Sateen sheets are pretty luxurious bed linens that have the feel of satin. They’re normally made of cotton- sometimes rayon. Better quality sateen fabric is mercerized to give your linen a higher sheen. Some are only treated to look like they have that shiny look, or calendared, but this disappears with washing and is not considered genuine sateen.

Sateen may be bleached, dyed, or printed. It’s difficult to make good bound buttonholes on it as it has a tendency to slip at the seams mostly with rayon, so check out this detailing when you buy.

Satin is a cloth that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. A satin is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibers such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is termed a “satin.”

A satin-woven fabric tends to have a high luster due to the high number of “floats” on the fabric. Floats are “missed” interlacings, where, the warp yarn lays on top of the weft yarn, or vice versa. The floats tend to make the fabric look glossier as well as give it a smoother hand in most cases.

Many variations can be made of the basic satin weave including a Granite weave and a Check weave. Satin weaves are used commonly in apparel goods such as eveningwear and fine clothing. They can also be found in linens, such as bedsheets as well as in some industrial usages and athletic gear such as shorts and baseball jackets. Satin weaves, twill weaves, and plain weaves are the 3 basic types of weaving by which the majority of woven products are formed.

Satin is commonly used in apparel: Satin baseball jackets, athletic shorts, women’s lingerie, nightgowns, and evening gowns but also in some men’s boxer shorts, shirts and neckties, and interior furnishing fabrics, upholstery and of course, our favorites…bed sheets. It’s even used for Ballet shoes- all Pointe shoes are made of satin. Bet you didn’t know that huh…?

Mercerization is a treatment for cotton fabric and thread mostly employed to give cotton a lustrous appearance. The series of processes was devised by John Mercer in the middle of the 19th century. Cotton with long staple fiber lengths respond best to mercerization.

So if you want a more user friendly sateen sheet for your home, then you may want to try out the cotton sateen option for the best combination of durability and beauty for your bed.