5 Best Flannel Sheets for a Cozy Bed, Tested in Our Labs

• Riley Reversible Flannel Sheet Set: For those who love the warmth and coziness of flannel sheets, this set from Riley Home has an ultra-soft feel, thanks to the brushed surface, paired with strong, durable fabric. It also proved stronger than other flannel sheets in our Lab tests, with higher scores for fabric strength and dimensional stability. Our experts also appreciate how each sheet set is reversible, meaning you can easily swap between the lighter and darker shades. On the downside, the brand offers limited sizes and only three colors. Overall, these were our favorite flannel sheets, but they're — unfortunately — on final sale.
• Lands' End Comfy Super Soft Cotton Flannel Bed Sheet Set: We recently tested these flannel sheets and received positive reviews on comfort from testers. They also performed fairly well in durability tests. Unfortunately, even though it's a known issue with flannel sheets in general, we noticed more pilling than usual with this set. The sheets also shrank a fair amount in wash tests.
• L.L.Bean Ultrasoft Comfort Flannel Sheet Set: While a lot of the brand's bedding has performed well in our tests, these don’t live up to the hype. They aren’t pill resistant and shrank the most in our tests. They are, however, undeniably soft.

The Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab has tested over 300 flannel, percale, sateen and jersey sheet sets in the past few years both in the Lab and with consumer testers, collecting more than 10,000 data points to gauge performance and durability.

Here are a few of the things our analysts assess when choosing the best flannel sheets:

• Dimensional stability: Sheets are repeatedly washed according to their care labels and scored for shrinkage and appearance after the first and fifth wash cycles. Our laundering process uses detergent, washers and dryers required by industry standards.
• Wrinkle resistance: Immediately after the first and fifth laundering of each sheet, we move the sheets to a room with specialized lighting to assess any creases or wrinkles using industry-standard assessments.
• Fabric strength: We measure the tensile strength of each sheet by loading fabric specimens into our Instron machine, which then measures the force needed to break the material.
• Pilling resistance: Our abrasion machine, called a Martindale, rubs swatches of fabric together exactly 1,000 times to mimic harsher conditions similar to real-life wear and tear over time. The swatches are then scored for signs of pilling — loose strands or pieces of balled-up fabric that build up over time — using industry standards.
• Consumer testing: Our testing panel rates the softness and comfort of each sheet after initial laundering, either in a blind comparison or over a long period of sleep testing in their own homes. Consumer testers also provide additional feedback and scores for ease of use, overall fit, appearance and temperature regulation.

✔️Material: Flannel is a medium-weight fabric that's been mechanically finished to create a napped or fuzzy surface on one or both sides for its characteristic soft and cozy feel. When looking for flannel sheets, you may see websites comparing cotton to flannel, but in reality, most flannel sheets are made of 100% cotton. You can also find them made of polyester. If you don’t mind synthetic fibers that may not be as inherently breathable as cotton, polyester is less expensive, more durable and easier to wash, but likely won't feel as soft as cotton.

✔️Fabric weight: Some flannel sheets list the fabric weight in either ounces per square yard or grams per square meter, instead of a thread count. Generally, the heavier the fabric weight, the warmer the material. If you're looking for a heavier, cozier fabric, consider shopping for a fabric that weighs at least 5 ounces per square yard or 170 gsm.

✔️Depth: If you have a thicker mattress, check to see the maximum depth of the fitted sheet to make sure it's a good fit for your bed.

✔️Price: You won't have to spend a fortune to find great sheets. Our experts have found that the $100 to $200 range is optimal for both good value and high quality. Outside of that range, there are some luxury options over $200 that are worth splurge as well as excellent sets under $100.

✔️Organic certifications: Organic claims are often misused in the bedding industry. While many sheets use organically grown cotton in their construction, the best way to ensure the sheets are fully organic is to see if it's been certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), which outlines strict standards for the entire production process. You can often check whether a brand is certified through the GOTS public database.

Grace Wu most recently updated this article. She's a textiles product review analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute and has tested over 50 sheet sets. She's written several stories on various types of sheets, including linen sheets, jersey sheets and percale sheets. Prior to joining GH, Wu earned a Masters of Engineering in materials science & engineering and a Bachelor of Science in fiber science from Cornell University.

Lexie Sachs originally wrote this story. She is the Executive Director of Testing Strategy & Operations at the Good Housekeeping Institute. Sachs began evaluating sheets when she joined Good Housekeeping in 2013 and has rigorously tested more than 200 sets. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in fiber science from Cornell University and more than 15 years of experience in the textiles industry, including merchandising and product development for home products.