Before we get into the long and short of things, here is a quick note about the pros and cons of sateen sheets all put together. So, obviously, the best things about sateen bed sheets are the undeniable smooth and silky texture without the price tag of silk sheets, and the nicest hotels use sateen sheets to pamper you with the luxurious feel. Now, depending on your taste, this can be a pro or con: the sateen weave will keep the heat trapped in as you sleep. So, this means that if you tend to sweat or get hot as you sleep, these sheets will only exacerbate this. Also, add this to the con list: some say that the nature of the weave will cause abrasions to show over time, so you will need to get a backup sheet set or buy new ones as needed. Remember, though, no sheets will last a lifetime.
Sateen Sheets We Love
The Process of Making Cotton into Sheets:
A cotton plant produces cotton bolls, and the cotton bolls contain up to 250,000 single fibers. The fibers are sorted by staple, then made into yarn to weave into a pattern. “What are staples,” you may be wondering. Well, here is the short of it: it’s the size of the individual fibers separated by the plant’s machine. There are short, long, and extra-long staples. The short-staple fibers are up to 1 and 1/8 inch long, whereas the long-staple is from a 1- and 1/8-inch to1- and ¼ inch and the extra-long staple can be up to 2 inches. This means the ends of a short-staple fiber are less exposed to the longer staples. For example, a sateen sheet is derived from a short-staple fiber, making it more durable, yet so soft. The longer the staple of the fibers, the less durable, but they still have their own uses. You can delve into the whole process here.
These fibers are woven into a very specific pattern and made into different fabrics. The fabrics are organized by their weave. Woven fabric is marked by the threads weaving horizontally and vertically together. Sateen is a woven fabric among a few others, so let’s get familiar with weaves. learn about the weave patterns here.
The 4 most common types of weaves are:
Sateen
This is the best weave for a bed sheet with its resistance to wrinkles, luxurious feel, and unbeatable sheen. It is so good that the nicest hotels use sateen sheets. Amazon has some nice Egyptian cotton sateen sheets for you to check out.
Percale
Percale can also be used for a comfy bed sheet, but are more prone to wrinkling, and almost resembles linen. Percale is not the same as linen, though; linen is made from a flax plant, instead of the cotton plant that makes the percale fabric. You can read more about percale sheets here.
Flannel
Flannel is so comfy and cozy that you could use it for your bed sheet or a blanket or a big flannel comforter in the fall or winter times, but the best use of flannel is clothing like jackets and shirts, and is typically a seasonal trend. The best of winter-time sheets are right here.
Twill
Now, this weave is particularly used for upholstery, but there is some twill clothing. It is an uneven weave and because of that, it isn’t good to make for bedding because twill isn’t very soft or smooth. This will obviously eliminate itself from a sheet set choice automatically, as there are no twill weaves that are fit for a bedsheet.
All that is left of the woven cotton fabrics are percale sheets, flannel sheets, and sateen sheets, according to Pimacott’s guide. Sateen is the most popular of the three, as these cotton sheets are set apart by their silky feel and the luxurious look, combined with the easy care and the aesthetically pleasing drape of the fabric, specifically, of the flat sheet. The sateen sheets may be used year-round, unlike the adored flannel weave. And the percale, well, doesn’t have the sheen and has the same feel as the linens in your closet you already possess. I’m not saying percale isn’t nice and it doesn’t have its perks because they do keep your body cool at night. The percale sheets are a great relief for a person who tends to sweat at night, with the cooling effect they provide. The cooling benefit comes from the tight weave. Percale happens to let more air in when a body inhabits the bottom and top sheets. However, a sateen sheet is made of a looser weave and doesn’t permit the air to penetrate the sheet as well. Let’s look at what makes a weave of cotton practical and comfy enough for bedding or sheets, more than the length of the staple of the fibers; short, long, or extra-long along with the weave and your taste.
Cotton vs. Synthetic Fibers
While satin and sateen possess the same luxe feel, and they share the same weave pattern, they are made up of different materials, which you can read about here. Obviously, sateen is comprised of the cotton we all know and love and satin is a synthetic blend of longer filament fibers. Since we’re talking bedding or sheets in particular, let’s dive into which is better. If you like to stay warm at night or dry clean your sheets, satin in your pick. However, if you like to have the same luxurious feel, aesthetics, not wake up in a swamp of sweat, and find machine washing and drying more doable, go ahead and get those sateen sheets.
Sateen Sheets We Love
All You Need to Know About Thread Count
Thread count when it comes to sateen sheets is important and it’s equally important you don’t get duped when you are faced with the never-ending Egyptian cotton thread counts. Its not always the case that the higher the thread count the better the cotton sheets, as I’ll get into, here soon.
The ideal thread count for sateen sheets can be tricky because you want to be in the right zone for your comfort while still maintaining a higher quality set of sateen sheets. It is recommended that you stay in between the 300 and 600 thread counts. Anything below that 300 count will suffer in quality, although there are some exceptions, which I’ll further explain. And I’ll tell you a secret that some Egyptian cotton sheet companies don’t want you to know. The crazy out of this world thread counts that go beyond the 800 thread counts are typically inflated in the weave and contain different yarns to make them seem softer or will feel excessively heavy. These sheets will end up falling apart very quickly, so you’ll be severely disappointed when you have to go back to the Bed, Bath, and Beyond a measly three months later to replace them. So, at that 300 to 600 thread counts, you will find the sweet spot with sateen sheets. There you will find the best sateen sheets, that are silky smooth and will keep you nice and warm for a much longer time. There are even some 200 count sheets that are very nice, but buyer beware! You should only trust brand names you know, as they typically have higher standards in their manufacturing practices. You can brush up on the thread counts a bit more here.
So, we’ve learned everything from how the cotton bolls are separated, then how the four different cotton weaves are used. We now know how a satin sheet differs from a sateen sheet and how you can buy the best sateen sheets for your bed. Having all the information handy to make an informed decision is vital to a good buy. So, just remember, don’t succumb to the old dirty inflation trick and you’ll be on your way to your best sheets you have ever slept in.
