disagree when it comes to flannel. One bed partner finds them warm and cozy. The other feels as if he/she is sleeping in a sauna.
That was the problem David W. Haggerty, of Tacoma, Wash., faced. That’s why he invented Split the Sheets, which recently were featured on QVC.
The sheets are split down the center with cotton on one half; polar fleece (rather than flannel) on the other.
Even the pillowcases are accommodating. According to the Web site, www.splitthesheets.com: “The pillowcases are manufactured with polar fleece on one side and cotton on the other. Just flip the pillowcase over to receive the comfort you want at any time.”
A queen-size set — one flat sheet, one fitted and two pillowcases — cost about $80.
Manufacturers also have worked to improve flannel sheets, making the pockets deeper for today’s thicker mattresses and using color processes that prevent fading, for example.
At Lands’ End, one option is a flannel with a no-iron finish that is said to keep them looking neat, feeling smooth. The finish also helps reduce pilling.
Flannels also come in weights. Lands’ End describes its Essential 5-ounce flannel as “perfectly comfortable to sleep in year-round.” Use it solo during the warmer months or layer under a blanket or comforter during the cooler months.
Its Ultimate 6-ounce flannel “offers incredibly warm comfort on the coldest nights, in the coldest climates, without needing to pile on blankets and comforters.”
Its 5-ounce no-iron flannel solid queen sheet set sells for $89.50; its 6-ounce no-iron flannel solid queen sheet set sells for $149.50.
And L.L. Bean, which includes customers’ reviews of its flannel sheets on its Web site, brags that its Ultrasoft Flannel Sheets are “brushed on both sides for extra softness” and that they “resist shrinkage and pilling, wash after wash.”
But there may be this problem with flannel sheets — and all warm bedding, for that matter.
It’s going to be very, very hard to crawl out of your warm nest those cold winter mornings.
