The meaning of percale is a closely woven plain weave fabric. This smooth flat fabric is often used for bed linens that come in 100% cotton or 50/50 cotton /poly blends. You will find that the thread counts range from180-200.The thread count in percale sheet  fabric is higher and noticeably tighter than standard type weave used in bed linens. Percale fabric is of medium weight, smooth, firm with no gloss and washes well. The fabric percale can be made in solid colors or printed patterns.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries percale was originally imported from India and then manufactured in France. Percale may have originated from the Persian  pargālah, ‘rag’.  The Oxford English Dictionary has traced it as far as the 18^th century French.