What Is Sateen?

How is sateen made?

Sateen is made by weaving yarns, usually cotton, in a satin weave: one set of yarns passes over several yarns of the other set before interlacing, so long “floats” cover the face of the cloth. Britannica lists sateen as a variation of satin weave and describes it as weft-faced, meaning the weft (crosswise) yarns form those floats.

The satin structure

Satin is one of the three basic weaves, alongside plain weave and twill. On paper, a satin draft looks like a twill draft, but it lacks the regular step from one weft to the next that gives twill its diagonal line. According to Britannica:

• a true satin needs at least five warp and five weft yarns in each complete repeat of the weave, so the loom needs at least five harnesses;
• the interlacings are few and spread out, which is what leaves the surface unbroken;
• satins are usually woven from smooth, lightly twisted yarns, so light reflects off the face without being broken up by visible crosswise bindings.

Weft-faced or warp-faced?

Weft-faced, as a rule. Britannica classes sateen as a weft-faced satin, which sets it apart from classic satin, whose face is made of long floating warp yarns. CAMEO, the materials database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, likewise describes sateen as made with a “sateen weave”. It treats warp-faced versions as a named variant: “warp sateens are made with a satin weave”. Damask, by contrast, combines the two: its figures are warp-faced satin and its background is weft-faced satin.

Finishing

CAMEO describes sateen as heavily mercerised; the process itself is covered in the entry on mercerised cotton.

Where the name comes from

Merriam-Webster gives “sateen” as an alteration of “satin” and dates its first known use to 1815. The sources consulted do not say where or when the cloth was first woven.

What are the properties of sateen?

Sateen is smooth and lustrous on its face and duller on its back, and reference works describe it as strong, though its long floats make it more prone to rubbing and snagging than a tightly interlaced weave.

• Surface: Britannica describes satin-weave fabrics as smooth, usually with a lustrous face and dull back.
• Strength: CAMEO calls sateen “a strong, shiny cotton fabric”; Merriam-Webster calls it “smooth durable lustrous”.
• Wear: Britannica notes that satins, with their long floats, are susceptible to wear from rubbing and snagging.
• Fibre behaviour: the rest depends on the fibre. A cotton sateen behaves like cotton; a sateen-woven polyester behaves like polyester.

Those traits explain where sateen turns up. CAMEO says it is used mainly for linings of suits and draperies; inside a suit, that means the lining.

Sateen vs satin vs charmeuse

CAMEO describes charmeuse as a lightweight satin-weave fabric in silk, polyester or rayon. Sateen sits at the cotton end of the same family.

How is sateen graded or measured?

Sateen has no formal grading scale; it is described by its fibre content and its weave, and the one structural number the sources fix is the minimum repeat of the satin weave itself.

Britannica sets that minimum at five warp and five weft yarns per repeat. Below that, Britannica does not count the cloth as a true satin. Beyond this, weight and yarn counts vary by maker and use, and none of the sources consulted gives a standard range for sateen.

How does sateen appear on a clothing label?

Sateen is not part of the required fibre-content disclosure, because it names a weave and the law asks for fibre names. You may see “sateen” on a hang tag, in a product description or beside the fibre content, but the fibre names and percentages are what tell you what the cloth is made of.

In the US, extra information such as a weave name may appear on the label only if it does not minimise, detract from or conflict with the required information (16 CFR 303.16(c)).

United States

Under the FTC’s Textile rules (16 CFR Part 303), a label must give:

• the generic names and percentages by weight of the fibres present, with fibres of 5 per cent or more listed in order of predominance;
• the name, or the registered identification number (RN), of the manufacturer or of another company that markets or handles the product;
• the country where the product was processed or manufactured.

A fibre under 5 per cent of the total fibre weight is listed as “other fiber” unless it has a clearly established functional significance, such as a small amount of spandex in a stretch sateen. On a blend label, the stated percentages may be out by up to 3 per cent of the total fibre weight.

European Union

Under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011, only the fibre names in its Annex I may describe fibre composition, and a multi-fibre product gives the names and percentages by weight of its fibres in descending order. Fibres that are hard to state at the time of manufacture may be grouped as “other fibres”, up to 5 per cent each or 15 per cent together. A product labelled “100 %”, “pure” or “all” cotton may still contain up to 2 per cent extraneous fibres by weight (5 per cent for carded products) where this is technically unavoidable. The label must be in the official language or languages of the member state where it is sold, unless that state provides otherwise.

How do you tell good sateen from poor sateen?

Good sateen has an even, unbroken sheen on the face, a clearly duller back, intact floats with no pulls, and a fibre label that matches what the seller calls it.

1. Compare both sides. Turn a hem or seam allowance over. The face should be noticeably smoother and shinier than the back; if both sides look alike, the cloth is probably not a satin weave of the usual kind. CAMEO also notes that the back of sateen shows a twill pattern. Look for fine diagonal lines on the reverse.
2. Find the floats. Under a magnifier or phone camera, look at which way the floats run. Floats running across the cloth, from selvedge to selvedge, are weft floats, the form Britannica describes; floats running lengthwise are warp floats.
3. Check where it rubs. Because long floats wear from rubbing and snagging, inspect underarms, cuffs, pocket edges and seat areas, and around any rough trims or fastenings. Pulled floats on the face are the visible sign of snagging.
4. Read the fibre label. “Sateen” tells you the weave, not the fibre. If you expect cotton, the label should say cotton (US) or the Annex I name in the local language (EU). A label giving polyester means a polyester cloth in a sateen weave.

Red flag: a label that gives “sateen” or “satin” where the fibre name should be. Neither is a fibre name under US or EU labelling rules.

How do you care for sateen?

Care sateen according to its fibre and its care label, and protect the face from abrasion, because the floats that make the shine are also what wears first.

A cotton sateen launders like other cotton cloth, and a polyester sateen like polyester; the care label sets the limits for each garment. To protect the floats, keep sateen away from rough surfaces, hooks and hook-and-loop fastenings.

Is sateen sustainable?

Sateen is a weave, so its environmental footprint depends on the fibre it is woven from and how that fibre was grown or made, processed and finished; none of the sources consulted rates sateen as a weave.

A cotton sateen carries the footprint of its cotton, and a polyester sateen that of its polyester. If origin matters to you, look for evidence about the fibre, such as certified organic cotton, rather than the weave name. The weave’s own contribution is durability in use: because floats snag, a sateen garment lasts longest when it is protected from abrasion.