
Is Egyptian Cotton Really Superior?
The key to soft cotton is the length of the staple or strand. Different species of cotton produce staples of differing length. Shorter staples require more weaving together to form a long thread which results in a rougher fabric. Both Pima and Egyptian cotton have longer staples, but Egyptian is superior.
In fact, a 200 thread count Egyptian cotton is superior to an 800 thread count Pima cotton sheet. Interestingly, Egyptian cotton is actually a native American species that was introduced to Egypt during the American Civil War to provide Europe with a stable alternate source of cotton.