7 Best Linen Sheets for a Cool and Comfortable Sleep (2025)

You’ll often see terms like “Belgian linen” and “European linen” used to describe different linens. Some of these are in the name, some aren’t—Pottery Barn’s sheets are called Belgian linen, while The Citizenry’s sheets say they’re made from French linen but sustainably made in Portugal. So what does all this mean? Which is better?

Flax cultivation and linen production have a long history in Europe. This is a preferred source, especially Belgium and France, so some sheets will call out these countries specifically. But According to World LinenThere isn’t much difference between European countries – it’s mostly a marketing tactic. You’ll probably be just as happy with any European linen source, and you can buy European Linen certification sheets to confirm where they’re sourced.

Just because it’s named Europe doesn’t necessarily mean it’s made there. Once the linen is grown, it needs to be processed, twisted and woven into layers, which may or may not happen in Europe. Some companies use the term “Belgian linen” or “European linen” to indicate that the linen is from that area, but was not processed there. Some companies manufacture sheets in other European countries, such as The Citizenry’s Portuguese-made sheets, while other manufacturers may manufacture outside of Europe, such as Quince, which processes its sheets in China and India.

Another term you may see when buying linen is something like “woven to 160 GSM”. This describes the weight of the fabric. (“GSM” stands for grams per square meter.) It’s similar to silk, which is also described by weight rather than thread count to give a more accurate idea of ​​how heavy the sheets will be. A rule of thumb with canvas is that GSM under 150 is light, between 150 and 300 is medium, and anything above 300 is heavy.

Weight is also something that shouldn’t change about canvas: It will get softer over time, but not lighter. If you prefer sheets of a certain weight, you can see if these details are included to find out exactly what you are getting.