The complete guide
The Honest Buyer's Guide to Mulberry Silk Pillowcases
The problem with the pillowcase you already own
Most of us never think about the pillowcase. It came with the sheet set, it is cotton, it does the job. Then one morning you notice the side of your face has a crease in it that takes an hour to settle, or your hair has gone up at the back in a way that no amount of brushing fixes quickly, and you start wondering whether the fabric has anything to do with it.
It does, at least in terms of friction. Cotton, especially a basic percale, has a textured surface. Under a microscope it looks like a woven basket. Your hair and your cheek drag across that texture every time you roll over, and you roll over a lot more than you think. Silk is a different animal. The filament is long, smooth and round, and a dense weave like the 600 thread count used here turns that into a surface things glide over rather than catch on.
That is the practical case for silk. Not magic, not a treatment, just a smoother surface against your face for seven or eight hours a night.
What mulberry silk actually is
Mulberry silk comes from silkworms fed exclusively on mulberry leaves. The controlled diet produces a long, even filament, which is why mulberry silk is the standard for bedding rather than wild or tussah silk, which has shorter, rougher fibres and a more rustic look.
Within mulberry silk there is a grading system, and you will see letters like 5A and 6A on listings. This pair is Grade 6A, which sits at the top of that scale. It describes the raw fibre quality, how long and consistent the filaments are before weaving. Finer, more even fibres weave into a smoother, more durable cloth.
Then there is momme. If you only learn one silk term, learn this one. Momme (pronounced "mommy") measures the weight of the fabric. Silk bedding typically runs from about 16 momme up to 25. Below 16 the fabric starts to feel thin and will not last under weekly washing. Above 22 it begins to feel heavy and the price climbs sharply. These cases are 19 momme, which is the sweet spot most people land on: enough body to drape over the pillow properly, light enough to stay cool.
People hunting for the best 19 momme silk pillowcase usually arrive at that number for exactly this reason. It is the practical middle.
Double-sided matters more than you would guess
Plenty of silk pillowcases on the market are silk on one side and something cheaper on the other. Sometimes it is cotton, sometimes it is a synthetic blend. The theory is that you only sleep on one face, so why pay for two.
In practice it falls apart. You flip the pillow in the night. Someone else makes the bed. You turn the case inside out after washing and put it back the wrong way. Suddenly you have paid for silk and are sleeping on polyester.
Both faces of these cases are pure mulberry silk. There is nothing to get wrong. That is a small design decision with an outsized effect on how often you actually get the benefit you paid for, and it is why the best double sided silk pillowcase is usually worth the extra over a one-sided version.
Why navy
White silk looks lovely in a photograph and shows every single thing in real life. Makeup, hair product, the ghost of a sunscreen smear, a spot of coffee. Navy is forgiving. It reads as considered rather than clinical, and it goes with almost every bedding palette people already own: grey, oatmeal, cream, white, timber bedheads, black metal frames.
It also photographs well if you care about how the bed looks, because a dark solid gives the eye somewhere to rest among paler sheets. For anyone after the best navy silk pillowcase for a bedroom that is not trying too hard, a solid, pattern-free deep blue is about as safe as it gets.
One thing worth knowing about dark silk: colour longevity depends almost entirely on how you wash and dry it. Cool water, gentle detergent, shade drying. Hot water and direct sun will dull any dark dye over time, silk included.
Sizing, and how to check yours
These are queen cases, 20 by 30 inches, which is 75 cm long by 50 cm wide.
Here is the honest bit about pillow sizing. Australian pillow naming is inconsistent. A "standard" pillow and a "queen" pillow often come out of the same factory at close to 48 by 73 cm, and both fit a 50 by 75 cm case comfortably. Where people run into trouble is European square pillows (65 by 65 cm), king pillows (roughly 50 by 90 cm) and body pillows. None of those will work here.
Take two minutes and measure the pillow you actually sleep on. Lay it flat, measure edge to edge both ways. If you get something in the ballpark of 48 by 73, you are fine. If you are between sizes, go with the slightly larger case, because a silk case stretched tight over an oversized pillow puts strain on the seams and the zip.
The zipper question
There are three common closures on pillowcases: an open envelope end, a flap tuck, and a zip.
Open ends are cheap and the pillow wanders out. Flap tucks are better but still shift on a pillow you move around a lot. A hidden zip solves it. The pillow stays put, the end stays closed, and because the zip is sewn into the seam rather than sitting on top of it, you do not feel it.
The trade-off is that a zip is a moving part, and moving parts can fail. Treat it gently: ease the pillow in rather than forcing it, and close the zip before washing so the teeth do not snag on the fabric. That habit alone prevents most zip problems on any silk case.
Caring for silk without making it a chore
The care instruction here is hand wash only, and it is worth taking seriously. Silk is a protein fibre, chemically closer to hair than to cotton, and it reacts badly to the same things hair does: high heat, harsh alkaline detergent, bleach and chlorine.
The routine that works:
Fill a sink with cool water. Add a small amount of mild detergent made for delicates, or a wool wash. Submerge the case and move it around gently for a couple of minutes. Do not scrub, do not twist, do not wring. Rinse in clean cool water until the water runs clear. Press the case between your palms or roll it in a dry towel to take out the bulk of the water. Lay it flat or hang it in a shaded, airy spot.
Silk dries fast, usually in a few hours. If there are creases, a cool iron on the reverse side while the fabric is slightly damp sorts them out, though most people find the creases relax on their own once the case is on the pillow.
Wash weekly if you can. Rotating the two cases in the pack makes that easy, because one is always on the bed while the other dries. That rotation is the real argument for the best silk pillowcase 2 pack over a single: not just matching pillows, but a working laundry cycle.
Who this suits
People who sleep hot and want something that does not hold warmth the way cotton flannelette does. People with long hair who are tired of waking up with it in knots. Anyone who shares a bed and wants both pillows to match without buying twice. And it makes a straightforward gift, because the only thing you have to get right is a standard queen pillow and a colour that goes with almost anything.
It is less suitable if you want a wash-and-forget pillowcase you can throw in with the towels. Silk asks for five minutes a week. If that sounds like too much, a good cotton sateen is a more honest match for your habits.
The short version
Two queen cases, 20 by 30 inches, in 100% Grade 6A mulberry silk at 19 momme with a 600 thread count. Both sides silk, hidden zip at the end, solid navy with no pattern. Hand wash in cool water, dry out of the sun.
Measure your pillow before you order, wash it gently, and keep it out of direct sunlight. Do those three things and a pair of silk cases will stay smooth and dark for a long run of weekly washes.