Where does Percale come from?

Percale comes from India, first documented in the 1600s.

Plate No. 069fabric

First documented: 1600s
Origin: India and Persia, India
Fiber: cotton
Weave: plain weave, 180+ thread count
Family: plain

Plate No. 069 · fabric

Percale

Percale is a smooth, tightly woven plain-weave cotton, defined in modern trade as a one-over-one weave at around 180 threads per inch or higher. It is the crisp side of the bedsheet aisle: matte, cool to the touch, and stronger than a sateen of equal count because every thread binds at every crossing. The name came west with Indian cottons in the seventeenth century, settled in France as the standard fine sheeting, and percale-versus-sateen remains the first real decision in buying bedding.

Illustration: a grand hotel linen room, deep shelves of pressed white sheets tied with tape, a housekeeper at a distance with a tall stack — A grand hotel linen room, deep shelves of pressed white sheets tied with tape, a housekeeper at a distance with a tall stack.

Named for

Probably from the Persian pargalah, a fine cotton cloth, carried west through the India trade.

Common questions

What is Percale made of?: Percale is a smooth, tightly woven plain-weave cotton, defined in modern trade as a one-over-one weave at around 180 threads per inch or higher.
Where does Percale come from?: Percale comes from India, first documented in the 1600s.
What is Percale named after?: Probably from the Persian pargalah, a fine cotton cloth, carried west through the India trade.