What is thread count? (TC)

Thread count is most relevant when describing cotton and cotton-blend fabrics. Although you can measure the thread count of linen and silk they are measured differently. Silk is measured by "momme" which is a measurement of weight and thread diameter. Linen is measured by "lea" which is a measure of the fibre length.

All woven fabric is made up of vertical threads (warp threads) and horizontal threads (weft threads). It is the combined number of these warp and weft threads woven into a square inch of woven fabric that determines its thread count. The more threads woven into a square inch of fabric, the higher the thread count.