Organic Cotton Fabric Part 1: Sateen vs Percale and Knit vs Woven

To help you decide which fabric to choose for your organic sheets and what type of fabric you want on the top of your organic mattress, this article will explain how fabrics are made and how they differ from one another. Organic cotton textiles are used in almost every product we sell at The Natural Sleep Store — organic sheets, pillows, comforters, and even the outside of each mattress are all made from these high quality textiles.

A textile is a woven or knit material made of natural or artificial fibers (yarns). These yarns are made from a variety of raw materials — cotton, flax, wool, hemp, polyester, and more — into fabric that we use in our daily lives.

Woven textiles are used for most sheets, the fabric surrounding pillows and comforters, and as the outer fabric on mattresses. Knit textiles are used in blankets, some sheets, some pillow covers, and as the outer fabric on mattresses. The main difference between a woven and knit textile is their flexibility and ability to stretch and rebound to their original shape. On the top sleeping surface of a mattress, a woven textile will display an element of resistance and will not flex as much as a knit textile. In the store we often make the analogy of jeans (woven fabric) compared to sweatpants (knit fabric).

Flannel and jersey (knits) are measured by weight, with a heavier weight corresponding with a thicker and heavier fabric. Whereas sateen, percale, and damask fabric (all woven) are measured by thread count. Coming up in the second part of this blog, read how thread count and quality determine overall fabric feel.