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- Is there anything more wonderful than laying your head down on a clean, fresh pillowcase at night? Probably not, which is why you need the best pillowcase you can buy.
- The L.L. Bean 280-thread-count Pima Cotton Percale Pillowcases are our top pick because they are soft, crisp, and comfortable to sleep on every night.
Does anything beat crawling into your bed after a long day and snuggling up with a down comforter and several perfectly-plumped pillows? Not in my opinion. But what takes the experience to a whole new level is the makeup and quality of your pillowcases. These covers come in many different materials, including silk, flannel, cotton, polyester, and more.
It's standard for two pillowcases to be included with a set of sheets. But many folks, myself included, often also purchase pillowcases separately. Depending on your needs, you may want a pillowcase made from silk, cotton, flannel, or a mix of materials. We've listed the pros and cons of each fabric below:
- Cotton: Cotton's main selling point is that it is very soft, but other positives include that it is cool to sleep on, as well as absorbent. As for downsides, a cotton pillowcase will shrink when washed and wrinkle easily. Many consider Egyptian cotton to be the best - and the softest - in the world, but it is expensive. Flannel is just loosely woven cotton, but it's warmer and softer.
- Polyester: This man-made fiber is popular for all bed linens, but it's not very absorbent, so it's often mixed with cotton.
- Nylon: A common pillowcase material, nylon is an easy-care fabric that is sometimes made to look like satin. The downside? Nylon is not absorbent and can make your face sweat.
- Linen: A natural flax product, linen is a high-quality fabric that is quite expensive. Linen has a very unique feel to it and it cannot be mistaken for another material. Like satin, it is recognized for its quality.
- Satin: Smooth and sensuous, satin, a high-sheen fabric, has long been held as the most luxurious pillowcase material. Many believe that sleeping on satin pillowcases can help prevent facial wrinkles and keep your hair from frizzing.
- Silk: A natural protein fiber, silk offers many of the same beauty benefits of satin. Silk pillowcases are very delicate and most often need to be hand-washed. Quality silk fabric is sold by the weight, and the unit of measurement is called a momme. Good silk sheets and pillowcases have a momme weight of 19-25 mm.
A word about thread count: Cotton sheets and pillowcases are distinguished by their thread count, which is the total number of threads per square inch in a fabric. In general, the higher the thread count, the higher the quality. Or so we were taught to believe. However, sheet experts dispute the importance of thread count.
"There's a maximum number of threads that can fit into a square inch of fabric," Scott Tannen, CEO of Boll & Branch, a luxury linen provider, explained to Business Insider. "Depending on the type of cotton used, that number is generally not more than 400. So there is an awful lot of interesting math involved in the sheets you see in a department store that can be up to a 1200 thread count."
In our picks, we've included a few 100% cotton options, a silk pillowcase, and a cozy flannel one. All our choices are highly rated by buyers and expert reviewers.
Here are the best pillowcases you can buy in 2019:
- Best pillowcases overall: L.L. Bean 280-Thread-Count Pima Cotton Percale Pillowcases
- Best silk pillowcases: Fishers Finery 25mm Luxury 100% Pure Mulberry Silk
- Best flannel pillowcases: Pinzon 190-Gram Cotton Flannel Pillowcases
- Best linen pillowcases: West Elm Belgian Flax
- Best premium cotton pillowcases: Parachute Percale Pillowcases
- Best budget pillowcase: Amazon Basic 400 Threat Count
Updated on 04/17/2019 by Tessa Ruben: Update prices, added new products, and added related buying guides.
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
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