I can only speak to the color as I did not open the sheets. The mid-blue that looks so nice and deep in the picture is actually a cornflower blue. Returning,
Finally, I've learned! Only buy these L. L. Bean sheets at a reasonable price. I can't believe the money I've wasted through the years with sheets that pill, are too short, too thin and poor quality.
These are heavy duty cotton, but perfect in summer and winter, with a wonderful luxurious feel. They wash and dry beautifully and have only gotten softer with age! I've had them about 3 years.
A no-brainier for me and with L. L. Bean's unconditional warranty.
I ordered a set of the plain white 280-Thread-Count Pima Cotton Percale Sheets for my new king-size bed and find them to be outstanding in every way. The have a nice medium weight, lovely quality thread and weave, excellent hemming/finishing and, last but not least, that wonderful crisp, cool feel of a perfect percale. For what it's worth, I'm a very choosy, hem-inspecting, textile snob with high standards and these exceed my expectations, especially at the price point. The only thing that would make them better is if they were made in the USA!
That said, I am completely puzzled by the negative reviews. The only explanations I can come up with are that 1.) there have been occasional quality control issues and/or 2.) some people simply don't understand the difference between percale and sateen sheets. If you are concerned about the former, don't hesitate to order these sheets - on the off-chance there's an issue, Bean has a 100% guarantee (what do you have to lose?)! As for the latter, these are outstanding basic percale sheets of excellent quality and I have not found better; if you want the feel of 340-thread-count sateen (or jersey or flannel), well then don't buy percale and then blame it for not being sateen.
The last set of sheets I bought at llbean were smooth and soft, with a substantial thickness. These newer sheets are scratchy and don't have the same texture at all. I returned them.
