Linoto Belgian Eco-Linen Sheet Review

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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I purchased a full set of Belgian Eco-linen sheets from Linoto.com and thought I would give a quick review.

DECISION PROCESS:
I received sample cards from both Linoto and Rough Linen prior to the purchase. This may be an inaccurate method to decide, but based upon those samples the Linoto sheets felt a bit smoother to my hand and hence why I went with them. I purchased a full set instead of doing it piecemeal as it saved a bit of money that way and they also had a minor sale on the set at the time.

ANALYSIS:
Linen is a bit hard to explain. It feels both rough and smooth at the same time. Best I can think of is that the material is a rough or coarse material, but it builds up an outer layer of fuzz so that, rubbing it against the skin, it has a softer feel. I have paired the sheets with a memory foam mattress and find the ensemble comfortable. I enjoy swishing my legs through the cool linen when I get in bed at night. I don’t find that they ever cling to me on warm or humid nights. I think they are getting smoother with use.

COMPLAINTS:
Linen [strike]pills[/strike] slubs. It detracts from the smooth feel, [strike]but nothing can be done about that[/strike] longer tows can apparently prevent that. I would also suggest, if ordering from Linoto, to get a non-fitted bottom sheet. They replaced the original bottom sheet for me that couldn’t handle the 15" mattress, but the replacement still does not go to the bottom of the mattress on a 17" mattress (and is rated for 14" - 18"). This is one of Rough Linen’s pet peeves and they don’t even sell fitted bottom sheets. Linen is also very prone to wrinkling, but I don’t think it overly detracts from the feel too much. If ever I have it less-wrinkled, I prefer the crisper smoother feel, but this is seldom and doesn’t last long after a wash.

CUSTOMER SERVICE:
My original order was incorrect, but after contacting Linoto they were quick to respond and replace the order. They did a good job and I was pleased with the result.

2

Hi GrandMasterJ,

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback about your sheets. I appreciate it :slight_smile:

I’ve also added a link to your post in the reference post for sheets here.

Phoenix

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Some linen pills, others do not. Generally if there is pilling it is likely made from the shorter ‘tow’ fibres rather than the longer ‘line’ fibres. Just the same with cottons really, shorter common american uplands cottons tend to pill, genuine long staple like Giza or Menoufi cottons tend not to.

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Hurray, I’m a reference!

Hrm, good to know. Thank you, Daniel. I had thought the Belgian linen was the best you could do in terms of flax quality. I wasn’t aware of the pilling prior to purchase - and they came smooth upon purchase. I would rate the pilling as “moderate”: You can see a few of the pills if you look and if you run your hand over a square foot of the material, you will feel 7-12 pills. I do find it detracts from the feel of the linen. I must admit I’m now slightly disappointed knowing that there is un-pilled linen available.

IT MIGHT NOT BE PILLS:
I had a family member look and feel the linen and they claim it isn’t pills that I’m referencing. In describing them, they look and feel like little hard balls or “knots” in the linen. I would not shave them off with a razor as is a possibility with pills as I’m quite sure you’ll be cutting the actual threads and end up with sheets fit for a priest (Hole-y sheets. Get it? Ah, nevermind). If somebody is able to clarify if this is a natural phenomenon with linen, keeping this accurate would be appreciated.

Maybe a picture is helpful.

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Hi GrandMasterJ,

I will defer to Daniel since he is much more knowledgeable than I am about sheets and bedding but based on your picture it looks like what you may have are some linen slubs rather than pilling.

If you do cut them off then you could cut the thread as you suggested.

There is some good information here about linen and according to the last paragraph …

… the slubs can actually be desirable (although personally I would rather have “comfort” than “fashion”).

Phoenix

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I should consult Daniel before all bedding purchases!

That write-up on linen was quite extensive. The visible knots in my linen appear exactly like those Google pictures. There are more that can be felt than can be seen.

Personally, I don’t find the slubs “fashionable.” Who is ever going to analyze my sheets closely and say “what lovely little slubs you have!” Since they affect the smoothness of the fabric, I find them quite undesirable. They feel exactly like they look: little hard knots.

I wonder if Rough Linen or Sferra’s linens (ridiculously priced at, if I recall, $1k for a set) would be the same. I also wonder why slubs would be re-introduced into linen when it was possible to create fine linen without them.

Well, this is good information for anyone else considering Linoto and whether or not this is something they would like/tolerate/hate. Hopefully linen owners of other brands will weigh in so people can be fully informed prior to purchase. Slubs were not present in any samples I have and seem to have developed with washing (or use?).

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Hi GrandMasterJ,

I would agree with you. Perhaps for a linen jacket or trousers or something where “feel” isn’t as important it would have an aesthetic appeal but in sheets or shirts or other products that are closer to more sensitive skin I would personally prefer the “feel” of no slubs to someone else’s sense of “fashion” about having them.

Phoenix

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Just to add another opinion on these sheets, I’ve had them for almost a year and love them. I bought the Belgian Eco-linen natural color queen set.

I sleep hot, so I looked around for sheets to sleep cooler. These definitely do the trick. Even when the temperature in my apartment is 70-80F, I can sleep under a sheet without the overwhelming heat that can occur with cotton. Even when I do sometimes wake up in a pool of sweat (gross, I know), the sheets dry very quickly so that I can get back to sleep sooner. If the temperature is 50-60F, the sheets will feel very cool, almost cold, to the touch. My partner doesn’t like this, so we revert to cotton late Autumn. While I haven’t compared these sheets against other linen, these at least exhibit a basic property of linen, feeling cooler.

Like GrandMasterJ said, the feeling of linen is at once rough and smooth. They feel smoother than, say, cotton because they are stiffer. When you move your limbs back and forth across the sheet, it feels like they are gliding across as opposed to rubbing against the fabric. Related to this, when I’m laying under the top sheet, I feel less like “cocooning” myself by wrapping up in the sheet and, instead, feel more like lying under a lightly-draped protective cloth as if I were a piece of furnature.

Even though they are smooth, I would agree that they are rough, not soft. Although, I haven’t found anything about this roughness uncomfortable and haven’t noticed the slubs that GrandMasterJ mentioned. That’s not to say that my sheets don’t have them (I currently can’t check), but if they’re there, the effect hasn’t been great enough for me to notice.

A few other notes. I purchased two flat sheets which are plenty large to fit my double-sided queen innerspring mattress. Tucking the sheets under the bed causes them to wrinkle and crease (something linen likes to do), but after washing and hanging them, the creases are gone. Also, It turned out that the natural color was a fortunate choice for me, as soon after I bought the sheets, a storm soaked the red window curtains above my bed, which dripped, staining the sheets. However, since they are a light brown as opposed to white or baby blue, it hasn’t been that noticable. (BTW, I called customer service about this. While they weren’t willing to offer a replacement, they did consult me with ways to reduce the stain.) After each wash and dry (2 so far–it took me a while to finally rig a clothesline), I have found that there is still some lint on the sheets. Maybe this is because they are hung dry and not dried in a machine?

A final thought: while all sheets feel great after washing and line-drying, I find that these are the most comfortable I’ve felt. If you are a fellow hot sleeper, I would highly recommend linen in general and this brand in particular.

9

Thank you for the addition! It is helpful to have multiple perspectives on the same product.

When you get the opportunity, I would love to know if your sheets have slubs. I went through two sets (original and replacement) and both developed them. I also have the natural set.

For the stain, I would give Leblanc Linen Wash a try. According to the reviews, it does an excellent job of removing difficult stains.

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Hi GrandMasterJ,

It’s been a while since i posted! Anyhow, I also have linen… St Geneve, which is the brand tmasc.ca sells typically, and Daniel being one of the key driving forces behind that.

Anyhow, my sheets have linen slubs. They don’t seem to “develop” or get worse, they’re really part of the thread while the linen fabric is being made. I’d definitely not cut them out, I’d guess that’d be like cutting individual threads, and linen isn’t a super fine weave like cotton so I’d guess it’d do very bad things.

Ive never felt them at all when lying on the sheets. I’m pretty sure rough linen has slubs too. That said, there could obviously be variation. A couple small slubs might be pleasant to look at and not interfere with the fabric or feel, but too many (or a lower quality linen) might interfere with the fabric.

Thanks

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Yup those are definitely slubs and not pilling. Some sheets will have more than others, my St. Geneve ones have very few, and I am sure that even the best stuff you can get is still going to have some slubs. Generally longer line fibre linen fabrics tend to have less because they actually require less yarns to make the fabric than shorter tow fibres which can sometimes have a lot of slubs in the fabric.

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dn,

What influenced your decision to pay for the St Geneve? Do you feel it was worthwhile? I know you were also looking at Linoto and Rough Linen. You were my first mention of Linoto.

daniel,

I did notice Linoto states that they use the finest long staple Belgian linen, so it shouldn’t have short “tow,” correct?

The larger slubs are definitely more noticeable in feel, yes. Some of the small ones I can’t even see but still feel when running my hand over the sheets. My issue, with noticing them, may be because I’m a partial side sleeper (sensitive facial skin is against the pillow case), and because it is now warmer here (resulting in using only PJ bottoms with my torso rubbing against the sheets). I also move, toss, turn, and slide a lot during the night and while trying to fall asleep. All this rubbing could result in my noticing these bumps on a more regular basis.

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Grandmaster - hello! I’m curious what was wrong with your first order form Linoto? I’m glad they took care of you.
Also, how are the sheets working for you now? Do you like them? Are the “slubs” bothering you?

I just placed an order for the organic linen sheet set. At first Jason from Linoto was very helpful with my questions (about the different linen options and if envelope closure on cases was possible). Unfortunately, after I placed order he stopped responding to my emails and vmails, so that’s never a warm fuzzy feeling with a new company/order.

I did finally get him on phone (hate to admit I resorted to *67). Now he’s saying it’s so crazy busy with holiday (which I completely understand). I was just trying to confirm how we are going to do the pillowcases since he hadn’t responded to my final comments on what I wanted with order placement.
After listening to him complain, I told him to just go with their regular open end cases (keep it simple) as now my confidence level is little low.

Anyway, I hope I like the, sheets once I receive them!
And I’ll be able to compare to Roughlinen and RH linen.
I have been enjoying Roughlinen’s smooth natural sheets very much as well as the summer cover over the summer. Since I sleep hot, I do feel linen has been MUCH cooler and more comfortable for me. You just have to put up with some wrinkling (doesn’t bother me).,
I also have some linen sheets from RH. I have only tried the pillow cases so far and like them. They are a bit lighter weight than RL and I miss the envelope closure that RL has. I’ll have to see how they hold up,

Sorry for rambling about my “Linoto experience so far”. I would love to hear how your Linoto sheets are holding up and if you find them comfortable. Or if you continued to use or not.
Were the “slubs” not there when you first received the sheets, and then showed up after sleeping on sheets? That seems odd and not right.
thanks in advance!
Anyone else with linen sheet experience, please chime in!!

14

Hi Amyalex,

Thanks for sharing your comments and feedback about your Linoto purchase experience.

Hopefully some of the members here that are sleeping on linen sheets will see your post and share their comments but in the meantime there are some comments about linen (and silk) sheets in this topic and this topic and a forum search on “linen” (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback as well that you can scan through.

Phoenix

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[quote=“Amyalex” post=59705]Grandmaster - hello! I’m curious what was wrong with your first order form Linoto? I’m glad they took care of you.
Also, how are the sheets working for you now? Do you like them? Are the “slubs” bothering you?

[/quote]

I do have an update on my Linoto sheets and I apologize that I never checked back and saw this.

I would recommend staying away from Linoto. Jason replaced my original small fitted sheet that did not fit a queen mattress. However, 2.33 years later the fitted sheet has worn through, a hole has formed in a section I do not even normally sleep on, and Jason has become unresponsive after offering a “discount if I wanted to repurchase the sheet.”

Checking Amazon reviews, I see this is a common issue with customers having their sheets wear through and form holes in as little as 2 weeks and as late as 2.5 years. Definitely NOT expected from Linen (which has been discovered intact after 5,000 years). Furthermore, Linoto appears to be aware of the defect for over a year and replaced some customer sheets while offering others “a discount” and has gone so far as to claim they have changed to long thread linen fibers exclusively (sorry, but since they state on their website what “exceptional workmanship” and “high quality” their product is, why was this not done from the beginning?). Cheap cotton sheets last longer and these are a $470 linen sheet set. This is clearly not typical for linen or sheets and reflects a poor product and sub-par workmanship.

As to their customer service, they “pride” themselves on good customer service, yet fail to take responsibility for their shoddy product or respond to customer complaints in an acceptable manner. They promise 24 hour response times to inquiries, yet I had to send 2 emails to get one response in the course of 7 days. I have given them yet two more days to respond to my latest email stating that I wished my sheet replaced with the “exceptional workmanship” sheet that I thought I originally bought.

To clarify, it has been 11 days since originally contacting them, 7 days since contacting them again after no replies, 4 days since they offered me a discount without addressing any other issues, and 3 days since I last sent my reply to that without, again, hearing from them. This accounts for 11 days total and 1 inadequate reply.

I have not received a reply as of this post and I am informing all of you:

Linoto is a shoddy product at a luxury price with a company owner who won’t deal with the ramifications of making and selling said product. Stay away and support one of the other sheet manufacturers.

My last interaction with Linoto will be to call them to reiterate my emails. From there, I fear I will have to chat with the BBB and even consider a legal action of the classy kind since multiple customers are affected and Linoto is knowledgeable.

As to the slubs, yes I do not like their feel and they bother me a bit. I also noticed two other items of interest with Linen sheets:

  • They seem to create a lot of dust

  • If lying on my side and my eye touches the pillow (think reading), it either dries out my eye or the slubs must be poking it. Odd, but painful.

Added pictures. Same pictures were sent to Linoto. Clearly not a user-made problem. Note the wear-through in multiple places over the same region that will turn this into a massive 8" diameter hole with time.

Wasn’t able to upload them, hopefully these links work:
drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kKr_FWBTZxc1RORTFKZXl5V3M/view?usp=sharing
drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kKr_FWBTZxVm4wTV9SSS1RWm8/view?usp=sharing
ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint 1: drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kKr_FWBTZxc1RORTFKZXl5V3M/view?usp=sharing | Archived Footprint 2:drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kKr_FWBTZxVm4wTV9SSS1RWm8/view?usp=sharing

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Hi GrandmasterJ,

Thank you for taking the time to come back and share your experience with your sheets. I’m sorry that you haven’t heard back from Linoto regarding your concerns but hopefully someone from their company will reply to you soon.

While your specific experiences and comments are illustrative and useful, I’d caution you about posting general, overreaching statements informing or recommending others to avoid a brand completely based upon your own experience, and hence your own personal conclusions about that particular brand. That’s “painting with a rather large brush” and goes beyond the objective information that is required here on the forum.

I always appreciate when people share their thoughts about any purchase (positive or negative) and it’s completely normal that people that have done their research here wish to share their feedback about whether their purchase was successful, but I will also often make comments about member’s reviews or feedback as well if they are “overstepping a bit” so that others don’t take those particular comments too seriously or at least realize that what is being written applies to only one person.

This is also the reason that this site will never be a review site (there isn’t a section for reviews) because it will always be more focused on educating the members here with more “fact based” information than on encouraging them to repeat the same mistakes that consumers have been making for many years … which includes warning them that reading or “counting” reviews as a reliable source of research can be among the worst ways to choose a product.

That aside though … there certainly are some legitimate reasons for your frustrations (especially if you’re not getting replies to your requests for contact). I know that in the past Linoto has monitored this forum, so I hope that seeing this thread active again they will take notice and it will help provide an impetus to them replying to your questions/comments/concerns.

I’ll be interested to know if you receive a reply from Linoto, and if so how they handle your comments and concerns.

Phoenix

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Hi Phoenix,

I definitely understand your reasoning. I had no intention of posting this information until after hearing from Linoto, but I feel 11 days, when promised a 24 hour turnaround time, is substantial time to judge Linoto’s customer service when faced with a problem. Linoto was given both verbal and written means to contact me regarding this issue via my original email.

I would, again, broadly agree with my caution to not purchase a manufacturer’s products, but in this instance, the problem has happened multiple times to multiple consumers(including pictures matching my own) over the course of a year, and is clearly a defect of either poor material or poor workmanship. I believe it is the responsibility of the company to address and remediate widespread problems and address defects in a timely manner, possibly even by recall when necessary. In this case I have evidence of the product degradation, the instance of it happening to other customers, and the lack of sufficient and timely response from Linoto. I feel all of the facts, with the requisite evidence, need to be revealed to the populace so that they can make an informed decision when considering this company and its products.

The statement to avoid this company and its products is my own, for which I take full responsibility, but had someone else presented me with this information prior to my purchase, I would have avoided this company and its products.

In reviews on Amazon, Linoto has publicly acknowledged they have an issue by responding to comments stating that they have changed their process/material to “long fibers.” Since their webpage promised me “exceptional workmanship” with my original purchase yet they fail to stand behind their product a couple of years later, I think speaks loudly of the company’s internal mentality of its products and quality. Please note that, according to the online reviews I have read, this appears to be an issue across their entire product line and not just with the Belgian Eco-linen sheet set(Which I thought used different fibers than their original linen sheet set).

In light of the time frame, lack of responses, and impacted number of customers, I stand behind my words to seek other small companies attempting to make good products and offering exceptional customer service. I mean this as no slight to you, as the forum owner, as I only speak truthfully of my experience and would wish others to do the same. This is, of course, my opinion in light of my experience, but I stand by it and relay it as a cautionary tale to others.

In complete contrast to this undesirable post, this morning I had an issue with 3 boxes of pancake mix that I have thoroughly enjoyed for over a year. I called the company (not expecting a reply until Monday), got a call back from one of the family owners within 2 hours on a Saturday, in which they explained what they thought the issue might be, and said they would replace the affected boxes. I will be posting a positive review of this company’s product and customer service as a result as I am very impressed. This is how I would run my company and treat others and would expect the same from those I deal with.

I will keep this thread up to date if I do receive any reply, satisfactory or unsatisfactory, but I have already written these sheets off as a disappointing loss of money.

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Hi GrandMaster J,

I certainly won’t argue with your perceptions. Those are yours to experience. But as soon as you extrapolate your particular perception and what you feel and turn that into the likelihood of what someone else will experience (to wit, all of a company’s products are shoddy and they don’t deal with the ramifications of selling their products, so everyone should avoid said brand), essentially turning your experience into a “norm”, then it needs to be separated from the facts and be clarified for the sake of this forum. The posts here are to provide information so that consumers may make up their own minds, as opposed to making it up for them.

While you’re certainly welcome to “stand by your comments”, turning that into a blanket statement about the overall quality of a line of products based upon your one experience (and some negative reviews you’ve alluded to in support of your claim, while ignoring the thousands of positive reviews on the same products – both of which are the exact types of reviews which this forum advises to ignore), simply isn’t appropriate or accurate, as you don’t have access to the information about the entirety of this particular business, it’s products or its quality control to accurately make that statement. This site isn’t designed to be a forum (like so many other sites) where anyone can present blanket statements about “the shoddiness” of an entire product line based upon one particular interaction. This forum is dedicated to providing more meaningful and accurate information than is otherwise available to consumers.

This is why I appreciate your comments about your experience with your sheets and the level of feedback (or lack thereof) you’re receiving from this business and the objective relation of your personal experiences. But when a post makes an all-encompassing statement about the overall level of quality of products from an entire business and recommends all others for or against that product, then it goes against the purpose and rules of this forum. This is also the reason that this site will never be a review site because it will always be more focused on educating members here with more “fact based” information than on encouraging them to buy or not buy a particular brand…which also includes warning them about counting reviews (both the con (and pro) ones you (and I) mentioned) as a reliable source of research and advisement.

So now that we’ve put everyone “to sleep” with our “sheet talk” (pun intended), I do look forward to learning if you hear anything back from Linoto. I also reached out to them and let them know about your comments on the forum, so I’m hoping between the two of us we might be able to at the very least get a response for you from them.

And I hope you enjoyed your pancakes!

Phoenix

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Understood. Thank you for the diplomatic reply.

For other readers, please take my comments as that of my own experience and research. You are encouraged to do your own research and come to your own conclusions. My comments should be one voice in the aggregate of your research.

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Hi GrandMasterJ,

Very well said.

Phoenix