Percale? And other sheeting/ bedding questions.

[Gypsy]

(This is a repost of sorts from BWW-- I always forget we have a general shopping board! Irina if I'm not supposed to do this and you want to delete, I'm sorry.)


This is going to be a severly stupid question but... anyone know anything about percale?

From what I understand it's not pure cotton has some poly in it.
It's stronger than plain cotton.
And it's better at color retention.
Wrinkle Resistant.
Less shrink prone.

But how does it feel?

I've always been partial to cotton Sateen 300-400 TC but I'm not finding much in the deep orange (not crossing guard orange) color I want for the duvet set for my bed. Would like to spend under 200 for a duvet and two shams.

The three options I found to date are as follows:

Cuddle Down 500 TC itallian percale: Too expensive (200 for just the duvet) but it looks nice. In paprika. It says oversized for the king... and it is bigger than standard, but not by much and not as much as the ones below.

http://www.cuddledown.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=712&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=5&iSubCat=39&iProductID=712

This set from BBandB. Which is in budget (I bought and returned it once already) is soft, has a good thread count. But I would (and this sounds insane) want to use the reverse SOLID side. The paisley doesn't really work for me. Too Ralph Lauren. It doesn't have king shams either. Just Solid Euro ones. The duvet is oversized which is nice... and a just a 2 inches shorter than the one below.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=110599&RN=27

From The Company Store. 250 TC percale. In terracotta. It's below budget and it's SUPERSIZED and the biggest so it will really cover the bed nicely. It comes with shams and everything... I'm worried about the low TC though and I've never bought sheets from them.

http://www.thecompanystore.com/parent.asp?product=EX26x&dept%5Fid=19101

I'm also considering a nice tangerine/paprika matelasse (spelling) set instead of the duvet. I haven't found one... but it may be a good solution/alternative.


This set in Melon also looks interesting although it's not as vivid as I was hoping.

http://www.thecompanystore.com/parent.asp?product=EZ60x&dept%5Fid=3001

Any advice?

 

[cpster]

I personally really don't like the feel of percale. I prefer high thread count (at least 400) cotton sateen for sure. I think it's okay to have a duvet cover made out of a blend since it won't be touching your skin as much since there will be a sheet between you and the duvet cover.

Funny...I always thought percale was a blend too, but the first expensive set you listed says it's 100% cotton. Is percale a weaving technique then? Hopefully someone else will chime in.

I hope you find something in the color scheme you are seeking. Good luck!

 

[cpster]

Here''s a Tommy Bahama on clearance http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=211113&CategoryID=25505. It''s just a duvet cover though.

I wonder if you could find the matching pieces in store?

 

[Gypsy]

cpster thank you! I don't know how I missed that... I looked through macy's like ten times!!

I could probably see that at my local store... I'll check that out...

Here's the information I found.

Okay. So I spent some of the morning researching sheets.

Apparently percale doesn't mean polyester. It can be 100% cotton. It's a closer weave, less prone to tugs and pulls. Good for cats, in other words. It can be soft, but can also be prone to scratchiness in lower thread counts. Usually thread count for percale is above 200. So the Company Store 25 TC sheets are probably going to be fairly nice.

SUPIMA is good stuff... and using domesticly grown materials etc... can save you money.

Sateen is a more difficult and looser weave than percale. Supposed to mean more pulls (which my bedding can attest to), and high prices.

And mercerized is a very desirable high end process that stengthens the weave making for a better wearing sheet and alows for deeper dye penetration so that color lasts longer. The cuddlesdown 500TC set has this finish. Company store doesn't.

The mercerizing seems to be the key for a better sheet if you want vivid colors.


Here's the other thread I had on this:


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/shopping-for-linens-help-please.61540/