Best Bed Sheets To Buy: Percale, Sateen Or Linen?

Choices, choices and more choices. We indeed live in crazy times, where we have options galore. So be it swiping left till you find your soulmate, or picking that perfect hipster coffee blend, or even choosing the right artisanal gin, we the consumer are spoilt. However, with great choices comes great confusion and ironically complicates life further. But when it comes to sleeping, we make no compromises, and need the most suitable mattress and comfortable bedding.

In the last few years, there has been a steady trend of transparency in the bedding industry. Finally, we are going beyond the thread-count game, and terms like sateen, percale etc are commonly thrown out there. Yet, while we have options by the minute, it gets equally overwhelming to pick the right fit (no we are not talking about your Tinder date). Hence, at BEDLAM we decided to break down some of the more common bedding options out there so that you get exactly what you want. The era of mass-produced cheap sheets is long gone and now sustainability and quality are what really matters.

Let's begin by saying that the best cotton sheets will always be available in two varieties, percale and sateen. Why? Because they are better than the generic short-weave bedding options. The most distinguishing feature about a Percale bed-sheet is its matte finish, which is basically due to its one-yarn-over and one-yarn-under weave technique. See below, one of our most popular sets from the 400 TC Sateen Cotton Bedding collection.

The Classic white bed sheets collection by BEDLAM is entirely made of Percale bed sheets with a thread count of 400. These sheets are ideal for warm sleepers as they are lightweight and breathable. Percale also tends to be quite durable and hence you will find them in hotels world over. Percale sheets have a cool crisp finish but are prone to more wrinkles and for that steam-ironing is always recommended.

Sateen Sheets

Most consumers tend to get confused between sateen and satin. Satin usually is a silk satin fabric though now one tends to come across cheaper versions made from polyester, nylon, rayon, or wool. Whereas, Sateen is a type of finish and is 100% cotton. On sateen, you will come across the one-yarn-under and three-yarn-over weave technique which results in a silky feel and a delicate sheen.

BEDLAM’s Luxe bedding collection consists of sateen bed sheets in 1000 thread-count. As a rule of thumb, anything beyond 400 thread-count will generally have a sateen finish. The advantage of Sateen is that you get a satin-like finish without the exorbitant costs or the maintenance. Sateen is more tightly woven and has weight making it ideal for all weathers. They also wrinkle less and we recommend steam ironing the sheets after washing, as it helps to renew the typical sateen sheen.

Linen bedding in the past few years have really revolutionised the bedding industry and fit right into the Millennial Culture. Relaxed luxury is how we describe BEDLAM’s linen collection which is fun and funky. Linen sheets are super easy to maintain and get softer with every wash. The sheets USP are the softness and the boho-chic vibe.

Linen is made of the flax plant and hence have a lot of added benefits. They tend to be bacteria resistant, ventilating, moisture absorbing and even anti-allergic. We recommend linen sheets for spring and summer in particular and those who are okay embracing their wrinkles!

Hopefully, our blog post has helped to make your mind and decide when you buy bedsheets online. You can explore our entire collection and pick what suits you the most. As we say leave the chaos outside!