Sateen vs Percale, which are the right sheets for you?
Percale or sateen sheets?
“What is the difference between percale and sateen and why should I care”, you ask? It’s kind of like asking paper or plastic?…there are pros and cons to both.
Any fellow sheet snobs out there? I luuuuurve a beautiful bed!
One of life’s simple joys is luxurious sheets, and once you’ve experienced them there is no turning back.
Image via Matouk Bed Linens . The Schumacher Pomegranate pattern is printed on these gorgeous linens.
My love affair with sheets all started about 25 years ago. Before that, I bought sheets willy-nilly for the color or pattern. And THEN I stayed at a charming B & B on Nantucket with gorgeous bedding. The window curtains were a little tired (I was already a curtain snob), but the sheets…oh my!
The difference in feel and luxuriousness was striking enough that I actually ripped the bed apart in the morning to see what brand the sheets were so I could duplicate this feeling when I got back home. And thus my passion for beautiful sheets was born.
You know sleep is important, and you’ve undoubtedly heard that we spend 1/3 or our lives in bed. SO maybe it makes sense to splurge a little on something you will use every night and that your bed will wear all the time!
Honestly, with the arrival of chilly winter weather and another round of the thrilling 🙄 game of “dodge the virus” in progress, all I want to do is crawl back into my beautiful bed.
If you can spend a chunk of money on an outfit to wear once in a while when you actually get to leave the house, doesn’t it make even more sense to spend on luxurious bedding you will use every single night?
And great news! January is typically “white sale” month, meaning bed and bath linens are often on sale at this time of year. This makes it an excellent time to refresh your supply with some affordable luxury.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I may make a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Click on highlighted text or images for link to products.
Sferra luxury bed linens image via Neiman Marcus
I’ve learned a lot about sheets over the years. Experience and curiosity are great teachers.
There are 3 main things that factor into the feel and performance of sheets: weave, material, and thread count.
Thread count is the least important of those and higher is not always better. This post has an explanation of why and where to draw the line, but thread count is largely a marketing ploy.
I’ve also written about the pros and cons of various sheeting materials and what to look for and why.
Hah! Sheets and bedding are clearly important to me as it seems I’ve written about them a LOT! 🤣. The end of this post has links to some of those posts. I’ve always claimed my special talent is sleeping!
We used these percale sheets in a pretty botanical pattern from LL Bean for our bedroom makeover from the spring 2020 One Room Challenge. At the time we had to make a duvet cover out of sheets, but now they sell duvet covers and shams in this pattern too!
But weave type is what makes the biggest difference in the feel of sheets, so today, I’m exploring the differences in weave types. All fabrics are woven on a loom and have warp and weft threads. The warp are the vertical threads attached to the loom frame and the weft are the horizontal threads woven through them to create the fabric.
Sheeting is woven in one of two ways:
Sateen is woven with 1-over-3 (or sometimes 1-over-4) which makes for a denser and smoother weave as more of the thread stays on the surface.
Sateen differs from satin in the fiber rather than the weave. While satin is woven from silk or silk-like polyester fiber, sateen is woven from cotton or other plant fibers.
Percale is woven with 1-over-1 for a lighter and more breathable weave that is crisp and softens over time with washing.
My favorite sheets for the last 15 or so years have been sateen ones from Peacock Alley. They have been a favorite partly because they have an embroidered scalloped design and I cannot resist anything scalloped, but mostly because they are hefty and so silky.
Sadly, they have begun to develop tears and I think I am going to have to finally part with them. I am hard on things. I don’t have the time or inclination to babysit my laundry. And there was that one time I accidentally washed them with an orange throw rug that bled all over them and I had to try many rounds of oxy clean and bleach to try and get it out soooooo….I have undoubtedly contributed to their demise.
Peacock Alley no longer makes the pattern I had, but they do have these scalloped ones I am currently coveting. And they come in several colors of embroidery, one of which happens to be a spectacular match for my bedroom…could be a sign. They also make a different scalloped set in percale…decisions, decisions!
I realized recently that I have been gravitating to sateen weave for that silky feel. But I also have some nice quality percale sheets that have gotten butter soft over time and are STILL in use after 25 years. They are the same sheets I splurged on after my B & B stay.
Yes, I am THAT person - poking my fingers into all the sheet packages to feel them before I buy them. Silky feeling wins every time for me, and sateen usually feels silkier, at least straight out of the package.
But there are pros and cons to sateen vs percale.
Sateen is softer and silkier right from the start. Percale is crisper, like a pressed Oxford shirt. I have read in several sources that you can speed up the softening process by washing percale sheets with white vinegar and baking soda. I will definitely try that with the next set I purchase!
Because of the weave, percale sheets are a bit more durable, and my own experience has borne that out.
In long staple cotton at least (this is my favorite sheeting material, but there are other options), sateen is more wrinkle resistant than percale and so needs little or no ironing to look instagram worthy…this alone *may* tip the scale in the direction of sateen for those who don’t live with a laundress on staff…
Sateen has a slight sheen and nice draping properties, while percale is more matte finish and crisp.
Sateen traps more heat, so if you like the feel of cooler sheets, live in a warmer climate, or are a woman of, ahem, a-certain-life-stage (?!) percale might be a better choice. I’m always cold so trapping heat is usually a plus in my book!
UDATE: I’ve recently discovered a luxury-for-less option from a company called Quince. They have nice quality sheets in both percale and sateen for a fraction of the cost from some of the other vendors. Check out Quince bedding HERE!
There is so much more to consider for a luxurious nights sleep besides the percale vs sateen wars, and I’ve written about a lot of it. Here are some other posts you might enjoy:
How to choose the best down comforter (and the myth of Siberian goose down!)
Bedding Basics: a glossary of terms
Buying sheets for extra long and split king mattresses
How to choose the right bedding