Ready to get cozy? We researched dozens of options and purchased 8 of the best flannel sheets for intensive side-by-side testing. We put these sheets through the wringer — both literally and metaphorically — sleeping in them through chilly winter nights and laundering them repeatedly to test their durability. We lounged late into the morning, reading books and spilling coffee on the sheets; we goofed around in the evenings, sloshing around red wine and wrestling with the dog. We scrutinized these sheets for quality and construction, compared how they feel next to each other, and considered the variety of options for colors and patterns. Whether you're here for the plush experience or the bargain buy, we've got the right set of flannel sheets for you.
You deserve a great night's sleep, and our teams offer their expert advice about how to best cozy up your bedroom. Flannel sheets are most comfortable when there's a chill in the air, and they pair perfectly with a toasty, top-ranked electric blanket or one of our favorite comforters. But if the weather is warmer, perhaps something lighter like Egyptian cotton sheets or the best cooling sheets are more suited to the season. Whatever your preference, we've rounded up the best of the best sheets to help make your selection a little easier.The 4 Best Flannel Sheets
Our Top Picks
For an all-around excellent set of flannel sheets, check out the warm and cozy Eddie Bauer Premium Cotton Flannel Collection. These sheets offer great temperature regulation — they're substantial enough that they keep us comfortably warm on cold nights, yet still lightweight enough that we don't get drenched in sweat. They feel fuzzy and soft on the skin, though not overly fluffy to the point where they stick to your pajamas when you move to turn over. And while we can't vouch for their ability to last a decade or more, we read numerous online testimonials of these sheets doing exactly that, and our inspections of their construction and level of pilling at the end of our testing add credence to their durability. Almost everyone is likely to find a design that they like, thanks to the wide array of prints and patterns available.
If you're looking for the thickest, plushest, and fuzziest sheets available, the Eddie Bauer Premium Flannel set may be disappointing. We feel these sheets have a much broader appeal specifically because they're not overly extreme. Like many other contenders, the Eddie Bauer sheets tend to get some wrinkles and hem creases, which may annoy those searching for wrinkle-free sheets. Regardless, this is a killer set of sheets, and we love the performance, fit, and feel they offer. If you really want those super-warm or fluffy extremes for your bed, consider the super soft and plush Laura Ashley or Bare Home sets.
Material: 100% cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: None
If you're here for the thickest, fluffiest, snuggliest set of flannel bedding you can get your hands on but also want to save a few bucks, the Bare Home Double Brushed Cotton Flannel set is a superb choice. These soft and velvety sheets are thick and gloriously warm to wrap up in on cold nights. They're well-made and one of the few options we tested to feature double-stitching along the hems, paired with stronger elastic than most of the others. These feature fairly deep-stretching, 15" pockets, and we love that the fitted sheet also includes a "BOTTOM" tag, so you put the sheet on correctly the first go-round. Even better, with an OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, you can rest easy knowing that these cozy, luxurious sheets aren't harboring harmful chemicals.
In an unusual twist, the Bare Home flannel sheets are meant to be shrunk in the wash, so they come a little large to accommodate the anticipated shrinkage. After precisely following the included instructions, they were still slightly too big for our queen bed, but they managed to stay put all the same. This extra room in the flat sheet and pillowcases actually wound up being an unexpected treat in a sea of otherwise slightly smaller-than-ideal bedding sets. Pajama wearers may also find these super fluffy linens cling a little more to clothing than desired. That said, they're not the clingiest set we tested. At the end of the day, these sheets are our prime pick for serious warmth on a budget.
Material: 100% cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified
The Mellanni Organic Cotton Heavyweight flannels are a decent set of sheets that cost less than many others — and are made of GOTS certified organic, sustainable cotton to boot. Though they're double-brushed like many others, they still maintain a bit of crispness at first. This helps to maintain larger pockets of air around your body, which, while it takes a little longer to warm up, works very well for thermoregulation throughout the night. We also found the flat sheet was far less clingy than most flannel due to less fuzziness on the underside. Mellanni advertises a 16" pocket depth, and though we measured the corner seam at just 15", it's still one of the deepest-stretching pockets of any we tested, making this set a good choice for thicker mattresses. These had some of the thickest, most robust elastic of the fitted sheets reviewed here, adding extra confidence to their ability to contain your mattress night after night.
The trade-off to a crisper, less fuzzy flat sheet is that it's not quite as warm-feeling as most of the others. However, we expect these sheets — like just about all flannel — will continue to soften up and become softer with more use. But if you're looking for fluffy, these will take some work to get there. They're also offered in relatively few colors — about half a dozen plaid and solid color options. Though they may need some breaking in to reach your desired level of softness, for organic flannel on a budget, these are hard to beat.
Material: 100% cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: GOTS certified organic
Great Bay makes a LOT of flannel sheets, and we tested several different sets, including these from the Belle collection. They're soft and supple and easy to enjoy. Their 170 GSM weight is the low end of "heavyweight," adding warmth and durability without being excessively warm. They're soft without being clingy, making for a more pleasant sleeping experience for those of us who toss and turn. The 14" deep fitted sheet fits our thinner mattress just fine, though we're dubious it would be such a good fit on a thicker mattress. Between the plethora of prints available in the Belle collection and the many other flannel collections with more unique prints, we're sure just about everyone can find something to love here. And they're pretty reasonably priced for this lineup, too.
The construction, however, is not the most impressive. They're not terrible, just about average for this group of contenders. Depending on how you sleep, "average" may be just fine for your bed. They also pilled more by our feet than many other models, which doesn't bode well. We found several conflicting sources of information regarding their construction, with some saying they're OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified and others making no such claim. The set we tested did not have the official OEKO-TEX tag, so we're guessing this particular set isn't certified. Still, they're a pretty solid and likable flannel sheet set, with a ton of fun and whimsical prints and patterns.
Material: 100% Turkish cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: OEKO-TEX claimed but not verified
Though they didn't win any awards this time around, the Laura Ashley Home Premium Ultra Soft is an excellent set of flannel sheets. They fall into a very comfortable middle ground of skin feel — soft enough to be almost velvety but not quite so thick. They're fleecy and pliable, creating a very cozy nest that drapes around you, cradling you off to sleep. Their 160 GSM sets them as a middle-ground contender when it comes to warmth as well, and does a great job maintaining a pleasant temperature throughout the night. They have an unusual diagonally oriented pocket seam that allows their 15" depth to stretch farther than we expected. They managed to stay pretty wrinkle-free all through our testing and can be ironed on low if you so desire.
On the downside, the Laura Ashley flannels cling to clothing pretty intensely. Out of the sets we tested, this is one of the few that wound up crumpled in the middle of the bed after a full night of sleep. The extra fuzz sticking up provides more warmth than their weight might suggest, but it also causes us to worry they may pill more quickly. Over time, pilling causes a loss in thickness, weight, and eventually, heat-trapping ability. With that said, we didn't encounter any major issues with this happening during our testing. If you're here for the color options, these are available in a pretty limited selection of plaids and florals. And yet, if you do like their look and are down for a pretty comfortable all-around set of sheets, these are a good bet.
Material: 100% cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: None
A handful of the flannel sets we tested fall solidly into the category of "velvet-feeling," and the Stone & Beam Rustic Solid Cotton Flannel is one of them. It stands out from the crowd as being one of very few sets with a flat sheet that's big enough to please just about everybody. There's plenty of room for tucking it under the foot of the bed and a very respectable amount of overhang on each side. Its 15" pockets are pretty accurately sized, unlike so many others that feel larger or smaller than their claim, and its velvet-like nature helps hold it in place very easily. We're pleased to report the set we tested exhibited quality construction and wider elastic with a good strength around the edge of the fitted sheet.
Following the pattern of velvet feeling being an indicator of clinginess, the Stone & Beam are on the clingy side, even for flannel. It's not something we can't live with, but if you frequently turn over in the middle of the night, these might be a bit much for you. There are a few pieces of information about these sheets that we couldn't locate, like the GSM weight. Though they come in an extremely limited selection of plain colors, we still found a lot to love about these warm, cozy sheets.
Material: 100% cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified
Very similar to the Great Bay Home Belle Collection, the Great Bay Home Lakeview Collection is a pretty standard set of easy-to-love flannel sheets. They're on the lighter end of ones we tested, at 170 GSM, and fit most standard-thickness beds with their 14" deep pockets that have a little extra stretch. They're soft and feel pleasant on the skin without being too clingy on clothes. While not quite as warm as heavier, thicker models, they offer solid thermoregulation to get you through the night without sweating or waking up cold. They also come in a fun range of playful winter prints and are on the less expensive side of our lineup.
Though they fit and stay on the bed, the fitted sheet was very tight to pull across the top of our mattress. We're not sure if it shrunk in our cold laundering process or if it wasn't quite the right dimensions to begin with, but it did make us worry that we might accidentally rip it trying to put it on. The construction is slightly less robust than some of the more premium sheets we tested, further compounding these fears. A minor gripe, but we also didn't love that the pillowcases must have their ends facing the same direction, or one of the prints will be upside down.
Material: 100% Turkish cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: None
If you're searching for the fuzzy warmth of flannel but aren't ready to give up the crispness of your summertime cotton linens, the Ruvanti Double Brushed Cotton might be just your cup of tea. Despite being "double-brushed," they are far less fluffy and fuzzy than any other set we tested, maintaining more space around your body for better airflow. They also have some of the deepest pockets of any we tested here, making them a better choice for thicker mattresses.
Yet they're not a set we'd keep coming back to, trying to eke out a few more minutes in the morning. They're just not that soft. It's possible — and arguably probable — that they will eventually soften up over repeated launderings, but we washed every set multiple times and couldn't detect a significant change in these. They were very prone to static, almost clinging to themselves like velcro. Color options are also limited, and they're all plaid. But for a marriage of flannel and crispness, the Ruvanti just may be your best bet.
Material: 100% cottonPillowcase Style: Standard
Health Rating: OEKO-TEX claimed but not verified
Why You Should Trust Us
We researched dozens of the most popular and best-rated flannel bedding sets on the market before buying this lineup of the most promising options for comparative testing. Though we don't have years to test every set, we make up for that by putting these sheets through some rigorous side-by-side testing. We scrutinized fabrics and construction methods, looking for flaws and weak points. We put them next to each other to compare elastics, hems, seams, and sizes. We slept in every set and sent them each through the laundry repeatedly. We let red wine stains dry, wrestled with dogs, snuggled in pajamas, and sweated in every set just to see if they could take it. We noted how soft they are, how much they cling to clothes, and how smelly they got. We scoured the internet, reading hundreds of testimonials and complaints to see if we could find the same faults. What remains is an honest and unbiased summary of our findings so you can find your perfect sheets.
Senior Review Editor Maggie Nichols heads up this review. Maggie lives in the high desert of northern Nevada, where temperatures plunge in the winter, and flannel sheets are ideal. She also grew up in the frigid plains of the upper Midwest, learning early on that she suffers from a syndrome characterized by extremely poor circulation to her extremities. Nowadays, she works from home, spending an above-average amount of time between layers of sheets. Maggie has applied her background conducting scientific research and her significant experience testing home goods and backcountry gear into designing in-depth tests of the candidates you see here. Her elderly dog, Madeline, also contributes her napping experience and shedding expertise to every set.
Analysis and Test Results
We humans need plenty of sleep, spending, on average, a third of our lives in bed. In the winter, when nights are cold and long, many of us spend even more time curled up under the sheets. With so much of our time using these home goods, it's important to know you've got the right ones. We broke down our intensive testing process into five metrics to fully encompass every aspect that makes sheets great — or terrible. By separately scoring each contender's performance in every metric and weighting those metrics based on their overall importance, a clear picture of each sheet set emerged. Below, we break down those overall scores into their individual metrics, discussing which flannel stands out where.
Skin Feel
As a fabric meant to lay over you and cuddle you all through the long winter nights, how your set of flannel sheets feels against your skin is very important. We carefully tested and compared this number-one metric, putting every contender side by side to tease apart even the most minute differences between them. We slept and laid in every set to see how they felt, both in the buff and pajama-laden. We considered wide-ranging attributes like softness, clinginess, flexibility, and texture.
While many of us think of "flannel" as a specific pattern often on a button-up shirt (that's called plaid, by the way), flannel is a way of making fabric softer. Flannel can be made from many different types of fibers, including wool and cotton, as well as synthetic materials. What makes it flannel is its characteristically soft feel. This can be made by weaving loose fabric, which allows stray fibers to pop up and out of the fabric, creating that fuzzy layer. It can also be done mechanically by "brushing" one or both sides of the fabric to encourage those fibers to stick out without having to undergo the longer process of breaking them in that unbrushed flannel often has.
For sheer pleasure on your skin, it's tough to beat the exceptional luxury of the velvet-like flannel sets we tested. The Bare Home Double Brushed feel incredibly soft, pliable, smooth, and positively glorious to lay between. This set had us hitting snooze and trying to stay in bed "just five more minutes." The Stone & Beam Rustic flannel set is a close runner-up — clearly in the velvet camp, though they feel slightly thinner than the Bare Home. These sheet sets are exceptionally soft and fluffy, though they're also far more clingy than your average flannel bedding.
The Laura Ashley Ultra Soft is another impressive contender here. Just shy of being velveteen, these flannel linens are still softer than the rest of the more standard-feeling sheets, though they proved to be among the clingiest models we tested. The Eddie Bauer Premium set is our favorite of the more standard-feeling flannel sheets we tested. They're soft and supple without being very clingy or too hot (or too cold!). Both the Great Bay Home Belle and Lakeview sheets are impressive in their softness and coziness, without being on the same level of clingy as the velvet-like sheets or the Laura Ashley set.
Temperature Control
The next most important part of sheets is how well they regulate your temperature. No one likes waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat or shivering, so maintaining an even and comfortable temperature is crucial. Comparing contenders on this front included tests of thickness and fabric weight, gauging space left around our curled bodies under the sheets, and lots of laying around and observing. We tested temperature regulation while curled away from running fans, through freezing nights, and while lingering in a sun-drenched morning bed.
While many natural fiber sheets will list their thread count as an indicator of their thickness, this is not a helpful measurement in flannel sheets. Flannel is brushed — and often double brushed — to encourage loose cotton ends to stick out of the sheet, helping to trap more air and therefore keep you warmer. Creating these air pockets is paramount to maintaining even heating but is not easily described by thread count, which only refers to the actual count of threads in a square inch. Instead, flannel sheets are measured in GSM or Grams per Square Meter. This rating system is a measurement of the weight (in grams or sometimes in ounces) of the fabric per square yard. This gives a much more accurate picture of the softness and thickness of flannel fabrics.
In general, a GSM of 170 (or about 5 ounces) is considered "heavyweight" and is used ideally in cold climates and for sleepers who need even more warmth on their beds. Flannel bedding with a GSM of 130 or less (about 3.8 ounces) is considered lightweight, offering more breathability but less overall warmth. In between 130 GSM and 170 GSM is generally a good weight for year-round flannel usage — though of course, that depends on your climate and sleeping preferences.Both the Eddie Bauer Premium and Laura Ashley Ultra Soft provide excellent temperature control. They're on the lighter end of sheets we tested, at 170 GSM and 160 GSM, respectively. They're thick enough to feel warm right away on a cold winter night without being so thick they trap excessive body heat that leaves you waking up in a puddle of sweat at 3 am. They're both mediumly drapey, laying comfortably over your body without being so close that you feel you're sleeping inside a stifling cocoon. This makes them great contenders for hot sleepers, milder climates, and beds with mixed hot and cold sleepers.
The Great Bay Home Belle flannels are a similar weight and thickness to the Eddie Bauer and Laura Ashley, providing above-average temperature regulation. Despite being fluffier and feeling thicker, the Stone & Beam Rustic offers surprisingly good thermoregulation, helping you get warm quickly without becoming overheated later in the night. If you're a cold sleeper or live in a colder environment and need some extra warmth from your sheets, the Bare Home Double Brushed sheets are a pretty good bet. They're a bit less breathable than the others we've mentioned, but if you tend to be cold when you sleep, they'll likely be a welcome addition to your winter bed.
Utility
Sheets that don't fit your bed, pop off in the middle of the night, or release your pillows into the wilderness are simply annoying to use. We tested every contender on a standard-sized queen bed, checking to see how well they fit after washing, how well they tuck into place, and how well they stay after a night of sleep. We measured pocket depths, noted flat sheet overhang, and challenged pillowcases to contain our pillows. We also looked into all the options each has available, from how many sizes of beds they can cover to the number of colors, prints, and patterns you can choose from.
We won't take a poll, but we know that many people sleep naked. Even if you wear a t-shirt and sweatpants to bed, your exposed skin spends all night touching your sheets and pillowcases. Making sure those fabrics aren't harboring lingering harmful chemicals from their manufacturing process isn't a bad idea. And knowing if they have been made sustainably is even better. There are a few third-party certifications that can help you understand your linens — however, take note if your bedding actually comes with the official certification tag or if they're simply claiming a certification they may not actually have earned.
An OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification means that the end product in your hands has been tested for trace amounts of harmful and toxic chemicals and have passed the test by not having those chemicals in them. OEKO-TEX offers other certifications as well. One is the MADE IN GREEN certification. This goes beyond the testing for residual harmful chemicals done in the Standard 100 certification and also verifies that the manufacturing process uses sustainable processes in environmentally friendly facilities and under socially responsible working conditions.
Similarly, fabrics can be certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard. Like the OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN certification, the GOTS tag on your sheets means that they have been made using over 95% organic fibers, with no traces remaining of harmful chemicals (many of which are banned from ever going into the manufacturing process in the first place), and are grown and made using environmentally sustainable methods and manufacturing processes that are supported by socially responsible working conditions. Any fabrics boasting this certification have undergone a rigorous and thorough examination and testing of their entire supply chain that upholds some of the most stringent standards in the textile industry today.The Eddie Bauer Premium set once again makes the top of the list. Their diagonally stitched pocket seam helps them be more adaptable to deeper mattresses than their 15" measurement led us to believe. They also come in an astonishing array of patterns and prints that somehow all look both cute and classy, from stripes and plaids to a myriad of little winter scenes. The Laura Ashley Ultra Soft set is the other option we tested with a similar diagonally corner pocket that at first seems odd but quickly proves itself useful in adapting to a greater variety of beds.
When it comes to flat sheets, the Stone & Beam Rustic has plenty of overhanging fabric both at the foot and over the sides of the bed. The Eddie Bauer Premium, Laura Ashley Ultra Soft, and Mellani Organic are also large enough for adequate tucking room at the foot of the bed and reasonable amounts of overhang on each side. None of the flannel sets we tested have envelope pillowcases, though, and pretty much all of them let our pillows start to escape during the night — though it definitely depends on the individual pillow's size and exterior fabric. When it comes to lots of color and print options, we tested two sets of sheets made by Great Bay Homes, with reasonably similar performances (though see their sections above to learn where they differ) and unique sets of funky and fun prints and patterns.
Ease of Cleaning
While laundering sheets may seem like an easy, straightforward task, we put that to the test. We read directions — if they came with them — and then tried washing each accordingly. Every set was cleaned repeatedly, and we recorded how easy or difficult the directions were to follow and what effect they had on the sheets. We observed which ones wrinkle readily and which seem to look freshly ironed even when they haven't been. We also were a bit cruel to these sheets. Every set was subjected to a big red wine stain and a large labrador-mix dog who loves to shed while she naps. We slopped coffee and had snacks and then washed them again and took note of which cleaned up easily and which required more diligence.
If you're like us, our parents and grandparents always told us to wash bedding in hot water to thoroughly sanitize it. However, with modern washing machines and more powerful, concentrated detergents than ever before, this long-standing rule can be cheerfully retired. Your washing machine and even the most basic laundry detergent are more than capable of completely cleaning your sheets using cold water. Not only will cleaning your sheets (and all your clothes) using cold water help them to last much longer, running them through the dryer — even on a low heat setting — will remove any microscopic nasties that may have survived the trip through the washing machine.
Perhaps more importantly, flannel bedding made of natural fibers (like cotton and wool) will shrink if they get too hot. Washing them in cold water helps them stay the same size, as does cutting down the amount of time they spend in the drier and getting them out still slightly damp, to air dry the rest of the way on your bed (or on the clothesline). You should also think twice before ironing your bedding, as overheating them can cause damage. Perhaps most importantly, you should always save the tags on your sheets to be sure you're following the very specific (and shockingly diverse) care instructions manufacturers may recommend for their products.Notably, every single flannel set went through our red wine stain testing, and every single one of them required two runs through the washing machine to remove their stains. As all the sets we tested are 100% cotton, this isn't overly surprising. Their similar makeups are backed up by fairly similar washing instructions, involving cold water and low heat to dry. A few specifically mentioned they can be ironed using low heat if you really need to, including the Mellani Organic and Laura Ashley Ultra Soft. Many of them were fairly wrinkle-resistant, including the Laura Ashley Ultra Soft and Eddie Bauer Premium.
Because of their fuzzy nature, all of these sheets we prone to collecting dog hair. They all clean up just fine in the washer, though, and none of them retained any noticeable nasty smells during our testing. Nearly all of them shed copious amounts of lint the first couple of times through the dryer, which, again, is to be expected from flannel, but this tapered off through subsequent launderings. Only the Ruvanti Double Brushed had any issues outside of the norm here. This set had an off-putting chemical smell when we first unpackaged them. Though this smell went away after being washed, they failed to soften up much after laundering, expelling minimal lint. They consistently came out of the dryer very staticky, even when — using the exact same methods — no other set of flannels did.
Durability
Though no sheets can truly last a lifetime, they also should last through more than a season of toenails, late-night snacks, and laundering. Without years to test every set as you would at home, we implemented methods to approximate extra wear as best we could. We slept on them and kicked around violently with bare feet, played aggressively with a large dog, and even combed through thousands of online testimonials to find recurring issues others may have had. We also inspected every seam, hem, fuzzy fabric, and elastic band, comparing them directly to one another. Having tested dozens of sets of sheets over many months, we took careful note of which ones seem suspect or unimpressive in their potential to withstand years of keeping you cozy.
While we love flannel because of its ability to keep us warm, those very same heat-trapping properties make it a less durable fabric, prone to little fuzzballs popping up all over the fabric (those are the "pills"). Flannel is designed to encourage the ends of the fibers making up the fabric to stick out from the surface, creating that soft, velvety, heat-imprisoning surface that makes it so cozy to snuggle up in all winter long. Thicker, heavier flannels are better equipped to last a bit longer than their thinner counterparts, but all can and will pill to some extent by their very nature. However, if they're pilling too much and you're sleeping in a sea of little fabric balls, it may be an indicator that your sheets are on their last legs.
Having tested, inspected, and compared several dozen top-rated sheet sets, we're impressed by the durability of the Eddie Bauer Premium set. They're well put together without being overbuilt, and resistant to pilling during our testing. They feature neat, tidy stitching, clean seams, and hems all over. Though we couldn't spend years testing them, this is the only set in our lineup that is backed up by numerous online testimonials of people happily using them for years. The Bare Home Double Brushed set doesn't have the same longevity for many folks, but we still found several happy reports of holding up well through significant use. And they have the durable construction to back it up. This set is the only one in this lineup that has double-stitched hems, and its elastic is wider than average, with a good, solid amount of stretch.
The Bare Home Double Brushed is also one of just a few options we tested to come with a health rating, carrying an OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification. The Stone & Beam Rustic also comes bearing this official tag. The Mellanni Organic sheet set comes with the even more impressive GOTS organic certification, labeling them as organic and sustainably grown and produced.
Conclusion
Much like underwear, finding the right set of sheets for your bed can be a very personal endeavor. There's no Goldilocks formula for the best bed sheets that will be loved by literally everyone. We always strive to go above and beyond just comparing stats by actually sleeping in them to find which ones are great for various purposes. It's our hope that our thorough investigation helps you determine the best flannel sheets to create your ideal nest.
— Maggie Nichols
