Quality Guide

Percale, sateen and linen. Three wonderful high-quality materials for a good night’s sleep – but how do they differ in their use of raw materials and manufacturing process? And how do they really feel against your skin?

SATEEN – SMOOTH AND SILKY

What is sateen?
Sateen is a tightly woven fabric with one thread over and three or more under, which creates a woven fabric that is soft, silky and has a lovely sheen. Sateen is more delicate than percale.

What makes Mille Notti’s sateen special?
Our sateen is woven from 100% combed cotton. The cotton is combed so that only long, strong fibres are left – creating the best quality sateen possible. Our bed linens are made of the highest quality fabric, with a thread count of 340 to 800 threads per square inch. The higher the thread count, the more exclusive the sateen, but the differing thread count also creates different fabric qualities. We have researched thread count for several years to create sateen with the perfect balance and finesse.

How does sleeping in sateen feel?
Wonderfully soft and luxurious! Sateen wraps you in elegant comfort and has an eye-catching sheen that looks great in your bedroom. Sateen feels warmer, so it’s perfect during winter or if you get cold easily. The Nuvola range is our most exclusive sateen collection, with a thread count of 800 threads per square inch. You won’t find anything more exclusive to sleep in – the silky smooth and soft material feels exclusive and rich. You won’t believe it until you try it!

How do I care for my sateen bed linen?
Sateen needs more care than percale and linen. Machine wash, iron and hang up. To preserve the life of your sateen, you should iron it while it is still damp. This presses the fibres down and keeps the material’s shine and finish. Do not tumble dry sateen.

PERCALE – CRISP AND COOL

What is percale?
Percale is a fabric that is tightly woven with one thread over and one thread under, known as the plain weave method, which creates a smooth and durable structure. For a fabric to be labelled percale, the weave needs to have a high thread count, at least 200 threads per square inch.

What makes Mille Notti’s percale special?
Our percale is woven from organic combed cotton. The cotton is combed so that only the long and strong fibres are left. This creates a weave of the very best quality that feels wonderful no matter how many times you wash it. All our white percale bed linen is also certified by GOTS. We have been creating percale bed linen for over 25 years, and our percale can be found in five-star hotels all over the world.

How does sleeping in percale feel?
Wonderfully crisp and cool! Sleeping in percale feels like sleeping in a hotel – smooth, cool and exclusive! It’s a quality fabric that is perfect all year round, but especially on warm summer nights or if you get too hot when you’re sleeping.

How do I care for my percale bed linen?
Percale is easy to take care of. You can machine wash it and hang it up to dry, as it dries quickly. This cool, smooth high-quality material is easy to take care of. Percale is also easy to iron if you want that perfect smooth feeling.

LINEN – NATURAL AND FLEXIBLE

What is linen?
Linen is made from stalk and root fibres of the flax plant. The plant is dried, scraped and soaked to separate the seeds and short fibres. Then the flax is spun and woven into gorgeous fabrics. The weave is lighter than percale and sateen.

What makes Mille Notti’s linen special?
Our bed linen is woven from 100% flax, which is necessary for creating high quality linen. Cotton is often blended with linen but this makes the linen lose its unique qualities. The flax we use is grown in France and our bed linen is sewn in Portugal. 100% linen fabric is durable and has a high comfort factor.

How does sleeping in linen feel?
Comfortable, natural luxury with a weighty feel. The material has a richness that only linen has and feels wonderful against your skin. Linen is moisture-wicking and breathable, warming you when it’s cold and cooling you down when it’s warm, making this fabric perfect to sleep beneath all year round. Our linen is washed during the manufacturing process, which makes it extra smooth and soft. It also creates the lightly crumpled linen sensation typical of classic linen.

How do I care for my linen bed linen?
Linen is easy to care for. Machine wash, iron and hang up to try. Tumble-drying wears out the linen fibres, so avoid this where possible, although you can tumble dry on a medium high for a softer feel if desired.

TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS
Margareta Lindvall is a stylist at Mille Notti and works at the Mille Notti brand store in Stockholm. She has many years’ experience in the textile and confectionary industry and a wide range of knowledge about different types of material and their qualities.

– The first time I slept in Mille Notti’s bed linens, it was a sensational experience. The high-quality material creates a completely new sleep experience. I’m convinced these bed linens contribute to a better night’s sleep.

The weaving technique creates the character of the fabric
Exclusive percale and sateen are two of the classic Mille Notti qualities.

– Both materials are woven from 100% cotton, but with weaving techniques that create bed linens with different characteristics and qualities. Percale is cool and crisp and sateen is silky and smooth.

“Linen is breathable”

– Linen is a classic, gorgeous and naturally flexible material that makes you think of summer, but it is just as comfortable to sleep beneath all year round. Linen is a breathable material that keeps you cool in warm weather and warm in chilly weather.

The stylish Lino linen collection is available in sheets, duvet cover and pillowcases in three lovely light colours: white and sand.

A sustainable choice
Linen is a great choice for the environment:

– Linen can grow in cooler climates where water is more widely available and does not need to be brought in from elsewhere. It requires less fertiliser and pesticide to grow because it isn’t as susceptible to pests as other plants.

What’s your personal favourite?

– I love all three materials and their different qualities. Percale is extra comfortable in the summer and sateen suits winter perfectly. I sleep in linen all year round.