I bought a set of these two days ago. I posted my reaction at the bottom of the percale thread.

They do not feel like any percale I have ever seen. They feel like synthetic. They are slippery and noisy. They are made in China.

They claim to be 100% cotton. I believe they are imitation cotton. If, however, they are not -- and that actually cannot be proved nor are there labeling laws -- the textile has been manipulated.

Anyone who likes these is welcome to their preference. However, I have many percale sets and they are unlike any cotton sheet I have ever seen or felt before. What they feel like is my techno fabric clothes.

I would not recommend them. Here is the label.

I also returned a set of Targets classic percale sheets for the exact problem Roc has. They felt like a cross a plastic/nylon tarp with a little bit of something mixed in....very very odd..and I'd bet money if you dumped a cup of water on mine it would have puddled on top. I vever even washed mine..they went back. I feel vintage percale daily and mine were not any type of percale.

You like yours so maybe you were the lucky one.

I often see tremendous sales at Target on bedding. I found a full/queen Shabby Chic 100% cotton duvet cover in there for under 30$ it has the nicest hand, although the package didn't say percale..it feels almost exactly like my vintage percale sheets. When I go to Target which isn't often, thankfully its over an hour drive, lol...I head straight for the bedding.

The ones made in China feel totally different than those made in India. The ones made in China were not on the clearance rack.

Label.

I just handled them. They do not feel slippery.

We tried the Vintage Washed Percale a few months ago and returned them after one sleep. Too soft for our liking.

OMG, Roc, imitation cotton is out there?! I have very sensitive skin and rely on the 100% cotton labelling when purchasing clothing. :/

Yup. And there's imitation Bamboo out there too. It's actually rayon, chemically (cooked) derived from bamboo.

@Brushworks - Target manufacturers both in China and India. Notice the sheets you bought have a 2013 copyright. The ones I bought have a 2015 copyright. Entirely possible product with the same label is different due to where it's produced. The Chinese made sheets are a bit scary honestly.

And newer, in this case, does not appear to be better.

Brushworks -- How do manufacturers get away with labelling items as cotton when they're in fact not made of cotton? Should we be on the lookout for tricky content labels such as cottonne, cótton, khätton? ;)

javiwa,

I'm not an authority on imitation cotton, but I do know that manufacturer's mislead customers with the bamboo claim.
FTC

Brushworks wrote: The ones made in China were not on the clearance rack.

The Chinese made sheets were on clearance at the Target near me. Same price.

Even on 100% fiber labeling there is a 5% allowance for other fibers. That may/may not be the case with the Chinese made sheets. It would take lab testing to know for sure what's going on.

It's easy to do the burn test on some fibers.....poly melts, cotton burns.
I never buy sheets without opening the package and feeling them!

Roc, I immediately thought of you yesterday while shopping in a store in Mystic Ct. "Linen Press" as they carry Sferra. I was able to touch a pair of percale pillowcases! They were $155 for the pair. (DH did buy me a 100% white cotton Hanro nightgown )

@Irish2 - Yes, crazy pillowcase prices. Ebay is better but tough purchases these days. Hanro nightgowns are wonderful, what a lovely gift from DH!

A friend who was going to Target actually bought the sheets for me though I asked for them. Forgot what @mamapinky had said. Actually just needed a top sheet but Target only sells sets.

I did a burn test and it did burn. Tough to say what's what though anyone familiar with percale would not relate to this as even being cotton. It feels like nylon parachute material.

Roc...you know cotton, you don't need a burn test. Target is cheapening their product.

Rayon will burn too.

Yes, interesting comment about Rayon, linda.

If you guys love Hanro, try Calida, another great Swiss brand of sleepwear and underwear. The most loved gift I ever gave the DH was a pair of Calida PJs -- from a man who'd never owned pajamas. Sometime Sierra Trading Post has them very cheap.

@MizLizzie - I am a Hanro person (obviously) but I had seen Calida in the Cuddledown catalogue and was wondering. Thanks @mizlizzie -- so good to know.

It was opposite at my Target, the Chinese percales were on clearance, and the Indian regular price. There was definitely a difference, with the Indian ones feeling a bit softer, almost feeling thicker or more robust. Oh well..all this percale talk lately had me interested.. I found some decent Egyptian ones for half price

I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond yesterday stroking the Wamsutta again. I'm happy with the sheets I have but cringe at paying over $60.00 for king-size sheets, even Wamsutta.

I bought a set of Made in India, Vintage Percale today at Target for $27.98! I now have a mint green set and a white set. I do not like, nor love white sheets...but for the price, I could not pass it up!! I also do not love ironing Percale sheets, but I air dry the pillowcases and then lightly press them with a hot iron...quick & easy. I do not iron the fitted sheet at all, and the flat/top sheet I iron all 4 edges. Also, air drying the sheets makes very little wrinkles. Tumble drying to dry...O M G! Nightmare wrinkles. These sheets are thin, but crisp, soft and smooth.

Larsi,

That's an excellent price, even if one doesn't like the vintage washed percale.

The price will probably be reduced tomorrow until those are cleared out.

That's the ones I have Larsi..of course mine are white. Lol...I will say for a low cost modern day percale they are nice, a bit thin, but still not bad at all. That's a good price Larsi..how many sets did you get?

The only had two sets of CA King left (but lots of Queen and Full). I bought white. They did have one peach-pink colour, but that is not one of my fav. shades for sheets ;)

They are thin, but still crisp and smooth. My mint green set have now been washed and lightly ironed and they are soft and silky, but still has a nice Percale crisp to it!

I just ordered some percale from Overstock, but will go check Target on the way home, too. Trying to make sure I have all I need for when I finally finish getting this Murphy bed up two flights of stairs ;)

Update on the "plastic" Target percale. The sheet was washed again when the bed was stripped after guests left. In the dryer I noticed tiny plastic balls accumulated on the lint screen. The only time I've seen those is from rubber-backed rugs.

So...my suspicion is that these sheets have the horrid plastic feeling because they are finished with a slick plastic coating. That's how they are faking the percale feel. Or, there could be some microfiber in there which comes out onto the lint screen. Still unclear.

But the sheet seems to be softening slightly. Maybe. Won't know until this is laundered many times. But this may be an example of the finishing "games" I've heard about where they coat sheets to make them feel a certain way.

More to come.

I wondered that too, especially after you did the burn test. I wonder how the cotton fibers will stand up after a few washings. Keep us posted.

FYI, they don't stand up at all. I have two sets in regular rotation and after 7 months they look like they are 5 years old. No, I have some older cotton sheets that look better. I will be lucky if I get at least a year.

Well I'll be a monkeys uncle...when I wash and dry my Vintage washed percale sheets, the ones that feel ok...I get tiny white balls on the dryers lint screen..next time I wash them I will post a pic, but within a day or so. Hmmm...so that's what this is..

@ Alex Chicago....I LOVE my vintage washed Percale from India sheets, but you are right. OMG, the asymmetrical sewing on the pillowcases drives me nuts. I try and "adjust" it, and I iron it worse. LOL

Best percale sheets and hard to come by, Cannon percale sheets at Kmart. Very good stitching and thickness is wonderful.

We no longer have KMart buy still have Sears. Cannon has always been a good quality product for my family.

Can you find Cuddle Down sheets in the US? 220TC percale and made in Canada. They are far and away my favourite sheets, nice and crisp.

CuddleDown is right here in the US -- based in Maine :) I have only one thing from them, a linen/cotton blend blanket recommended by @Rococogurl, and I couldn't be happier. Don't have their sheets but suspect they're quite good as well.

Cuddledown is an excellent source. I visited their store in Maine years ago. IMO they have excellent basics and luxuries. There are no bargains and I don't care for their shipping costs. However, it is difficult to duplicate that quality today and while they are expensive they are not ridiculous. I bought a superb bed pad from them and a summer quilt blanket that is feather-light but warm -- exactly what we needed. Have never tried their percale sheets but wouldn't hesitate if I needed a set. I have a king duvet from them that I could not afford to buy today. It is more than 20 years old. It needed refilling and they did it perfectly for about $100. I also have their down pillows, same story, with more than 20 years of service from those. Reliable, reliable, reliable -- and 1980s quality. And that's saying something today.

Too funny...looks like there are two unrelated Cuddledown companies. I'm very happy to hear there is a US one as well. They are on the expensive side but I love that I don't need to buy a entire set since I never use flat sheets.

1980s quality - I'm borrowing that line :)