What is a percale?

There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the term, Percale.

It is not a type of fabric.


The term, Percale  describes the weave of the fabric, not its content, so percale could be a blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, which would be a Polycoton Percale, 100% cotton, which would be a 100% cotton percale, or a blend of other fabrics in any ratio.

A percale weave has a thread count of about 200 or higher, and is noticeably tighter than the standard type of weave used for bed-sheets namely polycotton T144, hotel standard.