The complete guide
How to Choose a Mulberry Silk Pillowcase
The problem with waking up creased
Most of us think hard about the mattress and the duvet, then put a cotton pillowcase on top and never think about it again. Cotton is a fine fabric. It is also a slightly rough one at the fibre level, and your face and hair spend seven or eight hours pressed against it every night, turning and dragging.
That is where silk comes in. The surface of a silk weave is smoother, so hair and skin slide over it with less friction than they do over cotton. It is a small change to one item on your bed, and it costs less than almost any other upgrade you could make to how your bed feels.
This guide covers what the numbers on a silk pillowcase actually mean, how to pick a size that fits, what the envelope closure does, and how to wash the thing without ruining it.
What momme means and why 22 is the number to look for
Cotton sheets are sold on thread count. Silk is sold on momme. The momme figure describes how heavy the fabric is, and for bedding you will usually see 16, 19, 22 or 25.
Sixteen momme is a light silk. It feels lovely in the shop and it is cheap, but it is thin, and thin silk wears faster at the seams and can go limp after a few washes. Twenty-five momme is a heavy, almost upholstery-weight silk, which some people love and others find a bit much on a pillow.
Twenty-two momme is the middle ground, which is why so many people searching for the best mulberry silk pillowcase end up there. It has enough weight to drape properly over a pillow. It still feels cool. And it holds up to regular washing better than the lighter weights do.
This pillowcase is 22 momme, made from 100% mulberry silk described as grade 6A long fibre. Long fibre means the individual strands in the yarn are longer and more even, which produces a smoother, more consistent surface.
Getting the size right
The case is 50 x 75 cm, or 20 x 30 inches. That is the standard UK pillowcase size, so if you buy ordinary pillows from an ordinary British shop, this is almost certainly the size you need.
Almost certainly is not the same as definitely. Pillow dimensions drift between brands, and plenty of people have a king size pillow (usually around 50 x 90 cm) on a king size bed without ever thinking of it as a different size. Take a tape measure to your pillow before you order. It takes thirty seconds and saves a return.
If your pillow is standard but plump, the case will still go on. It will simply be a fuller fit, and the envelope flap will sit a little shorter at the end. That is normal and it does not affect how the case performs.
Why the envelope closure matters more than you would think
There are three common ways to close a pillowcase. A zip, a button placket, or an envelope flap.
Zips are tidy and they hold the pillow firmly, but they put a hard strip along one edge of the case. If that edge ends up under your cheek you will feel it, and long hair has a habit of finding zip teeth at three in the morning. Buttons have the same issue in a smaller way.
An envelope closure is just fabric. The end of the case folds back inside itself to form a pocket, you push the pillow in, and you tuck the last corner under the flap. There is nothing hard anywhere on the case. That is the whole appeal of the best silk pillowcase without zip designs, and it is also why they are faster to put on and less likely to snag in the wash.
The one trade-off is that an envelope flap holds a pillow slightly less rigidly than a zip. In practice a well-cut flap is deep enough that the pillow stays put overnight. If a corner works loose, you tuck it back in.
Who this suits
If you have long hair, this is probably the single easiest change you can make to your night-time routine. Hair that drags less on the pillow tangles less by morning. The matching silk scrunchie that comes in the box works on the same principle, since a fabric-covered elastic in silk is gentler on hair than a bare band.
If you run warm at night, silk is worth trying. It feels cool on first contact and many people find it stays comfortable. Just remember the pillowcase is one layer in a system. Your duvet tog, your mattress and your room temperature all matter more.
If you are buying a present, a plain cool white silk pillowcase is about as safe as gifts get. It goes with every bedroom. It does not depend on knowing someone's taste. And with the scrunchie included it already looks like a set rather than a single item. People shopping for the best silk pillowcase gift set tend to land on exactly this kind of combination.
If you are hard on your bedding and never want to hand wash anything, be honest with yourself before you buy. The care instruction here is hand wash only.
Colour, and why cool white is the easy choice
The colour is a solid cool white with no pattern. Cool white has a crisp tone rather than a creamy or ivory one, so it sits comfortably next to bright white cotton sheets, and it also looks clean against grey, navy, charcoal or natural linen.
Silk behaves differently from cotton under light. A cotton pillowcase looks matt and flat. A silk one catches a soft sheen from a bedside lamp or a window, so even a plain white case has some depth to it. That is part of why people describe silk bedding as looking expensive even when the rest of the bed is simple.
White also has a practical advantage. It will not transfer colour onto anything, and you can see straight away when it needs washing.
Looking after it
The maker lists hand wash only, so plan for that.
Fill a basin with cool water, add a small amount of a gentle detergent made for delicates, and let the pillowcase soak for a few minutes. Swish it about with your hands rather than scrubbing. Rinse it in clean cool water until the water runs clear.
Do not wring it out. Twisting silk stresses the fibres and can leave permanent creases. Lay the case flat on a clean towel, roll the towel up and press to push the water out, then unroll and hang it to dry or lay it flat. Keep it away from radiators and out of direct sunlight, since heat and strong light are both hard on silk colour.
If you want it smooth, iron on the lowest setting, on the reverse side, while the fabric is still slightly damp. Keep bleach and strong stain removers away from it entirely. For a fresh mark, dab with cool water and a touch of gentle detergent rather than rubbing.
Wash it about once a week, the same as the rest of your bed linen. If you use rich creams or hair oils at night, more often. Buying two cases is a common move, so there is always one on the bed while the other dries.
The short version
This is a 100% mulberry silk pillowcase in a 22 momme weight, cut to 50 x 75 cm (20 x 30 inches), the standard UK size. It closes with an envelope flap, so there is no zip and nothing hard near your face. The colour is a solid cool white, and a matching silk scrunchie comes with it.
Measure your pillow first. Then commit to hand washing it, because that is the care the maker specifies and silk rewards a bit of attention. Do those two things and you have a pillowcase that feels good on night one and still feels good a year later.