Today’s parents have lots of choices for their baby’s bed linen: organic cotton percale, Egyptian cotton sateen sheets, flannel sheets, bamboo sheets, microfiber sheets, and more. It may surprise you to learn that the best fabric for your baby’s fitted crib sheet is not cotton or a blend: it’s silk! This article explains why silk outperforms cotton as the absolute best fabric for your baby to sleep on.

Silk: A Better Choice than Cotton for Crib Sheets

There’s no doubt about it: pure cotton (even blended with polyester) is an incredibly popular fabric for crib sheets. And there are lots of good reasons for that. Cotton is soft, versatile, and washable. But when it comes to the health and wellness of your precious little one, silk is a much better choice for crib sheets. Pure mulberry silk crib sheets are also easy to care for. Of course, silk is also the softest, coziest fabric on earth—making it the ideal environment for your baby to dream the night away.

Read on to learn the reasons why your baby should be sleeping on a high-quality silk sheet, including how silk outperforms cotton fabric in key areas.

Benefits of A Silk Crib Sheet for Your Baby’s Skin

Here at Mulberry Park Silks, we spend a lot of time talking about the many benefits of sleeping on silk bedding, including how silk helps keep skin hydrated and prevents wrinkles. And while sleep wrinkles are definitely NOT an issue for babies, the moisturizing properties of silk go a long way toward protecting baby’s sensitive skin. 

Like skin (and hair) silk is protein-based. Silk is a natural fiber that contains fibroin, a protein that naturally protects and hydrates. Keeping your baby’s skin well moisturized is absolutely essential to preventing conditions that result from dryness such as eczema. Also known as atopic dermatitis, baby eczema presents as patches of itchy, dry, scaly skin. It is most often caused by skin losing moisture and being unable to fend off environmental irritants and allergies.

Silk is better than cotton for baby’s skin: Cotton is a plant-based fiber known for being absorbent. As such, cotton can actually pull moisture away from your baby’s skin, and worsen or inflame eczema. Silk keeps delicate newborn skin well-moisturized.

Benefits of Silk Crib Sheets for Your Baby’s Hair

If you’ve read our blogs and product descriptions, you know that sleeping on a silk pillowcase is great for taming tangles and frizz while minimizing bedhead and breakage. And while your baby's bedhead may not be high on the list of worries, silk can really help with two of your baby’s biggest hair issues: bald spots and cradle cap.

Bald spots: Some newborns are born bald, others with a head of hair that typically falls out and regrows. Babies are prone to getting bald spots due to friction when their heads come into contact with firm surfaces (mattress, car seats, etc). Silk can minimize this damage because it is soft and nearly friction free, which protects growing hair.

Cradle cap: Cradle cap, or seborrheic dermatitis is similar to dandruff, with red or yellow patches that are scaly, crusty or oily on your baby's scalp. Although cradle capis not painful, it can spread from the head to other parts of the baby’s body, including the forehead, eyebrows, face and skin folds. Cradle cap is believed to be caused by yeast or fungal infection and worsened by oil and sweat. Silk sheets help with cradle cap because they are naturally antifungal (again, due to the protective fibroin in the fiber) and wick away oil and sweat. This helps relieve the conditions that allow cradle cap to develop.

Silk outperforms cotton for baby’s hair: Cotton—even smooth, high-quality cotton—contains tiny fibers that can pull and tear at baby’s delicate hair. Cotton also absorbs moisture instead of wicking it away, which allows fungal infections like cradle cap to thrive. Silk is smooth, friction free and naturally resists mold and bacteria while wicking away moisture.

Silk Crib Sheets Are Hypoallergenic and Resistant to Mold and Dust Mites

When you think about choosing the gentlest fabric for your baby’s crib sheets, consider this: silk fabric is made from the protective, sheltering fiber of the silkworm cocoon. It is naturally hypoallergenic and resistant to mold, dust mites, allergens, and irritants. This means that silk is perfect for anyone with sensitive skin (like a baby) or skin prone to allergies and irritation (like eczema). Dermatologists often recommendsleeping on silk to their patients with sensitive skin because of the special properties of silk fabric.

Mulberry Park Silks has taken the extra step of having all our silk products independently certified Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX®. This means that every product we produce and their individual components, have been tested against a list of over 400 harmful substances and deemed safe. We are proud to showcase the OEKO-TEX® label on our products. This verifies that the silk items you bring into your home from Mulberry Park Silks are safe, natural and healthy, even for a baby! Read more about OEKO-TEX® here.

Silk Crib Sheets Regulate Body Temperature

Remember how we mentioned that silk fabric is made from the fiber of a cocoon? Well, cocoons are also nature’s insulation from heat and cold, meaning that silk crib sheets are wonderfully breathable and temperature regulating. Silk works with the body to stay cool when it’s hot and keep warm in cooler environments. (That’s why silk sheets are a favorite of “hot sleepers” or anyone who perspires). The natural thermoregulatory properties of silk keep them super comfortable and prevent overheating during sleep. 

Silk outperforms cotton for comfort and breathability. Cotton is technically a breathable fiber. But cotton absorbs—and holds—moisture, which makes it uncomfortable when wet. Silk wicks away moisture and works to help maintain optimal temperature and comfort. 

 Silk Crib Sheets Can Be Washed

Attention all busy, sleep-deprived parents, this one’s for you: Silk crib sheets can easily be machine washed! We recommend using an enzyme-free detergent made for silk like this gentle formula from Heritage Park (note: fragrance free silk detergent is hypoallergenic) and washing on a delicate/silk cycle in a mesh laundry bag. Your silk crib and bassinet sheets can be quickly air dried indoors or outside, away from direct sunlight. For more guidance on washing silk, click here.

The Best Quality Silk Crib Sheets: Mulberry Park Silks

When you’re searching for the best silk crib sheets, look no further than Mulberry Park Silks. Our Baby and Toddler Silk Bedding Collection is crafted from 100 percent pure mulberry silk of the highest grade, a luxurious charmeuse weave—the same as all of our pillowcases, bed sheets, and accessories. We offer a fitted sheet for a crib mattress, a toddler pillowcase cover and a bassinet sheet all in a 19 momme weight.