Which pillowcase size to choose in France

You order a satin pillowcase. It arrives. You open the bag, you slip the pillow inside, and it does not fit. Or it fits, but it floats: ten centimeters of empty fabric at the end.

It is almost never a mistake on your part. The size sold was not a French size.

This article explains which sizes exist, which one matches your pillow, and why so many online listings offer dimensions that mean nothing in a bedroom in France. We sell polyester satin pillowcases: so you are reading a text written by someone with a stake in the matter. That is also why we are going to give you the raw numbers rather than a sales pitch.

In France, there are only two pillows

The French bed linen market revolves around two dimensions, not three.

• The square pillow: 65 × 65 cm. This is the historic size, the one still found in most bedrooms. It sits flat against the headboard.
• The rectangular pillow: 50 × 70 cm. It has been gaining ground for twenty years, notably because it supports the neck better and because two of them fit more easily on a 140 cm bed.

There are exceptions. The German 80 × 80 cm size, the Scandinavian 50 × 60 cm size, the 40 × 60 cm of spare pillows. They are a minority in France, and you generally know when you have one.

Above all, remember this: the pillowcase must be a little larger than the pillow, not exactly its size. A pillowcase with an envelope closure must be able to cover the pillow and fold a flap over it. Without any margin, it does not close.

The table of sizes, French and American

Here are the dimensions that actually circulate in the trade, with, for each one, the pillow it fits properly.

Only one line of this table works for both markets: the American Queen, which happens to be the right size for a French rectangular pillow. We come back to it below.

Measure your pillow

Thirty seconds, a dressmaker's tape measure or a DIY tape measure.

1. Remove the current pillowcase and lay the pillow flat, without squashing it.
2. Measure the width from one seam to the other, then the length. Write down both numbers.
3. Round to the nearest multiple of five: pillows are sold in 50, 60, 65, 70, 80.

Never measure the pillowcase you already have in order to buy another: it has shrunk in the wash, or it was already too small. The pillow is the reference.

Why so many pillowcases sold online are in American sizes

In most cases, this is not deliberate deception. It is a production chain.

Satin bed linen is mostly made in Asia for a global market dominated by the United States. Factories cut in Standard, Queen and King because that is what their biggest customers order. A European seller who sources from this supply chain receives those three sizes, and resells them as they are.

The problem, then, is not where the size comes from. The problem is the silence around it.

A listing that says “satin pillowcase, Queen size, 50 × 76 cm” is honest: you have the numbers, it is up to you to measure. A listing that says “satin pillowcase — one size” and delivers Standard without saying so puts you in a difficult position. The first seller respects you, the second saves a line on the product page.

The same mechanism explains why the square 65 × 65 pillow is so rarely offered in satin: it hardly exists outside Europe. A factory has to set up a specific cut for it. Many brands do not do this and settle for selling rectangular ones to people who sleep on square ones.

Our 50 × 75: it is Queen, and we say so

Our satin pillowcase comes in two sizes: 65 × 65 cm and 50 × 75 cm.

The 65 × 65 is a true French size, cut for the square pillow. Nothing to explain.

The 50 × 75, on the other hand, is what the market calls Queen. We prefer to write that down rather than rename it “French size” as some do.

We chose it because it is the only size actually manufactured that suits a French 50 × 70 cm pillow. Do the math with us:

• The Standard, 50 × 66 cm, is shorter than the pillow itself. You will not be able to close the flap.
• The King, 50 × 91 cm, overshoots by twenty-one centimeters. The pillowcase bunches up and the pillow wanders around inside.
• The 50 × 75 leaves five centimeters of ease in length. This is exactly what an envelope flap requires to fold over properly.

In other words: if your pillow measures 50 × 70 cm, do not look for a 50 × 70 pillowcase. Look for one a little longer. By industrial coincidence, that size carries an American name.

The closure changes more than you think

Three systems exist on the market.

The envelope flap. A panel of fabric folded inside holds the pillow in. No rigid part, nothing that touches your cheek. This is the system on our pillowcases. It does, however, require that margin of a few centimeters we were talking about: that is precisely why the size matters so much.

The zipper. It holds the pillow better when you move a lot, but it adds a hard part on one edge. If you sleep on your side and turn during the night, you will end up feeling it. On satin, a zipper can also catch long hair.

The buttoned flap. Good hold, same reservations as the zipper: hard points on a surface that is supposed to be smooth.

We have not tested the three side by side over a long period and we will not give you a numerical verdict. What we can tell you is the reasoning that made us choose the envelope: on a product whose whole point rests on a surface that glides, adding a hard part is contradictory.

Three mistakes that come up often

• Buying the size of your fitted sheet. A 140 or 160 bed says nothing about your pillows. The two dimensions are independent.
• Going bigger “to be sure.” A pillowcase that is too big does not hold the pillow: it slides inside and you wake up with your cheek on the empty fabric.
• Trusting “one size.” On bed linen, this label does not exist. If a listing gives no figures in centimeters, move on or ask for them.

What to remember

• In France, two pillows: 65 × 65 cm and 50 × 70 cm.
• The American sizes are Standard 50 × 66, Queen 50 × 76, King 50 × 91.
• On a 50 × 70 pillow, only the Queen fits. The Standard is too short, the King floats.
• A pillowcase must be longer than the pillow, never exactly its size.
• Measure the pillow, not the pillowcase you already have.

The pillowcase discussed here

Satin pillowcase — €29.90 for a set of two, in 65 × 65 cm (square) or 50 × 75 cm (rectangular). Four colors: sand, black, pearl gray, white. Envelope closure, no zipper.

It is polyester satin, not silk. Satin is a weave, silk is a fiber: we have detailed the difference in this article.

If you would rather protect your hair than your pillow, look at the satin night bonnet at €13.90 instead. And if you are hesitating between the pieces in the range, our selection guide reads in thirty seconds.

Free delivery in metropolitan France, €3.90 elsewhere. Allow 8 to 15 business days, announced before purchase. 30-day money-back guarantee, no need to send the product back.

One last word: if your pillow has a dimension that does not appear in the table above, write to us before ordering. We will tell you frankly whether it will work or not. It costs everyone less than a return.