The complete guide
How to Choose a Silk Pillowcase, Explained Simply
The problem with the pillowcase you already own
Most people never think about their pillowcase. It came in a set with the duvet cover, it is cotton or a cotton blend, and it does the job. Then one night you notice that your hair is in a state when you wake up, or that your face has sleep lines across it from the folds in the fabric, and you start paying attention.
Cotton is a good fabric for a lot of things. It is absorbent, it is tough, and it washes well. But it has a dry, slightly textured surface, and that surface grabs. Every time you turn over, your cheek and your hair drag across the weave rather than gliding over it. Over seven or eight hours, that adds up to a lot of small tugs.
Silk behaves differently. The fibres are long and smooth, and the finished cloth has very little surface texture. Hair and skin slide across it. That is the whole idea, and it is why silk pillowcases went from being a niche luxury to something you see in ordinary bedrooms.
What momme actually means
If you have shopped for silk before, you have seen the word momme, usually written with a number in front of it. It is a weight measure, and it is the most useful number on any silk listing.
Momme tells you how heavy the fabric is for a given area. Low momme silks are thin and light, almost like a scarf. High momme silks are dense and have more body. The figures you will typically see on bedding run from about 16 up to 25.
This pillowcase is 16 momme. That is a real silk weight, not a token one, and it is the point where silk starts to feel like proper bedding rather than a lining. It drapes over the pillow, it has enough substance that you can feel it between your fingers, and it does not cling awkwardly. Heavier silks at 22 momme and above feel a little more solid and cost more to make. Neither is wrong. If you are buying your first silk pillowcase and you want to find out whether you like the material before spending more, 16 momme is a sensible place to start.
The maker also gives a thread count of 600 for this weave. Thread count is a cotton measure that has crept across to silk marketing, and it tells you roughly how tightly the fabric is woven. Combined with the momme figure, it describes a close, even cloth.
Silk on both sides matters more than it sounds
Here is a detail worth checking on any silk pillowcase you consider. Some are silk on the top face only, with a cotton or polyester back. The maker saves money, the listing still says silk, and the shopper does not always notice.
This one is 100% mulberry silk on both sides. That matters in practice because pillows get flipped. You turn over, you punch the pillow into shape, you reach across in the dark and put it back the wrong way round. With a single-sided pillowcase you can spend half the night on the cheap face without realising. With both sides the same, it does not matter which way up it lands.
Mulberry silk is the standard type used for bedding. It comes from silkworms raised on a mulberry leaf diet, which produces long, even filaments and a uniform white fibre. That uniformity is part of why the finished cloth is so smooth.
Getting the size right
The size here is 50 x 75 cm, or 20 x 30 inches. In the UK that is the standard pillowcase size, and it is what you will find on the shelf in most bedding departments.
That said, pillows vary more than people assume. King-size pillows are longer. Continental pillows are square, often 65 x 65 cm. Some memory foam and contoured pillows are their own shape entirely. Older pillows that have been plumped and squashed for years sometimes measure a little differently from when they were new.
Take a tape measure to your pillow before you order. Lay it flat, measure the width and the length, and compare. A pillowcase that is slightly snug will strain at the seams every time you stuff the pillow in. One that is much too big will wrinkle and bunch under your head, which defeats the point of a smooth surface. Getting a UK size silk pillowcase that actually matches your pillow is the single easiest thing you can do to be happy with it.
Why the hidden zip is a better closure
Pillowcases close in one of two ways. The common one is an envelope flap, a folded-over tongue of fabric inside the opening that holds the pillow in. The other is a zip.
Envelope flaps are cheap to make and they mostly work. The trouble is that they do not hold firmly. On a well-filled pillow the corner works its way out during the night, and you end up with bare pillow poking from one end. There is also a double thickness of fabric where the flap folds back, and some people can feel that ridge through the case.
A zip solves both problems. The pillow goes in, the zip closes, and it stays put. The sleeping surface is a single clean layer with no fold. On this pillowcase the zip is hidden in the seam, so you do not see it when the bed is made and you do not feel it when you lie down. If you have been annoyed by pillows escaping, this is the fix.
One small habit to adopt: always close the zip before putting the pillowcase in the wash. An open zip can catch on other fabric in the drum.
Living with silk, day to day
Silk has a reputation for being fussy. It is less fussy than the reputation suggests, but it does have a few rules, and they are easy to follow.
Wash it on the gentlest cycle your machine has, in warm water. Not hot. A delicates or silk programme is ideal. Hand washing works just as well if you would rather. Use a mild detergent, and if you can, one without enzymes. Enzymes are designed to break down protein stains, and silk itself is a protein fibre, so biological detergents are not its friend. Never use bleach.
For drying, hang it up or lay it flat and let the air do the work. Keep it away from radiators and out of strong direct sunlight. Heat is what ages silk fastest, and the tumble dryer is the worst offender.
If it needs pressing, use a cool iron. Pressing while slightly damp makes it much easier. Many people skip ironing altogether and just shake the pillowcase out before putting it on the bed, which is usually enough.
Buying two is a practical move. One is on the pillow while the other is in the wash, and you are never left without. If you share a double bed, you will want two anyway.
Who this suits
Anyone curious about silk who does not want to spend a large amount finding out. Anyone with long hair who is tired of waking up to a knotted mess. People who prefer plain white bedding that goes with everything. And anyone buying a present for someone who is hard to shop for, since it arrives in a gift box and does not require any guessing about taste or size, provided the recipient has standard UK pillows.
It is less suited to anyone with continental square pillows or oversized king pillows, simply because of the measurements.
The short version
This is a white pillowcase in 100% mulberry silk, both sides, woven at 16 momme with a stated 600 thread count. It is cut to the UK standard 50 x 75 cm (20 x 30 inches) and closes with a hidden zip, which keeps the pillow in and the surface flat. One pillowcase comes in a gift box.
Wash it warm and gentle, skip the bleach and the tumble dryer, press it cool if you bother at all. Measure your pillow before you order. Delivery is tracked from UK warehouses in 3 to 7 working days, and you have 14 days from delivery to change your mind.