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Most pillows have two layers of fabric. The shell, sometimes called the ticking, is sewn shut around the fill and keeps it in. Many foam, latex and shredded pillows add a removable outer cover with a zipper, which takes the wear and the washing. Down and fiber pillows usually have a shell only, and your pillowcase does the job of the cover.
These fabrics change more than the look. A tight weave keeps feather quills and foam crumbs inside, while a loose or knit one lets air through. The fiber decides how warm the surface feels, how it copes with hot water, and whether it crinkles when you turn your head.
Cotton
Cotton shells and covers
Cotton is the usual shell on down and feather pillows. Woven tightly, it holds clusters and quills in while letting some air through, and product pages often call such a weave downproof. Percale, a plain matte weave, feels crisp and cool. Sateen, with more yarn floating on the surface, feels smoother and a little warmer.
Hot water suits cotton better than most fabrics, which matters if you follow dust-mite advice. It can shrink at high heat, though, and a shell that shrinks squeezes the fill inside it. Thread count appears on many cotton shells. A higher count can mean a tighter, smoother weave, but multi-ply yarns can inflate it, so the weave name and the word downproof tell you more than the number.
Bamboo rayon
Bamboo is usually rayon
A cover sold as bamboo is usually rayon or viscose made from bamboo pulp, a fiber regenerated through chemical processing rather than spun from the plant as it grows. The fabric feels cool and smooth, drapes softly and takes up moisture, which is why it turns up on so many pillows sold as cooling.
Rayon is weaker when wet than cotton and can pill or lose its shape in a hot, rough wash. Care labels on bamboo covers usually ask for cold or warm water and a gentle cycle. If you plan to wash a cover hot every week, a bamboo cover may wear out before the pillow under it does.
Polyester
Polyester, microfiber and knits
Polyester is the shell on most down alternative pillows and many budget ones. Microfiber, a fine polyester, feels soft and smooth and costs little. It dries fast and resists wrinkles, but many sleepers find it warmer than cotton, since the fiber does not absorb moisture.
Knit polyester covers, often with a sheen and some stretch, appear on foam and grid pillows sold as cooling. A knit stretches with the foam underneath, so the pillow keeps its shape. Some carry phase-change or cooling-yarn finishes that change how the fabric feels at first touch, and cooling materials explains how long that feeling lasts.
Your habits pick the fabric more than any label does. Warm sleepers tend to prefer cotton percale or bamboo rayon against the face. Weekly hot washing points to cotton. And if slow drying and ironing are what wear you down, polyester asks the least of you between washes.
Construction
Gussets, zippers and piping
A gusset is a strip of fabric sewn around the sides of a pillow, turning a flat envelope into a box. It lets the fill spread evenly to the edges, so the pillow keeps its height across its width, which side sleepers tend to notice most. A pillow without one domes in the middle and thins at the edges.
Zippers matter on any pillow you might adjust or wash in parts. Look for a zipper along one side with a fabric flap over it, so the teeth stay away from your face. Shredded fills need a second, inner zippered liner to keep crumbs from escaping through the outer cover. Piping, the corded edge on some pillows, is mostly decorative, though it does reinforce the seam.
Noise
Why some pillows crinkle
Noise is a cover problem more often than a fill problem. Waterproof and some barrier covers use a laminated or coated layer that crackles when you move, and very tight, crisp shells can rustle. Light sleepers should read the cover description for words like waterproof, laminated or barrier, and scan buyer comments for noise.
Encasings for dust mites are a separate layer that zips around the whole pillow under the pillowcase. Mayo Clinic advises dustproof or allergen-blocking covers of tightly woven fabric, and the AAAAI mentions both allergen-proof fabric covers and airtight zippered plastic ones. Of the two, a woven fabric encasing is the quieter choice.
Labels
OEKO-TEX on pillow fabrics
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 is a label you will often meet on pillow fabrics. It means the textile was tested for harmful substances against the OEKO-TEX list of over 1,000, from yarn to finished product, with limit values reviewed at least once a year. Requirements tighten with skin contact, and bed linens fall in Product Class 2.
The label covers whatever was certified, which on a pillow may be the cover alone and not the fill. Any label number can be checked on the OEKO-TEX Label Check, and pillow certifications explains how to read the other labels you will meet on a pillow.
Care
Washing covers and shells
For hot washing, MedlinePlus gives 130 to 140°F (54.4 to 60°C) for bedding and pillows. Mayo Clinic gives at least 130°F (54.4°C) and a hot-dryer option for bedding that cannot take water that hot: at least 15 minutes in the dryer above 130°F, then a wash. Read the cover label before you set the machine, and our guide on how to wash a pillow goes through the fills one by one.
- Wash the removable cover on its own schedule, often with your weekly bedding.
- Follow the cover's own care label, which may differ from the pillow's.
- Close the zipper before washing so the teeth do not snag other fabric.
- Put the cover back on only when it is fully dry, especially over foam, which holds moisture.
- Choose an encasing that tolerates hot water if you follow dust-mite advice.
Questions
Questions buyers ask
Is your bamboo pillow cover really bamboo?
Usually it is rayon or viscose made from bamboo pulp, a fiber regenerated through chemical processing. It feels cool and smooth, but it is weaker when wet than cotton, so follow its care label rather than washing it hot.
What does downproof mean on your pillow shell?
It describes a weave tight enough to keep down clusters and feather quills inside. Product pages rarely say how that was judged, so buyer comments about quills poking through are a useful check.
Why does your pillow crinkle when you move?
Most often the cover has a laminated or coated waterproof layer, or the shell is a very tight, crisp weave. A fabric encasing is quieter than a plastic one, and a new cotton shell often softens after a few washes.
Does an OEKO-TEX label mean your whole pillow was tested?
Not necessarily. STANDARD 100 applies to the textile that was certified, which may be only the cover or the shell. Enter the label number on the OEKO-TEX Label Check to see what the certificate covers.
