What is Percale?

Percale (written perkal in Turkish) is a closely woven plain-weave fabric with a matte, smooth face, used mostly in cotton sheets and duvet covers. The Collins dictionary defines percale as a closely woven cotton fabric used especially for sheets (Dictionary.com). Percale is a structure name, not a fiber, and the sources set no common threshold for its density. The TDK (Turkish Language Association) dictionary has no entry for “percale” or “perkal” (accessed October 11, 2026).

Percale structure

The Random House dictionary defines percale as a closely woven, smooth-faced cotton cloth, plain or printed, used for sheets and garments, and traces the word through French to the Persian pargāla (“rag”) (Dictionary.com). CottonWorks describes percale as a smooth, slightly crisp plain-woven fabric, dyed or printed, made of combed yarns. In plain weave the warp yarn crosses the weft in strict alternation, over one and under the next (CottonWorks). Combed yarn is spun from cotton whose short fibers were removed before spinning; Turkish suppliers call it penye.

Fiber content does not follow from the name. A retail chain describes a bed set of 80% cotton, 20% viscose/rayon as a “narrow perkal weave” (dar perkal dokuma) and the fabric as crisp, matte-surfaced and cool-feeling (IKEA Türkiye). Check the fiber percentage on the label separately.

Percale and thread count

Thread count (TC) is the sum of warp and weft yarns. CottonWorks defines it as the total in one square inch and counts plied yarn as one yarn (CottonWorks, Thread Count). A test laboratory’s page presenting the new ASTM definitions from October 2005 likewise counts warp and weft yarns per unit distance in sheets and pillowcases as single units, even when plied. Its suggested disclosure note, “300 thread count, 2-ply yarns”, is given as a way of writing it that does not mislead; the page states that calling the same product “600 thread count” could mislead the consumer (IDFL).

Sources give different thresholds for percale:

A “percale” label therefore does not state density by itself. In Turkey, product cards show “tel” and TC side by side; a sateen set is listed as “118 tel - 300 TC” (Fabricbox). Because 118 × 2.54 ≈ 300, tel is read as a per-centimeter total and TC as a per-inch total; 200 TC is about 79 tel. Sources also write the unit as “in²” or “cm²”; have the unit written out in the quotation.

The number is not a quality indicator on its own either. A retailer notes that thread count is not everything and that yarn quality matters too (Altınbaşak). Read thread count together with yarn count, fiber and weight; weight alone is not a quality indicator either.

Percale, ranforce and sateen

Weave is what separates percale from sateen: CottonWorks describes sateen as a smooth, lustrous-faced fabric woven in a satin weave from non-silk fibers. Long floats give good drape, yet they also raise the risk of snagging and seam slippage, which plain weave largely avoids (CottonWorks). The difference from ranforce is not in the weave: the sources describe percale with higher thread counts. In Oteltekstilci’s list, percale is 210 TC and ranforce 145 and 160 TC. Only for percale does CottonWorks specify combed yarn; no such condition was found for ranforce. No standard threshold separates the two.

What to specify when sourcing percale

1. Do not leave the label at “percale”: state the fiber content (%), whether the yarn is combed (penye), the warp and weft density with its unit (per cm or per inch) and the weave.
2. Get the weight in writing: the unit should be g/m², and it should be clear whether the fabric was weighed greige or after finishing. Small-sample weighing follows EN 12127; to work out g/m² from sample dimensions, use the fabric GSM calculator.
3. Have shrinkage measured: ask for the ISO 5077 result on a washed sample, with ISO 6330 procedures; use the shrinkage calculator for the cutting allowance.
4. Tie coolness claims to measurement: ask for air permeability and water-vapor resistance values.

For a side-by-side comparison of bed linen fabrics, see the bed linen fabric types guide; to find producers, see bed linen manufacturers in Turkey.

Frequently asked questions

Is percale breathable?

No fabric can prevent sweating; it is simply how the body cools itself. IKEA Türkiye describes perkal as a crisp fabric that feels cool, and Mattress Clarity also finds percale cool and lightweight. These are seller and review-site claims, with no measured values given. Test a coolness claim with EN ISO 9237 (air permeability) and EN ISO 11092 (water-vapor resistance) results. Fiber matters too: Annex IX of EU Regulation 1007/2011 on textile fibre names sets agreed moisture regains of 8.5% for cotton and 1.5% for polyester. In a study on knitted samples (Suganthi et al., 2024), permeability to water vapor rose as weight and thickness fell and as the structure opened up. For a wider frame, see breathable fabrics.

How many threads should percale have?

No standard threshold was found; the values sources give are in the table above (160–300 TC overall, at least 180, about 200 and above). Evaluate density together with yarn count and weight.

Is percale cotton?

Dictionaries define percale as a cotton fabric (Collins; Random House). In retail, however, a cotton-viscose blend is also sold as “perkal” (IKEA Türkiye). Check the fiber percentage on the label.

What is the difference between percale and sateen?

The weave. Percale is a plain weave; sateen is woven with long floats and has a lustrous face (CottonWorks).

Is percale the same as ranforce?

Not quite, though they are close relatives in structure: each is a plain weave. CottonWorks describes percale as woven from combed yarn and gives 160 to 300 thread count for sheets; no comparable yarn condition or standard threshold turned up for ranforce. The comparison is covered in the ranforce entry.