It's slight comfort to know that I am not the only one! These deep creases across the top edge of the sheets are driving me NUTS. All of my 75 years I have slept in 100% Egyptian cotton sheets and only suffered this creasing in the last 5. I can't afford to keep changing sheets to see if one is better than another brand, weave, finish or thread count. I want to use my tumble drier. It's a modern convenience. I don't want to live with my iron in my hand either!

It would be wonderful if someone could just say ... "I have these and I don't have the problem". Please?

Elsa, Thank you for letting us know. I think I will pass on The Company Store since you had the dreaded creases in yours.

To HU-30820199:

As I posted earlier this month (January 2022), LLBean "Premium Egyptian Percale" comes as close to solving this problem as any sheet I currently know of. See more complete description in my comment above.

Is the creasing problem causing anyone physical discomfort during sleep or is it only an aesthestic concern?

This thread is for people who are bothered by the stubborn accordion creases, whether for aesthetic reasons, or because it's uncomfortable trying to sleep with the top hem of the sheet all bunched up, or because we are puzzled by the physics of why a piece of fabric can't be ironed smooth.

Since I started the thread, I will say that the stubborn accordion creases bother me for all three of these reasons.

Unfortunately I've experienced the deep accordian pleating on my L.L. Bean cotton percale sheets. It started around the 2 year mark and very quickly became unmanageable. By 3 years of use they started fraying and splitting, but with the pandemic I wasn't really in the position to go to the store and try to get them to honor their lifetime guarantee (which has since been nerfed..needed... but I bought these shortly before they ended the policy).

Here's what I mean by twisted hem on the LL Bean percale sheet. I can iron it smooth if I wet it down and maneuver the iron carefully, and it will stay smooth until laundered again. While this isn't ideal, it's a whole lot better than the stubborn accordion creases in other sheets that Will.Not.Iron.Out.

(This photo is right out of the dryer, laid out on the ironing board. The red at the right is carpet on the floor beneath.)

"Is the creasing problem causing anyone physical discomfort during sleep or is it only an aesthestic concern?"

Really neither, because the creases end up as torn fabric, as shown in the photo posted by onvitaikayan. That is exactly what happened to the pillowcase and sheet hems on my LLBean sheets. Ironing the hems doesn't matter because the friction happens in the washing machine and dryer.

Fraying on the folded edge, small holes form, and finally one can simply tear it all off easily by hand. Fortunately I have a serger(overlocker) and have simply cut the hem off with it as it finishes the cut edge, and it sure is ugly at that point. Not everyone has or needs this machine nor a sewing room. Granted, nobody sees the new ugly clean finished edge, but still... ugh.

Elsa Obuchowski - That is a bad hem; a manufacturing defect. I hope you will take the time to contact LLBean and send them a photo. They should do something for you.

I've solved the problem. I cut the top hem off and replaced with a poly/cotton top hem. Aesthetic is important. Who said it isn't. Dramatic fix but it also saved my blood pressure!!

My sheets double over on the sides constantly. This is not an aesthetic issue but rather makes the sheet shorter on the sides and thus one side of the bed gets shorted because you can't tuck in the sheets. I hate ironing but will try lower dr Temps.

I bought my teenage boys Wamsutta 525 sheets 2 years ago. I have had zero problems with them creasing. My old Costco cotton sheets were pretty good but the Kirkland 680, which Costco replaced them with, are not long staple cotton anymore so they just ripped and they were a year old . I just bought new Brooklinen sateen sheets at Christmas and they are thin and starting to crease. I wish I’d bought a linen closet of those Wamsutta 525 sheets.

When I complained to my Mum about creasing she told me to not let the top sheet ever FULLY dry in the drier, to prevent the creasing in the first place. She told me my that I was over drying my sheets. She also said to iron while it was damp.

My Mum also gave me a bottle of Mary Ellen’s Best Press. It is insane how well it works, compared to anything I’ve ever used. She teaches quilting so she’s used every type of Starch/sizing product out there.

And no, I’ve never used starch on those Wamsutta 525s, and I over dried them.

https://www.maryellenproducts.com/best-press.html

Lynette Smith - Our sateen sheets of any brand never had the accordion creases on the hems, either. It only happens on our percales. Makes me wonder if the sateen weave is resistant to this problem.

I tried a set of sateen sheets after calling Customer Service at (I think) Cuddledown of Maine. The sateen sheets I bought still had these stubborn accordion creases, though not quite as bad as some of the percale sheets. I didn't really like the feel of sateen.

Lynette Smith- Thank you for the info on the Mary Ellen's. I have ordered a bottle and hope to try it out later this week. Elsa P. Obuchowski-I had sateen sheets too but it was years and years ago. We didn't like the way they felt either and that was before I became a "hot' sleeper. No way I could sleep under them now. I think I would spontaneously combust. LOL

From my sheets, the ones that do not crease are the organic percale form Cuddledown. I usually wash them on their own to have more room in the machine. I like those sheet a lot. So far so good. I usually wash them on the sanitize cycle but now I am thinking to use the permpress more.

Lynette Smith- I received my order of Mary Ellen and tried it out. I washed and damp dried my Pottery Barn Percale flat sheet. I used the Mary Ellen spray on part of the top hem and nothing on the other half. The sheet was damp. Unfortunately, I could not tell a difference between the sides, but overall they did iron out better while damp. Sadly, I still was unable to get the deepest creases out and the area where the material is crooked/twisted was still crooked/twisted. So after my experiment I put my flat sheet back on the bed with the top hem at the bottom of the bed. For reference, I always wash my sheets separately. I never put other laundry with them. I also always dry the fitted sheet separate from the flat sheet on a low heat. From now on, I will start ironing them damp but I will save the Mary Ellen spray for other things since it didn't make a difference.

I wonder if the Mary Ellen's Best Press is similar to the spraying of diluted white vinegar that I read about. Like Melissa, I tried spraying with white vinegar but it didn't make a difference.

I never let my flat sheets stay in the dryer until fully dry; usually I don't put them in the dryer at all.

The LL Bean Premium Egyptian Percale I recently bought and photographed (hem twisted/crooked) went through the dryer because I wanted to really test it out.

As noted above, the LL Bean did not have the stubborn accordion creases. (Yay!) The twisted/crooked area is able to be ironed out when I wet it and maneuver the iron carefully.

Mary Ellen's Best Press is used to stiffen fabric, like starch or fabric sizing, but it doesn't have the ingredient(s) that attract insects if the items are stored for any length of time.

I do have a closet full of Wamsutta 525 and 625 PIma cotton sheets. The 525 do not curl up, but the 625 curl up on the sides. They continue to fold over and over themselves. I have tried everything including stitching the creases in various ways. I iron them with much much starch on the edges, because aesthetically it really bothers me, and they just keep curling up more and more. I will try all of the suggestions that will help me leave my ironing board in the closet.

Well drat. Last week, i bought some These inexpensive Costco bed sheets for the guest bedroom, that are a sateen weave. (And so thin you can almost read a newspaper through them). The edges promptly accordion-pleated up with the first wash. There goes my sateen-weave-is-immune theory.

Well, well! I’m glad I’m not the only one seriously annoyed by this problem. I don’t use the dryer much but even so have noticed these creases on the edges of the pillowcase openings. And the opening to my Duvet Cover. My theory is that once that crease has found its path in the fibres of the fabric it will naturally tend to follow that line for every subsequent wash. Grabbing the edge and pulling it diagonally in both directions while the fabric is damp can help a bit, but timing consuming as you have to creep along the whole affected area doing this. May be the first wash and a good iron while damp is super important? I have never found sheets like my Mum in England had when I was young (1960’s). She had them years and years. I think she even starched the pillow cases the old fashioned way by dipping them in a solution of starch. Laundry day was quite an effort but all that work and the quality of the fabric resulted in smooth, cool sheets. Bed time never felt so good. And I never saw any of those dreaded edges to her sheets which would be neatly turned over the blankets. Not sure many of us can go to those lengths today!

I'm so pleased this isn't something I'm messing up. I have the same problem with a top sheet from Boll and Branch. Oddly enough, the accordian pleats line up perfectly so now it looks as though the sheet has a additional little turn back. I have a friend who is a physics professor who says this phenomenon is something called "plastic deformation" and once it happens, it's impossible to put right. The sheet is wearing at the creases and will tear I'm sure before the sheet itself wears out.

this obviously is still a problem. my favorite sheets when I visit my mom are proably from the 60s or 70s on an old full size bed. thre was no sateen weave or micro fiber. i will only by a percale sheet. thread count means nothing anymore. its all a scam to make us believe we are getting a better qualiy. I really think the problem is more a change in the manufacturing process. sheets used to all have selvages on the side not turned and hammed on the sides... only top and bottom. it required different looms for a twin, full, queen and king. now the sizes are all cut and hemmed ... cut to the size. that can cause the whole sheet to be slightly on the bias. if anyone knows of a company that still makes their sheets the old fashioned way with side selvages I would love to hear about it

Cheryl Smith - even if the sheets had the selvedges on the sides, the cross-grain can still be off. I've cut too much fabric for sewing projects and rarely see anything that is woven square to the selvage. There is very little quality control in textile mills anymore.

Hallelujah! I'm so glad I, too, found this thread. For reference, my sheets are Bergen House and feel weighty and lovely. The dang creases give me a headache. I appreciate the commenter whose physics friend provided a term for the phenomenon. I'll look up that. I have a front load washer but only these sheets have the problem, about which ironing does zilch. I'll add a photo of the crease and try to calm myself.

I have sheets I bought at Home Goods that were labeled the now defunct Storehouse. They have NEVER had those dratted creases through a top loader and a front loader washer. Sheets I bought with an upscale name at Tuesday Morning crease horribly. I read somewhere it was because the sheets were incorrectly sewed.

All my sheets are 100% cotton. I’ve had the creased-top-edge problem LEAST with my older Oxford cloth sheets from Lands’ End. I speculate that it’s because the thread they are woven from is thicker. The worst creasing seems to be in my highest thread count sheets.

Appears that sheets no longer cut with grain of fabric... Doesn't seem to matter what quality.    Prices go up and quality goes down.  Very sad.

I tried L.L. Bean Premium Egyptian Percale sheets in 2021 and found -- yay! -- no accordion creases at the top. The hemming was crooked, though. I can iron it carefully and it stays w/o creases. Not perfect, but much better than trying to sleep with the sheet constantly creasing up during the night.

I'm going to buy another set now. I hope they'll still be as good as in 2021, maybe better (without the crooked alignment).

Success!

I learned of the brand Brooklinen as they are listed on the Sleep Foundation website as a good source for percale bedding.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/best-sheets/best-percale-sheets 

I bought their Core (percale) set. The texture is crisp as expected with Percale, nice and smooth, and a bit more light and airy than some other percales. https://www.brooklinen.com/products/classic-core-sheet-set?variant=24297002054&galopt=true 

Before use, I washed them in cold water and tumbled dry as directed. They came out of the dryer with none of the annoying accordion creases—none on the sheet and none on the pillowcases. I'm so pleased!

I do like to iron my sheets. These were easier to iron than other sheets I own because they didn't wrinkle much in the dryer.

To review: LL Bean Premium Egyptian Percale are good. Brooklinen Core Percale are excellent -- problem solved!

Unfortunately, I’ve not had the same experience with my Brooklinen percale sheets. They were excellent for the first two months. Then the accordian creasing on the sides started, followed by a deep crease along the top hem. I’ve had them 6 months, wash in cold on gentle, tumble dry on low and remove when slightly damp. I love how light and crisp they are, so I’m disappointed.

Chelsea H, oooh that is disappointing!

Do you iron your Brooklinen percale sheets? I do. I wonder if that will prevent the creases from forming. What do you think?

I didn’t read the entire thread, but heard this is a result of manufacturing process. Most of the large mills in the USA have closed and the process is sent overseas and they don’t have the very large mills/weaving machines we had in the US.

I am so glad I found this discussion! Over the years, I have tried so many different sheets (always percale) and I am hopeful the LL Bean Premium Egyptian Sheets will live up to the good reviews I read here. I just received my order today and after the first washing, there are no deep creases. Hooray! Thanks to everyone who shared their experience with these sheets. Fingers crossed that the dreaded creases don't appear in the future.

To add another data point to the Brooklinen discussion, I tried their Core (percale) sheet set and they developed accordion creases along the long side of the flat sheet and some deep creases in the finished end of the pillow cases and the flat sheet after a month or so. I couldn't fully get rid of the creases even after ironing. And the creases always came back when I washed them. I followed the washing/drying instructions to the letter, but things only got worse because the fabric started to wear along the crease. I was so disappointed.

I call BS on the manufacturing cause; it happens even to my Frette percale sheets at the top of the flat sheet They need to be aggressively ironed each time The only percale sheets I have ever had that did not do this were Pratesi — and they are insanely expensive at >2x Frette

Not Frette! well, THAT sucks I know staff I worked with ironed Frette sheets, but I don't remember the edges issue

Thanks, HU-959808326 for mentioning Pratesi. I had not heard of this maker. Just looked at their website -- wow, you are right, they are VERY expensive. It looks like $1,000 or more for one flat sheet.

Also, their flat sheets don't come in smaller sizes (twin [aka single bed] and full [aka double bed]), just "Full/Queen" and King. Apparently their "Special Projects" option would let you choose the size you need, but I would guess this is even more expensive than their ready-to-use lines.

The fitted sheets and flat bottom sheets come in a more complete range of sizes, with prices starting at $525 for twin.

Re: Frette, I just looked at their website and I'm seeing they don't offer Full size, which is what I would need. And their prices are in the high hundreds up into four figures.

Re: Brooklinen, after 2 months of regular use and washing, my sheets and pillowcases haven't formed the dreaded creases so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Would love to hear others' experience with the L L Bean Premium Egyptian. If they continue to perform well, I may buy another set of those.

Elsa P., yes I iron them and have used starch, sizing, and some special quilters’ starch. Also tried steaming. The deep flattens somewhat but is still visible. after one sleep, the creases and folds return.

None of my sheets ever had this problem before the past several years. It drives me crazy!

Having sewn and quilted for many years my suspicion is that the top birder accordion problem is caused during the manufacturing process.

This kind of problem can occur when fabrics are not cut on the straight of the grain and also sewn that way. Think of hems on some dresses and tops that don't lay flat but have a wrinkle in them.

Cheap labor/piecework = low quality.

Interesting. It is so aggravating.

This drives me crazy, too. I‘ve only had this problem for the past several years.

I have sewn and quilted for years and I suspect the problem occurs during the manufacturing process. If fabric is not cut on the straight of the grain and in the case of flat items sewn that way, it won’t lay flat. Think of the hems on dresses or tops where they have a wrinkle in them and don’t lay flat.

My opinion- cheap labor/piecework = low quality. Most manufacturers have their items made overseas because of cheaper labor costs. Check the labels or online details. It’s very frustrating!

Yes, istudley the manufacturing process (cut & sewn without having the grain properly straight) is what some others on this topic have guessed.

As of now (end of July), still holding well with my Brooklinen percale sheets, which are now a good 3 months old. Wondering if others are having good results with LL Bean Premium Egyptian.

We *very* frequently stay in hotel; so, why do we never see top sheets with creases?

I've wondered the same thing, HU-741380174.

I peeked at the label of a sheet in a place where we stayed and saw that it was a Polyester-Cotton blend. Next time I travel, I'm going to have to look at the labels with more curiosity.

Hotel sheets are ironed.

But,

chitownksmith the stubborn creases this forum is about cannot be ironed out. Perhaps commercial ironing that hotels use has a heavier and hotter process than what we can do with a regular steam iron at home?

I've tried wetting the fabric before I iron it, spraying it with diluted white vinegar, extra steam, and of course the hottest setting.

It's now been several months since I bought my Brooklinen percale sheets and I'm pretty happy to report that they have no stubborn creases so far. I do iron them, of course. Ditto for my L L Bean Premium Egyptian percale sheets.

Well, that's true however, they probably use a mangle, which can iron out world poverty if you put it to the test!

I bought a set of sateen sheets from Macy's and they do not seem to have the problem like the sheets I got with a fancy name. I have to wash my sheets on hot because of dust mite allergies, and I don't think the temp makes a difference. The problem is caused by the manufacturer. Note that the 20+ yr old ones from Storehouse. both pillow cases and sheets, still fold nicely. No creases. Manufacturers are cutting corners, I think.

I think the problem is caused by how washing machines now work compared to how they worked 20 years ago. I have a new top loader, without the traditional center post agitator. Washing the top sheet separately, on "delicate" setting and "deep fill". Wastes water though. Iron the hem as soon as the spin cycle stops, before going in the dryer.

Older machines used to fill the tub with water, which probably resulted in less compressing of the items being washed, which resulted in less creasing during the wash cycle. Now, washing machines on normal cycles use much less water, so the items being washed appear to be subject to more compressing. The hems appear to bend more during that process than the lighter edges. Also, the spin cycle is faster with newer washing machines. I suspect that the low spin cycle on a newer machine is still noticeably faster than the low spin cycle on a washing machine made 20 years ago. If you wash the top sheet by hand in a tub, I suspect there would be no creasing on the top hem, but who wants to do that every week.