Golden Leaves Comforter Set - White-Yellow
Bright gold and yellow leaf silhouettes over white with a soft yellow reverse side
★★★★½4.4 1,424 ratings$42.99
Count the pieces
What actually comes in the bag
A piece count is the quickest way to compare two sets, and it is also the easiest number on the page to read wrong.
The count is written for one size
A piece count belongs to the size it was measured on. The same pattern often loses a piece in Twin, because a Twin bed takes one pillow and a Queen takes two. That is not a different set, it is the same set with one fewer sham, so compare counts within a size rather than across sizes.
What each count usually holds
- Three pieces. The top layer and two shams. Quilt sets are mostly cut this way, and so are comforter sets sold without sheets.
- Seven pieces. The comforter and shams, plus the sheets underneath: a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and pillowcases. This is the usual shape of bed in a bag in a Queen.
- Eight pieces. The same again with one more, normally an extra sham or a cushion cover.
Across the catalog that comes out as 20 at 3, 22 at 7, 8 at 8 pieces.
Shams, pillowcases and the pillows themselves
A sham is the decorative cover that matches the top layer and usually closes at the back. A pillowcase is the plain one you sleep on, and it arrives with the sheets. Neither of them is a pillow. No bedding set includes the pillow inside, and a set that seems to be missing something is normally missing exactly this.
How many pillows the bed takes
The count follows the pillows, so it helps to know the convention. A Twin is made up with one pillow. A Full and a Queen take two standard pillows side by side. A King is wide enough for two King pillows or three standard ones, which is why King sets sometimes carry an extra sham and sometimes do not.
None of that is a rule you have to follow. It is only the arithmetic behind the number on the label, and knowing it stops two sets looking different when they are the same set drawn for two different beds.
Reversible does not add a piece
13 of our sets are printed on both faces. That is one piece with two looks rather than two pieces, and it never shows up in the count. The same goes for a quilt sold as all season: the season is the weight, not an extra layer in the bag.
When the count is not printed
16 of the 66 sets here do not state a count at all. We would rather leave that blank than guess it, so those pages carry the measured table of what is in the set instead of a number on the front. Read the table: it says the same thing with more detail.
From the catalog
The fullest sets we cut
Fall Harvest Comforter Set - Burnt Orange
Burnt orange boho comforter set with full sheets for one complete bed setup
★★★★½4.3 1,148 ratings$52.45
Rose Pattern Bed in a Bag - Blue
Deep blue botanical roses printed over a dark ground for a complete bed setup
★★★★½4.6 956 ratings$42.74
Minimalist Stripe Bed in a Bag - Brown
Brown striped microfiber bedding set with sheets and matching pillow shams for every layer
★★★★☆4.2 415 ratings$37.57
Read next
Choosing a color the room can live with. A made bed is the biggest single block of color in most bedrooms, which makes this a decorating question wearing bedding clothes.
Or skip the reading
Three questions about the bed, the layer and the color, and the list narrows to what fits. Answer them here.