100% cotton 500 thread count or higher.
No poly-blends, no low thread count sheets.
In my experience, pilling is ALWAYS the result of polyester or polyester blend. Get 100% natural fiber and the problem disappears. I don’t think thread count matters – I’ve never had anything more than 200- or 250-count and I’ve never had pilling with natural fibers. And, what can matter more than thread count in any regard is ply, which is rarely listed on sheet packaging.
I am on month two of Target organic cotton myself … I’m a little disappointed about the wrinkling. My previous 100% cotton wrinkled hardly at all. I chose the organic because of color selection to go with new comforter. I go years and years between buying new bedding, so I’m stuck with these for a while. If I had it to do over again, though, I would have gotten my second-choice colors and gone with Target’s wrinkle-resistant 100% cotton line.
I haven’t had this problem. But the newest sheets I own are three years old, and they get washed about once a month; we switch the linens every Saturday, but we have several and so everything gets rotated. Maybe it’s the frequency of your washing, but I wonder also if it’s not also the quality of the sheets you’ve purchased.
The Company Store has the best flannel sheets (and good other ones) and I’ve never had a pilling problem. And if you’re ever in La Crosse, WI, their outlet store is pretty awesome. I occasionally drive the three hours down there for new stuff.
Another vote for Target and Lands End sheets. We also have some LL Bean flannels that are great.
See, we have an organic cotton set from target, have had them about 4 months, and they’re starting to pill a little, too. Not as bad as the ones we got from Kohls (which I just returned yesterday, they were intolerable.)
The two sets I bought off overstock before that, both supposedly high thread count, 100% cotton and well-reviewed both pilled badly almost immediately, plus had weird color bleeding issues. I would say it must be something we’re doing, except our older sheets have been washed and dried half a million times and are fine.
I’m not sure about jersey sheets, they just seem so unluxurious.
I think I’m going to go buy the nicest sheets that walmart has and keep the packaging, and if they pill I’ll just return them. I think Target isn’t as good about returns as walmart. I’m not sure about TJ Maxx, has anyone tried to return something obviously used after a few months to them? I buy practically all my clothes there, but I’ve never tried to return something used.
You need to buy percale sheets, not sateen (percale is a type of weave). Percale never pills and comes in 100% cotton, high thread counts. It’s the only thing I buy. Make sure the pack actually says percale. Bed, Bath and Beyond in Portsmouth has some nice ones at reasonable prices.
Surly (Who is pretending that she doesn’t know Renee in real life.)
Our sheets are poly cotton blends - still no pilling. I think it must be you, Renee. 
I’ve thought about trying jersey sheets, but I’ve had lots of t-shirts that have pilled - they seem like a bad bet to me.
I’ve fallen in love with our bamboo sheets. Incredibly soft, don’t pill, and they’re also a cooler fabric. I just wish they didn’t wrinkle as soon as the drier turns off.
Please don’t take this personally, but I laugh now when I hear someone describe themselves this way.
I dated a girl for a while who was very snobby about sheets, to the point that she turned her nose up at the sheets I had at the time and bought me a set of “excellent” sheets with some absurdly high thread count.
Well, the “excellent” sheets she bought me literally gave me rug-burns. They were horrible. I got rid of them almost as fast as I got rid of her.
A way to get the most benefit from expensive sheets without spending a lot of money - buy super high thread count pillow cases. note this is less dramatic if you sleep nude 
I have a 600-thread count 100% cotton set from Marshall’s that are thick and unbelievably soft. And no pills. They were about $100 for the king size, about half off the department store retail price. I love them deeply and vowed to never buy low thread counts again.
However, the sheets that came with my “bed in a bag” comforter set from BB&Beyond are really just as nice. Maybe a little thinner, but the quality is high. I haven’t seen any pilling in sheets since I got some years ago as a shower gift. I think they were 140 thread count and they went straight from feeling like sleeping under a tarp to more pills than a damn pharmacy.
Both sets are about seven years old and have been in continual use.
I’m finding this is a problem too! I bought a nice set, really high thread count (600 or something and all cotton–although I did buy them at Ross, so . . .) and they started pilling almost immediately. This wasn’t a problem in the past, and now I want to buy another set but eye all of them suspiciously. I used to think high thread count meant no pilling, but not anymore. Not anymore.
What is “pilling”?
Just use a fabric shaver to get rid of the pills.
Pilling is when the loose ends of fibers roll together on a fabric’s surface, making a lot of tiny balls or pills on it. When sheets do it, they become quite uncomfortable. On a garment, the pills are usually just extremely unattractive.
While it’s possible to get rid of the pills with a fabric or even a body shaver, this weakens the material considerably.
Must second the polyester problem. I’m one of those people who’ll buy extra bottom sheets on clearance, since the bottom sheets wear out so much faster. Sometimes all I’ll notice is “pretty color: must buy,” and not the fiber content. I’ve never had an old-fashioned, non-blend, non-permapress sheet pill.
What they said. The second-to-last bedsheets I bought from Target did not pill in three years. They bleed like all hell, and the colors actually bled on my wall (gah!), but they did not pill.
I heard, but I don´t know it it is true, that washing sheets together with towels will cause the towels to roughen up the other laundry. A good terrycloth towel does scratch one´s skin, so maybe there is some truth to it. Most people will wash sheets and towels together, as they are both white.
You could try washing your sheets separately and see if that helps.