Sateen or Percale: Which Cotton Sheets Suit a UAE Bedroom

Sateen and percale are two ways of weaving the same cotton. Sateen is smooth and soft, with a gentle sheen, and drapes around you. Percale is crisp, matte and light, like a pressed cotton shirt. In the UAE, where the air conditioning runs most of the year, both work. The choice comes down to how you like a bed to feel.

If you like a smooth, silky bed, choose sateen. If you sleep warm or like a fresh, crisp bed, choose percale. Most of our sheets are cotton sateen, and a few are percale. This guide explains the difference so you can order the right one first time.

To see them now, start with the Ivory Sheet Set, 100% cotton in a sateen weave, or the Skyfall Fitted Sheet, 100% cotton in a percale weave.

What is sateen

Sateen is a weave, not a fiber. Each thread floats over several threads before it dips under one. More of the yarn lies on the surface, and that is what you feel: a smooth face with a soft luster.

Sateen is not satin. Satin is usually silk or polyester. Cotton sateen is spun cotton, woven to feel close to satin while it still breathes and washes like cotton. Our sateen sheets are 100% cotton.

What is percale

Percale is the simplest weave there is: one thread over, one thread under, like a basket. It makes a flat, tight, matte cloth with a slight snap. The open grid lets air move through it, so percale feels cool when you get in.

Percale creases more than sateen. Many people like that lived-in look. If you do not, a warm iron makes it crisp again.

Sateen vs percale, side by side

• Feel. Sateen is smooth and soft. Percale is crisp and cool.
• Look. Sateen has a soft sheen. Percale is matte.
• Weight. Sateen is slightly heavier and drapes. Percale is lighter and sits on top of you.
• Temperature. Percale sleeps a little cooler. Sateen holds a little more warmth.
• Wrinkles. Sateen is more forgiving. Percale creases.
• Over time. Sateen is soft from the first night. Percale softens with every wash.

Which is better for a hot climate

Outdoors, the UAE is hot for much of the year. Indoors, most bedrooms are cooled. So the real question is not the weather outside, it is how warm you run at night.

• You wake up warm, or keep the AC low: percale. Its open weave lets heat out.
• Your room is cool, or you feel the cold from the AC: sateen. It drapes closer and holds a little more warmth.
• Two people who sleep differently: sateen sheets with a light cover on top is the easy middle.

Either way, choose 100% cotton. Cotton breathes in a way polyester and microfiber do not.

What thread count means here

Thread count is the number of threads in a square inch of cloth. Our sateen comes in two weights. The T200 sheets, such as the Mocha Sheet Set and the Verdant Sheet Set, are light everyday sheets. The T300 sheets, such as the T300 Solid Flat Sheet in White and the T300 Solid Fitted Sheet in Ivory, are denser and smoother.

A higher number is not always a better sheet. Some brands twist several thin yarns together and count each one. Single-ply cotton in the 200 to 400 range is the honest middle.

Flat or fitted

Many of our sets come either way. A flat sheet set has one flat sheet and pillowcases, and you tuck it in. A fitted sheet set has elastic all the way round. Measure your mattress depth and check it against the fitted sheet's depth on the product page. Most of our sheets come from Single to Emperor. For a full size chart, see our guide to bed sheet sizes in the UAE.

Caring for sateen and percale

• Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, with a mild detergent.
• Wash new sheets once before you use them.
• Tumble dry low, or dry in the shade. Strong sun fades colour.
• Iron percale warm if you like it crisp. Sateen rarely needs it.

Where to start

If you want one set that goes with everything, start with a solid cotton sateen sheet in ivory or white. If you sleep warm, add a percale fitted sheet such as the T-300 White Percale Baretta Fitted Sheet Set. To finish the bed, see our guide to duvet cover sets.

Delivered across the UAE in 2 to 4 business days.

The Linen Company New York. One family, making fabric since 1990. From our family, to yours.