Making buckwheat pillows: comparing fabrics
Maggie started making buckwheat pillows for family and friends decades ago. Over the years she has tried many fabrics to find the best one. The fabric used to make ComfyComfy buckwheat pillows has to follow these three criteria: durable for years of use, made from natural fibers, and soft enough for comfortable bedtime use.
Here are some of the fabrics Maggie has tried:
Cotton muslin fabric is available in many weights. It's commonly used for making pillows because it is inexpensive and widely available. We found that its plain weave was not durable enough for years of use.
Cotton ticking is a very tightly woven and durable fabric. Back when mattresses were made from straw, and pillows were filled with feathers, cotton ticking was used to contain these potentially pokey materials. Although this fabric passes our durability criteria we wanted to make pillows from a tighter woven fabric with a softer feel.
Twill describes how a fabric's threads are woven together. Threads are woven over an under in an alternating fashion to produce fabric with a diagonal pattern. This allows for a high thread count, and a soft, yet durable fabric. Durability is important to contain the three dimensional buckwheat hulls. Our ComfySleep pillows are made from organic, USA-grown cotton twill.
When choosing a buckwheat pillow, or any pillow, remember to consider what the pillow is made from.