The Ultimate Pillow Guide!

 

Welcome to our blog post all about pillows.  Read on to be informed about the best fillings, best firmness and the best size of pillow to help you drift off effortlessly at the end of every day.

 

What makes the best pillow?

We go into detail further down this post. But if your in a rush here's the main factors:

 

• Quality pillows should have a 100% cotton case with a high thread count, (Cotton is perfect at regulating your body temperature and controlling moisture). Any thread count over 200 is considered good.

 

• The best fillings are considered to be natural down feathers, either goose or duck feather. If you have allergies to natural feathers go for a high grade hollow fibre that doesn't deteriorate over time. For us Dacron Comforel is a winner.  Don't forget you can get pillows with soft, medium support and firm fill, so if you feel you need more support at night, get a firm filled pillow.  If you like the feeling of sinking into a mallow soft pillow go for a soft fill.  Either way choose wisely as its somewhere you will be parking your head every night.

 

• Finally, make sure you get the perfect size pillow for your bed.  It used to be one size fits all but these days there are plenty of king size pillows on the market so don't settle for the standard 75 x 50 supermarket size, especially if you have a larger bed.

 

Whats the killer filler for a pillow?

 

Its hard to say which is best in your pillow, especially when you have to take allergies and personal preferences into account.

Here are the best fillings for pillows we have found that aren't overtly expensive. There are others such as wool, silk and many types of memory foam. But we found either feather & down or a good quality hollow fibre give you excellent comfort and all the support you need.

 

Man made / Hollow Fibre pillows

Hollow fibre comes in many forms and qualities. It is a synthetic man made material that is an ideal alternative to natural fillings. In short its great for anyone with alleries to natural fillings.

Hollow fibre is typically strand like in appearance, which when layered together trap warm air and keep you snug at night. More recently with the advances in synthetic fillings new forms of fibre have been developed that have become better insulators. 

 

One of the best hollow fibre fillings we've found is Dacron Comforel. This polyester filling is round in shape and closely matches the feel of down pillows, it is also great in the wash as it doesn't gather and clump together as typical hollowfibre strands do.  One of the down sides of man made fillings is their shelf life. Typically hollowfibre will deteriorate quicker over time and loose more heat when compared to a naturally filled pillow.

 

Feather & Down pillows
 

Feather and down pillows are the cheapest of the naturally filled pillow range. They are mostly filled with either duck or goose feathers. The filling amount is typically 85% although this can vary depending on the quality of the pillow.

 

The remaining part of the pillow is filled with either goose or duck down, these are the better quality feathers that are more efficient at trapping warm air. When combined they make a soft, durable natural filling however because duck feathers have spines they do tend to stick through or be lost from the casing. This can be a pain if you catch one and if you lose enough feathers over time can result in a loss of quality.

 

Goose Down pillows
 

Goose down pillows are one of the premium fillings for pillows. The down feather has no spine (see below for more details) and is an excellent insulator. As a result these pillows are usually extremely light but snug and cosy.

 

They are typically filled with 85 - 90% down with the remaining filling made up from duck or goose feathers, (although some down pillows can go up to 100%). Although down pillows are a great insulator they can be too good. For some sleepers the insulation can cause some discomfort, this is why when choosing your down pillow the tog is an important factor.

 

What size pillow is best for your bed?

 

As a luxury bed linen supplier we're often asked our advice on what size pillow is best for any particular bed.  So below we've showcased the different pillow sizes available and what size might suit your bed best.

 

Some of us like nothing better than a swirl of soft pillows to dive into at night with pillows to rest your head as well as pillows to cuddle up to, (and some to even build a wall with). Some of us like nothing better than a soft super king pillow that stretches the width of the bed while others like just enough pillow for their head.

 

To try and visualise the options we thought it handy to have a few ideas listed here, in case you weren't sure. We've included larger pillows such as king size and super kingsize pillows which have been growing in popularity over the last few years as larger bed sizes have joined the market.

 

Take a look below, we've tried to cover all the popular sizes but if we've missed anything be sure to add a comment in the section below.

 

Firstly we will look at the pillow sizes.

 
WHAT SIZE IS A STANDARD PILLOW?

 

This size pillow has been the most popular size in the UK for decades. Measuring approximately 74cm wide by 49cm (although sizes can differ slightly). It's a popular choice for single beds and double beds (4'6" or 135cm wide) where you can double up the pillows to cover the width of the bed. These pillows can be easy to source and pillow cases are readily available in most UK stores.

 

 

HOW BIG IS A KING SIZE PILLOW?

 

A king size pillow is approximately 90-92cms wide (around 3ft, 36 inches) and 49cm length.  Its a good 30cm extra in widh than a standard pillow and therefore covers a much bigger area across the bed.  King size pillows are becoming more popular but still are not as easy to find on the high street.  King size pillow cases are available but mostly online.

 

 

WHAT SIZE IS A SUPER KING SIZE PILLOW?

 

Super king size pillows are approximately 107cms wide (around 3ft 6 inches or 42 inches) and 49cm length.  These pillows are great for large single beds (3ft 6 inch wide), small double beds (4ft wide) and other bigger sizes such as Emperor.  The wide width gives great coverage to help a great nights sleep.  Super king size pillows are hard to find but they are available in the UK.

 

 

 

WHAT PILLOW SIZE IS BEST FOR YOUR BED?

 

 

 

PILLOWS FOR SINGLE BEDS

Traditionally the standard 49 x 74cm size pillow has been the perfect match for a standard 3ft (92cm) bed, giving just enough pillow for you to rest your head at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

However a 90cm or 3ft pillow has become increasingly popular for single beds.  It's size covers the full width of the bed so even if you roll over at night you won't run out of pillow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While standard 74 x 49cm pillows can fine for most standard UK beds such as Double and King size.  They can be a little small for the larger Super King bed.

 

 

Whats the best pillow size for a king size bed?

 

 

The best pillows to fit a king size bed (6ft or 183cms wide) is to use 2 x king size pillows.  Each pillow is 3ft (approx 90cm) wide and so two of these side by side will cover the entire width of your bed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PILLOWS ON AN EMPEROR (6ft 6") BED

The king size pillow is also a great size for the larger Emperor (6ft 6" or 200cm) bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEST PILLOW SIZE FOR A LARGE EMPEROR (7ft) BED

 

Because of the extra width we recommend a super king size pillow for any bed over 7ft wide.  These 3ft 6in pillows are the perfect width to cover larger beds and can even be used as body pillows to help during pregnancy.

 

 

INFOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO PILLOWS

A little summary of the above...

 

 

 

PILLOWS FOR ALL SIZES.

We hope you enjoyed our guide.  We know its far from exhaustive as new beds and new pillows come onto the market all the time.  If you feel we have missed anything important please add it in the comments below.