Any vintage sheet aficionados who can tell me why Wamsutta Supercale?

J

Jen S

Registered Guest
Hello!
I'm a longtime vintage clothing lover and I'm making the transition to vintage sheets. I can't believe I didn't do this long ago, they are so nice.... Anyhow, I've noticed that the vintage Wamsutta Supercale all-cotton sheets sell for a lot more than other American brands of all-cotton percale, such as Cannon or Springmaid or Stevens-Utica. I am just curious if anyone can tell me why that is, and if they are really superior. I know this is kind of off-topic but thought I'd throw it out there. Thanks!
 
I like vintage American cotton percale sheets too.
Just guessing, but perhaps the Wamsutta Supercale sheets have a higher thread count.
It's fun to try and find the size you need, new old stock! The thrill of the hunt.

I like vintage Cannon percales, personally. I have also found a contemporary American cotton percale supplier, which I'm very much into, at the moment. Found on ebay.
 
Thanks! I have a queen-sized bed and have not been able to find fitted sheets, so I started to use a flat sheet and hospital corners. But maybe I'll check out your contemporary supplier, since it is kind of a pain. :)
 
Thanks, Joules!

Yes, there are vintage fitted percale sheets from the 60s, and on occasion it seems one can find a queen fitted, but they're not very common. Doubles are much easier to find, but even they are much scarcer than flat sheets.

It's also possible to make your own fitted sheet with a flat sheet and some elastic, but I haven't gone that route so far.
 
So while I'm at it I have another random vintage linens question.... Why are vintage pillowcases SO MUCH bigger than new ones? Inquiring minds.....
 
Jen S said:
Hello!
I'm a longtime vintage clothing lover and I'm making the transition to vintage sheets. I can't believe I didn't do this long ago, they are so nice.... Anyhow, I've noticed that the vintage Wamsutta Supercale all-cotton sheets sell for a lot more than other American brands of all-cotton percale, such as Cannon or Springmaid or Stevens-Utica. I am just curious if anyone can tell me why that is, and if they are really superior. I know this is kind of off-topic but thought I'd throw it out there. Thanks!
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Hi wamsutta supercale is a 200 thread count sheet that was considered to be upscale. Other upscale sheets from the 70s and 80s would be Fieldcrest charisma and Martex. There are a few others but springs, cannon and stevens were not in the same class. I was a domestics buyer for an upscale dept store during those years. so feel free to ask me anything I will try to help you
 
Better Dresses Vintage said:
Yes, we've had fitted sheets all my life, so at least from the mid-60s, Nicole. Perhaps they weren't as popular abroad as they were in the U.S?
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That could be it, Liza. I can only speak from my experience I guess - the first time I saw them was in 1977 and I thought they were an incredible innovation. No one in my family had ever had them until then and as a child I really wouldn't have known whether we were outliers and everyone else had been using them for years.
 
Jen S said:
So while I'm at it I have another random vintage linens question.... Why are vintage pillowcases SO MUCH bigger than new ones? Inquiring minds.....
Click to expand...
I'll take a shot at this, perhaps because pillows of yesterday year were wider and plumper, feathers and all that.
 
Circa Vintage said:
That could be it, Liza. I can only speak from my experience I guess - the first time I saw them was in 1977 and I thought they were an incredible innovation. No one in my family had ever had them until then and as a child I really wouldn't have known whether we were outliers and everyone else had been using them for years.
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I vaguely remember them being a new thing here in the UK, in my childhood, so also during the 70s.
 
I got wamsutta supercale sheets in 1984 with eyelet borders. Those sheets were some if the best I ever had. They lasted for decades. And so smooth!
 
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