How to Choose the Best Pillowcases

You spend roughly one-third of your life in your bed. Naturally, you want that time to be as comfortable and lovely as possible. That is why you have chosen the best quality mattress, and perhaps picked up a top of the range Hungarian goose down duvet and a goose down pillow. But, what about the pillowcase? A pillowcase is an essential element of your bedding ensemble. It’s underrated, but it is important. Without a quality pillowcase to tie it all together, your uber-comfy bedding won’t be that comfy anymore.

Your pillowcase has to be just right. It should gel well with your bedding and duvet, and not look like an eyesore. Most important of all, it should feel heavenly when you prop your head on it, and send you into blissful sleep. But, finding the right pillowcase is easier said than done.

A quick online search will bring you thousands of options for pillowcases. How do you go through all of them to find your one perfect pillowcase?

The answer is simple – you don’t.

You focus on what is important to you, instead of browsing everything that is available to you. So, here is a simple guide on how to choose the perfect pillowcase based on what you want out of your pillowcase.

Pillowcase Sizes

Pillowcases come in a variety of sizes. The biggest of them are designed for body pillows. Then there are the king size pillowcases. King size pillowcases are suited for the mega-size pillows that adorn the King size beds. Similarly, there are queen size pillowcases, standard size pillowcases, square pillowcases, and so on. Check out the size of your pillow and then choose the right pillowcase for its size.

Thread Count

No matter which pillowcase you check, it will almost always mention a thread count. If you don’t know what it is, thread count is the number of threads per square inch of the material. Typically, thread count is the measure of the number of threads both lengthwise and widthwise. So, the next time you come across a pillowcase, a goose down duvet cover, or any other fabric, with a thread count of say, 600, then it means that the fabric has 300 threads lengthwise and 300 threads widthwise.

As a thumb rule, a fabric with a thread count above 400 will be amazingly soft and feels superb against the skin. According to experts, once you cross the threshold of 400, there is not much physical difference between fabrics. That means a fabric of 500 thread count will not be much different from a fabric of thread count 600. So, your goal should be to get a pillowcase that has a thread count above 400. Beyond that, more does not necessarily mean better.

You should remember one more thing when purchasing a pillowcase. High thread count fabrics are difficult to maintain. If they are not properly washed, and maintained, they get all rough. In other words, they will lose the very softness for which you bought them in the first place.

Materials

Pillowcases come in a variety of materials, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Let us take a closer look at the different materials available.

• Polyester Pillowcases

Polyester pillowcases are usually the cheapest pillowcases you can get in the market. They are the easiest to maintain. They can be easily cleaned. But, their advantages end there. They are not known for their comfort. In fact, they can be quite rough on the skin, especially when you are sleeping with your cheek down. You can actually feel the hardness of this material against your skin. Moreover, polyester gets hot very easily, and make you sweat profusely.

• Silk Pillowcases

When you want the best in class, go for the silk pillowcases. Silk is one of the softest fabrics ever to be produced. On top of it, silk is amazingly comfortable, warming, and not to mention airy. Silk’s excellent warming properties make it a great material for the winters. Plus, its breathability keeps you well aerated during the summers. Silk is an amazing all-season material.  

Silk can also be used to produce flannel, which is also an excellent choice of material for pillowcases. If you are using high end pillows such as Hungarian goose down or memory foam pillows, then you need the best pillowcases to complement them. Silk is as good as it gets.  The best quality silk comes from China and India. Many retailers offer silk pillowcases made of low quality silk obtained from elsewhere. For authentic pillowcases made of the highest quality silk, you might want to check out the collection at Diamond Bedding.

• Cotton Pillowcases

Cotton is easily the most versatile fabric available. It is quite comfortable, although not as good as silk or fleece. It can be easily used to make a variety of designs, and infused with a range of colors. If you want to purely base your selection on style and looks, cotton is a great choice. It is also an excellent material for the summers. It does not get hot. But, at the same time, it doesn’t have good insulation properties. So, it is not that great a choice for winters. However, the biggest advantage of cotton pillowcases is that they are extremely easy to maintain.

• Velvet

Velvet is easily one of the most sensuous material you can have in the bedroom. It feels soft and nice on the skin. As it is made of cotton and polyester, it gets very hot during the warm nights, especially during the summers. They work quite well during the winters and offer good warmth for the entire season. But, once the snow melts, the velvet pillowcases are best left in the drawer until the next season.

Also, give it some serious thought before you pick a velvet pillowcase. Velvet is one of the most high maintenance materials around. It has to be washed gently. Even slightly vigorous washing can significantly affect the softness of the pillowcase, rendering it unusable.