I put these sheets and pillow cases directly on my bed when I got them and just loved them then. They were silky and fit beautifully. A week later I washed them and tried to put them on the bed again, only to encounter a major struggle. Even though I always do cold water wash and use the perma press setting for drying, the linens had shrunk! I don't mind the fact that the top sheet shrunk. But it's almost impossible for me to get the bottom sheet onto my mattress now. I have only an 11-inch mattress, and these sheets have deep corners so that isn't the problem. Rather, the sheet corners are now short of the mattress corners. One pillow slip hasn't yet been washed, and I aligned it with the washed one so I could measure the difference. The case that was washed is half an inch less in width than the unwashed one and almost an inch and a quarter shorter than the unwashed one. That will give you an idea of how much these linens shrink when washed. I was going to give these bed linens a glowing review, but I am now very disappointed. .