What is Sateen?
Sateen is a cotton fabric that has a satin-like feel. It’s often found in bed sheets and other textiles. Sateen is usually 100% woven cotton, although it is occasionally formed from rayon. Like percale, sateen is a method in which the sheet was woven wherein the weave is the one that gives sateen its soft, satin-like feel. Sateen (not satin) is stitched with four threads over and one thread under. Most of the threads are on the surface so it is extremely soft. The down side to sateen is that since there are more threads exposed to the surface, it won’t be as durable as other types of fabrics.
Only carded or combed yarns are used wherein combed cotton is screened from impurities. The best quality sateen is mercerized to give it a higher sheen. It has been treated with sodium hydroxide to shrink it,increase its luster, affinity for dye, mildew resistant and make it stronger.
Another kind of sateen is calendared sateen in which the fabric is pressed between two rolling pins to give it a glossier appearance. This is a low-grade sateen because the sheen will eventually fade away after a few run with the washing machine. This is not considered genuine sateen because genuine sateen can be bleached, dyed or printed.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply