Percale in Summer, Sateen in Winter: Choosing Bed Linen by Season

Percale sleeps cooler, so it suits summer, warm rooms and hot sleepers. Sateen holds a little more warmth and sits closer to the skin, so it suits winter and cold rooms. Both are 100% cotton; the difference is the weave, not the fibre. If you keep two sets, running percale in the warm months and sateen in the cold is the simplest way to be comfortable all year.

Why weave changes warmth

Percale is woven one over one, leaving space between the threads for air to move, which is why it feels cool and crisp. Sateen floats each thread over four others, so more surface sits against the skin and a little more warmth is held. Neither is hot or cold in itself; they simply sit at different points on the same scale.

How to switch with the seasons

If you sleep hot year-round, stay in percale. If you run cold, sateen most of the year with a lighter layer in summer works well. If you are in between, the two-set rotation, percale for the warm months and sateen for the cold, is the comfortable answer and doubles the life of both sets by resting each in turn.

Questions

What are the best sheets for hot sleepers?

Crisp cotton percale. Its open plain weave breathes, which is exactly what a hot sleeper wants. Our percale is 200-thread-count.

Is sateen too warm for summer?

For a hot sleeper, usually yes. If you only own one set and summers are warm where you live, percale is the safer choice.

Can I use percale and sateen on the same bed?

Yes. A percale flat sheet against the skin under a sateen duvet cover gives you breathability where you feel it and drape where you see it.