What Is the Best Kids’ Bedding? (2024)

One of Target’s in-house lines, Pillowfort, offers a range of sets and separates for kids in a variety of delightful mix-and-match patterns. “It’s easy and affordable and the cotton is crisp for the summer, but really softens over time,” says Carol Wang, a real-estate broker and Brooklyn-based parent of an 8-year-old. “They have nice color and design options that aren’t too babyish but still are appropriate for children, and at a really good price point.”Pillowfort also makes comforters, preferred to duvets by Wang’s son, who “finds the separate insert-cover situation vexing.” My kids have also long had Pillowfort separates, and strongly prefer the 100 percent cotton options to others in the line made of a microfiber blend.

My 5-year-old loves Primary’s colorful rainbow gingham sheets, one of his approaches to maximizing the color on his bottom bunk. Its sheets, which also come in rainbow heart and dot patterns, are made of a crisp cotton percale that stays cool during the summer months. The fitted and flat sheets are sold as separates, so you can also mix and match patterns. Primary’s bedding is as durable as its hardworking cotton basics, handling a lot of tumbles in the washer and dryer without losing its vibrancy or texture.

“I adore everything this brand makes, but I especially admire their bedding,” says Sproatt of this Danish brand. “Their florals are soft and dusty colors and so very delicate, they almost blend into the room. They are sophisticated and sweet, but not cutesy.” Sproatt mixes and matches Konges Sløjd pieces with other brands to create a cozy sleeping area for her daughter.

Myers sources from Schoolhouse for the kids’ rooms of her clients. “It’s an energy-packed exercise in pattern play,” she says. She recommends “pairing the Wallowa Floral or the Imperfect Plus sheets with their sweet Stillwater coverlet.” Schoolhouse is also a favorite of Sproatt’s. “I love their Diamond Ticking Quilt and matching Diamond Ticking Quilted Pillow Shams,” she says. “They are playful and neutral to mix in with other patterns and solids, and they are machine washable and so soft.”

Misha & Puff, a beloved slow-fashion brand founded by Anna Wallack in 2012, makes gorgeous apparel primarily for children. It’s collaborated with West Elm to offer several styles of percale sheets made of a soft and cool 144-thread-count cotton weave, including the Brimfield Floral Sheet Set and this Cubist Geo set. These sheets are soft but sturdy to the touch, and the floral set offers gorgeous details like a scalloped edge.

U.K.-based brand Camomile London makes elevated yet playful textiles and a selection of muted patterns, in addition to quilted and embroidered cases. “I love their soft florals and pattern mixing,” says Sproatt. “Their solids are beautiful to mix in as well, and their pillowcases are very sweet.”

Strategist editor Winnie Yang recommends Lewis’s 100 percent organic cotton, 300-thread-count sheets, which are durable yet soften with every wash. They come in bold, nature-inspired prints like seashells, geraniums, and blowfish. “We don’t baby our laundry, and the sheets get rotated in with some frequency, but the pattern has remained vibrant,” says Yang. “They are really well made, with nicely finished seams.”

“I absolutely love the quality of the Revival sheets,” says Jen Garrido, the San Francisco–based artist, textile designer, and founder of the brand Jenny Pennywood. “The sheets are cool, crisp, lightweight, and a little crinkly, which I love and my 6- and 12-year-old love too,” she adds. The 300-thread-count washed cotton is incredibly soft while still retaining its structure. They’re an all-seasons favorite in my own house, too.

“Brooklinen is another company that carries both solids and bolder graphic bedding in twin sizes that allows you to mix and match and have the bedding grow with your child’s tastes,” says Myers, who recommends it to clients for their kids’ rooms. Brooklinen’s percale bedding comes in a range of patterns and solids and is a popular choice for adult and kids’ beds alike. “They’re soft and cool, and were a great option for my daughter after she outgrew her sleepsack,” says Renee Manorat, a Boston-based parent of two. For smaller kids, she recommends the toddler bedsheet set the brand sells in its Brooklittles line. “I’ve probably had them for about two years, and washed them twice a month and they’re still in good condition —especially considering all the bodily fluids my daughter has gotten on them.”

Unlike the other sheets mentioned here, all of which are woven, Company Store’s Jersey sheets are knit and soft and stretchy like a perfectly worn-in T-shirt, and they stay cool through all seasons. They’re great if your kid seeks extreme softness over all else. My daughter likes that they split the difference between crisper cotton and flannel, offering coziness without excess warmth. Despite having a bit of stretch, these sheets hold their shape through many washes and lots of my kids playing in and on the bed.

While the soft brushed-cotton fabric of this L.L.Bean flannel set feels extra cozy in colder months, “these are the sheets my daughter always asks for, no matter the season,” Yang says. “Their fuzzy texture reminds her of her favorite stuffed animal in a way that’s really comforting.” She notes that they’ve had the set for five years, and it’s held up well to frequent use and washing.

The U.K.-based brand Piglet makes “the most luxurious linen,” says Lexi Mainland, an editor, writer, and parent of two. “We have the gingham berry set for my daughter’s room and it’s beyond gorgeous. It’s now the nicest bedding in the entire house.” Other brands of linen sheets can often take washes or usage to soften, but Piglet’s sheets and duvets are prewashed and comfortable straight away. They’re made from 100 percent European flax and feature elegant finishing touches, like wooden button closures on the duvet cover.

“I prefer linen for its texture and naturally cooling effect, especially in the summer,” says Myers, who recommends Los Angeles–based Morrow Soft Goods to her clients for heirloom-quality linen bedding that comes in twin sizes. “Color blocking with different hues on one bed is a modern and colorful approach to kids’ bedding,” she says, and Morrow makes this styling easy by selling pillowcases, duvets, and flat and fitted sheets in complementary hues that can be purchased separately or in customizable bundles.

New York Magazine deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff says this lightweight 100 percent cotton quilt “is very soft and good for my son, who sleeps superhot.” She notes that theirs shrunk in the wash, so recommends getting the full size for a twin bed to ensure a good fit.

This ten-year-old company makes high-quality, nontoxic, organic cotton textiles. “They are gauzy and light, but so cozy at the same time,” says Wang of the blankets, sheets, and quilts, which also come in sizes that fit a standard crib up to king. Flat and fitted sheets are sold as separates and come in pretty, subdued colors like Morrow’s.

Sproatt, who makes cozy blankets inspired by her gorgeous paintings, offers machine-washable knits in two sizes. I have long been a fan of her artwork and have a few of her prints up in my apartment. The organic shapes and color palette from these paintings have been translated to beautiful blankets that offer real heft.My kids love to cuddle with them on the couch, and I often find that they’ve migrated into their beds. The children’s blankets fit a crib-size mattress or can be used as an extra layer on a toddler bed. The large blankets can be used as a coverlet on a twin mattress and a throw on larger beds.

Society of Wanderers’ double-sided linen quilts are a great summer-weight cover or ideal for colorful layering. We have a twin-size option that moves back and forth between our daughter’s bed and the couch, where it makes for a great throw blanket. Made of a prewashed linen that softens over time, they come in combinations of checks, stripes, florals, animal prints, and solids that can be flipped and folded to make any bed feel fresh.

Another great layering option, depending on your climate, are the coverlets from Dusen Dusen, which are made of a gauzy, woven matelassé with a polyester fill. “Since we live in San Francisco and the weather is pretty much the same year-round, we always have a duvet and this striped Dusen Dusen coverlet year round,” says Garrido. “It’s very lightweight, so when it’s hot, it’s also great without another layer of warmth.” The coverlets are available in fun, oversize patterns like checks (pictured here), leaf, and egg.

“I’m a huge fan of Heather Taylor’s duvets and shams for my girls’ rooms,” says Nicki Sebastian, a Los Angeles–based photographer and mom of two. The brand is a gingham lover’s dream, offering the checks in a range of hues from subdued earth tones to bolder reds and yellows. Best of all, says Sebastian, “they truly grow with little ones as the perfect cozy cover in a whimsical toddler room or a more mature tween/teen haven!”

Another soft and sophisticated duvet that can grow with your kid is this cotton cover from Crate & Kids. “We use this duvet cover with my daughter’s Lewis bedding, and it is, in fact, buttery soft!” says Manorat of her 4-year-old’s bedspread. “After 20ish washes, it is still supersoft and the color still looks great.”

H&M’s home goods fly under the radar because they’re only available online, but its kids’ bedding sets offer delicate patterns — including some reminiscent of Liberty florals — at very affordable prices. When my kids were smaller and we were changing the bedding more frequently due to illnesses and accidents, we stocked up on its cotton fitted sheets, which you can buy as separates. As the temperature drops in the fall, we use its machine-washable duvets, which come with a twin cover and a matching pillowcase.

Garrido loves Hay’s striped bedding, which is sold separately as duvet covers and pillowcases. “The bold stripes make me feel like I am on some beach somewhere sitting under an umbrella. They feel like summer,” she says. “We mix and match them with Marimekko sheets and love the boldness of all the patterns together.” Swerdloff also uses the Danish brand’s wide-striped design for her older child’s bed and notes that H&M makes a striped duvet set in pastels.