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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » How to Fit a King Pillowcase on a Standard Pillow

How to Fit a King Pillowcase on a Standard Pillow

by Lindsay Ballard on July 27, 2011 86 Comments

Here's a quick way to fit your standard sized pillow into a king pillowcase. It makes your bed look so much neater! via MakelyHome.com

I have a love/hate relationship with our king sized bed.  I love the extra space so I don’t feel crowded by the dogs and kids when they occasionally climb into bed with us, but I hate the king sized pillows that are made for a mattress that size.  I find them too large, and I much prefer two standard pillows to one king pillow.  Aren’t you glad you are finding out so much interesting information about me?

The problem with standard pillows on a king sized bed are the pillowcases.  A king sheet set normally comes with two king cases (although I’m starting to see some that come with 4 standard pillowcases – woohoo!), and they are far to large and droopy.  I can’t stand this look.

Short of buying extra standard pillowcases, which I have been known to do, I developed my own way to fit standard pillows inside of king pillowcases.  It keeps the pillow from shifting in the pillowcase, and makes it look crisp and tailored on the bed.  I’m sure everyone else in the world already knows how to do this, but I was so proud of myself for figuring this out a few years ago.

How to Fit a King Pillowcase on a Standard Pillow

1.  Put the pillow inside of the pillowcase, and lay it on your bed with the open end facing you.

2.  With your thumb and index finger, pinch the pillowcase right above the end of the pillow itself.

3.  Using both hands, tuck the loose portion on the top of the pillow inside the pillowcase.

If I were to remove my hands at that point, it would look like this:

4.  From the inside of the case, smooth it out by running your hands from the center and out to the edges.  It should look like a little envelope when you are finished.

The whole process takes about 5 seconds, and it leaves you with a nice, crisp lines on your pillows.

Once they are behind my other decorative pillows, I think they look so great.  No more droopy pillowcases!

Oh, wait.  That bed is really missing something – like a head board and some color.  Oh, no!  That doesn’t look great, Lindsay.  Distract them!  Quick!

Whew!  I think it worked.  Much better, don’t you think?

What are your thoughts on droopy pillowcases?

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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Comments

  1. Jessica Hayes says

    July 27, 2011 at 7:09 am

    Love it! I just fixed all four of our pillows. They look so much better!

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    July 27, 2011 at 7:20 am

    I have this same problem! We like our tempurpedic standard pillows but the king size cases are too big. Thanks for the quick fix. Also I was totally distracted by the beauty in purple!
    Sarah

    Reply
  3. Nancy says

    July 27, 2011 at 7:30 am

    I used to do the same thing! But a couple months ago I actually sewed a new end seam and cut off the excess so the pillowcase is juuust riiight!

    Reply
  4. Robin says

    July 27, 2011 at 7:31 am

    I have the exact opposite problem. My kids all use King size pillows so when I buy twin sheet sets, I have to purchase extra sets of King pillowcases. They do have some standard pillows as well as the kings though, so now I know how to put all of those king cases to use. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. pine tree home says

    July 27, 2011 at 7:40 am

    Great tip. The king size pillows make my neck hurt. I have two standard and Hubs has one King, one Standard. Not the greatest look, but we sleep well.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      July 27, 2011 at 4:19 pm

      Yes! They make my neck hurt, too.

      Reply
      • John says

        January 24, 2019 at 12:05 am

        Sorry but after I have ironed my pillows I hate to squish them by folding them unnecessarily- plus the monogram won’t show I don’t think.

        Reply
  6. pat watters says

    July 27, 2011 at 7:55 am

    this is how my mom taught us to make our beds each morning. It does look nice and crisp!

    Reply
  7. Mary says

    July 27, 2011 at 8:14 am

    I have been doing this for years….thanks for sharing. Because we have 6 pillows on our bed, I went out and bought 1 twin flat sheet in a coordinating color for my bedding and actually MADE 6 regular sized pillow cases….cheapo me….and I love the way they look too.

    Reply
  8. Kathy C. says

    July 27, 2011 at 8:59 am

    I’m a king pillow lover.. but before we splurged on nice king sized pillows for our new bed we had standard ones…that drooped! Wish I would have known this trick then.. lol p.s. your daughter is too cute for words!

    Reply
  9. Paulina J! says

    July 27, 2011 at 9:06 am

    Thanks for the great tip! And the extremely cute baby! She is growing VERY quickly.

    Reply
  10. Laree @ ever heard of euless says

    July 27, 2011 at 9:11 am

    I bought a set of thrifted white sheets a few months ago for my queen sized bed. They’re perfect – except they came with king sized pillow cases! I’ve been pinning them , but this method sounds much better!

    Reply
  11. erin says

    July 27, 2011 at 9:51 am

    i love your corrected version of the photo. it sure distracted me!
    thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  12. mercy says

    July 27, 2011 at 9:53 am

    I had been tossing the idea of going back to standard pillows but thought that for sure I would be the only one that had standard pillows with a king size bed. I have yet to find a comfortable king size pillow and if I do it somehow doesn’t hold its shape for long. Your post has made me realize its time to go back to standard! What an adorable distraction on your bed.

    Reply
  13. Susan Sutherlin says

    July 27, 2011 at 10:49 am

    LOVE this, would you mind if I shared this over on my site? I think my clients would love this quick DIY. Of course, I would give credit where credit is do 🙂

    Susan
    http://www.susansutherlin.blogspot.com
    ssutherlin@decoratingden.com

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      July 27, 2011 at 4:18 pm

      Of course!

      Reply
  14. Ashley says

    July 27, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    That is such a ‘duh’ thing…as soon as I saw the first step I knew what you were doing and thought “why hadn’t I thought of that?!” haha! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  15. Lauren says

    July 27, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    I’m with you, standard size is better! We just got a king size bed and I’ve been using sheets from other sets that didn’t match. Now with this tip I don’t have to anymore! Thanks ! Your little girl is precious 🙂

    Reply
  16. Kara says

    July 27, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    This is a great idea! And oh my goodness Emma is absolutely adorable! I can’t believe how big she’s getting.

    Reply
  17. April was in CT now CA says

    July 27, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    I could have written that first paragraph. LOL We do the same thing here; my husband briefly worked at a hotel and that’s how housekeeping would do the pillows and once he showed me that little trick…the rest is history. I know a lot of people will be glad you shared this!

    Reply
  18. Deena says

    July 27, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    You are a genius!

    Reply
  19. Deanna Rio says

    July 27, 2011 at 6:13 pm

    LMBO, I thought I was the only one that did that. Great minds think alike : )

    Reply
  20. Aimee says

    July 27, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Yep, I’ve been doing this for years! King-sized pillows are ridiculously large; I could never sleep on one. 🙂

    Reply
  21. Zenetta says

    July 27, 2011 at 10:04 pm

    love the distraction – cutey!

    Reply
  22. pam laughlin says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:02 am

    WHAT PRECIOUSNESS!!
    SCRUMPDILLYICIOUS!
    WHAT AN ADORABLE BUNDLE!
    I WANT TO HOLD HER.NOW.

    Reply
    • Karl says

      September 5, 2017 at 9:06 am

      Hi Lindsy, Would you know what a long pillow case open at either end is used for?

      Reply
  23. Cathie says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:10 am

    Now if only you could show us how to fit a large pillow in a too-small case, I’d be all set.
    She is adorable!

    Reply
  24. Amy says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:12 am

    Some problem here. I just turned the king pillowcases inside out and ran them through the sewing machine about 6 inches up from the hemmed edge (is that even what that edge is called?). With that said, I think this idea is even better because folding creates an even more finished look than an open end. Good to know for when we purshcase new sheet sets! Thanks

    Reply
  25. Cheri says

    July 28, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    We sleep with larger pillows and can’t use the pillow size that comes with the bedding. What I do is use two smaller pillowcases on the larger pillow. I put one on each end and then they are matching and the whole pillow is covered. I use mostly generic pillowcases but it works.

    Reply
  26. Amy says

    July 28, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    I’d love to link to this post on our next Tip Tuesday. I’d like to post a linked photo and direct visitors to your post for the full info, if you don’t mind! 🙂

    http://www.egyptiancottonbedsheets.com/egyptiancottonbedding/

    Reply
  27. Ann Teague says

    August 4, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    I’ve been doing this also. I (like so many others) thought I was the only one that like standard pillows on a king sized bed. However, I have to admit your’s looked much neater that mine. I’ll have to try harder. Thanks for all the fun ideas. Have a great August.

    Reply
  28. Mac says

    August 11, 2011 at 10:19 pm

    I love this! I only WISH I had a king sized bed, but seeing how tidy this looks make me totally want to go out and buy king pillowcases, just so I can tuck in the edges! Head slapping simple! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  29. Veronica says

    September 23, 2011 at 9:19 pm

    Awesome!!! You just solved my problem.
    Thank you so much 🙂

    Reply
  30. Marty Bird says

    October 16, 2011 at 8:06 am

    Thank you! This had been driving me crazy, to the point where I actually cut the extra off and re-sewed one set of king sheets. We just purchased another sheet set and this’ll save me that hassle and look nice a neat. Thank you!

    Reply
  31. adrienne says

    May 1, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    Thanks! I’ve been dealing with droopy king size pillowcases for too long. Such an easy fix.

    Reply
  32. Vicki says

    July 5, 2012 at 11:28 am

    Oh my goodness…you do not know how long I’ve been trying to figure this out. My brain was hurting. Thank you so much for sharing. It is so true that you can find what you need on the internet thanks to people like you. Thanks, again…

    Reply
  33. Danielle says

    August 18, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    You are my hero. <3

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 20, 2012 at 7:49 am

      Ha! Thanks! It’s sort of life changing, isn’t it? 🙂

      Reply
  34. Carina says

    November 28, 2012 at 2:20 pm

    I have the same problem. I just googled “fix pillowcase too big” and found your post. I love that you wrote a blog post about this! So helpful, so simple.

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      November 29, 2012 at 11:04 pm

      Oh, cool! Glad it helped!

      Reply
  35. lisa u says

    February 23, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    Wow, thank you for this suggestion. It worked so well and easy to do.

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      February 24, 2013 at 2:49 pm

      Great! You are very welcome, Lisa!

      Reply
  36. Andrea aka "Andie" says

    February 28, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    I can’t get over the timing of reading this as I just updated my 2x King sheet sets and got 4x King cases per set [that’s 8x total] and was googling: “shorten king to standard pillow cases” and you came up – I ran to the bdrm and it works wonderfully – oh thank you so very much for saving me time and money – it’s still cheaper to buy by the set, but like you said, you only get King cases and I don’t know one person who actually “sleeps” on a king pillow [only for decoration]
    Thank you !!!!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 5, 2013 at 3:42 pm

      Sure thing! I’m so glad it helped you.

      Reply
  37. ilyssa kaye says

    June 17, 2013 at 2:16 pm

    love it. thanks.

    Reply
  38. tarah says

    July 20, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Love ur chevron wall ! And your daughter is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this I’ve tried everything! Ur the best!

    Reply
  39. TiffanyAzure@CremedelaCrumb says

    August 6, 2013 at 12:55 am

    I’m not joking, I saw this while laying on my regular pillow that’s been drowning in a king size case for years. Turned around, tried your trick and it worked perfectly. Now I just feel sheepish for not figuring it out on my own 🙂 thanks!!

    Reply
  40. Sharon Hess says

    September 1, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    Oh my gosh! Guess I’m not the only one who hates the king pillowcases!! I was searching for sheets when I ran across your great tip. Thank you! Can’t wait until manufacturers get our message. Give us an option for standard cases. Thans again!

    Reply
  41. Austin says

    November 1, 2013 at 10:49 pm

    Thank You so much!!! I just bought all new sheets and did not realize that the pillowcases wouldn’t fit my normal pillows. Was freaking out that I can’t sew! So glad you posted this!

    Reply
  42. Connie says

    January 5, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    How creative!!! I will definitely put this to use. Like others, I do not sleep on king pillows….actually i do not sleep on pillows at all! I roll up towels and use as my pillow. Recommended by my chiropractor. Wash day I replace the bath towels with my towel pillow and get fresh towels for a new, freshly washed towel pillow.

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      January 9, 2014 at 8:32 pm

      Does that help your spine, Connie? I’ve never heard of using a towel. I’d love to hear more!

      Reply
  43. Angie says

    May 21, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    This was a really great post. Like others, I found this blog post when I did a search, I typed in “king size pillow case for standard pillows”. I just bought a new king size sheet set, but I also bought a set of memory foam pillows and I guess I was in a daze because I didn’t realize they were standards until I put the new pillow cases on them. Womp-womp, they looked pitiful. I followed your tip and they look so nice now! I then did the same thing with my king size pillows (which are pretty floppy, sloppy, and shapeless these days) except I shook the pillow case with the floppy pillows inside until there was quite a bit of hangover fabric, then I did the trick, and they look so much better too, they have shape again, and because they are more compacted they appear the same size as my standards now. They look so much better, not sloppy at all.
    Thanks again, it’s always great to find a blog post that is so helpful!

    Reply
  44. Sand says

    February 13, 2015 at 12:06 pm

    Thank you! This has been driving me crazy.

    Reply
  45. Karman says

    April 20, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    I just wanted to THANK YOU for this post. We recently moved to a house with a built-in, custom king bedframe, and were “forced” to buy a new king mattress. I was thrilled with the idea of a new mattress, but hated the idea of needing all new sheets (I have SO many pretty Queen sets!) My biggest worry was how in the world would I fit my standard sized memory foam pillow that I’ve broken in so nicely, into my king pillowcase? Get a new pillow in king size, or have a droopy case on my standard pillow? Your post solved this issue, and it works even for shams as long as they’re not symmetrical or zipped. I love the way they look with one edge tucked in!

    Reply
  46. Mira says

    July 13, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    Id been trying to figure out how to fix it. Super easy and quick!

    Reply
  47. yesenia says

    August 19, 2016 at 12:36 am

    The problem with this technique is that it hides the decorative trim on open edges of pillowcases. This is my problem. I actually bought my king-size pillowcases for the decorative trim and was considering either letting the ends droop, or altering them by turning them inside-out and sewing a few inches in from the closed edges.

    Reply
    • Ruth says

      January 19, 2019 at 10:51 am

      Yesenia, I’m just reading your comment 2-1/2 years later. I, also, have king pillowcases with a lovely frayed ruffle, and I don’t want to lose those ruffles. How did you finally shorten your pillowcases?

      Reply
  48. ARIE says

    November 21, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    I love this idea. I was about to throw them out or make beds for little dogs out of them but no time. This is so great. Thanks for taking the time to show slide by slide what to do. Now if I can figure out how to fold fitted sheets!! Every you tube I watch they do it so fast I am clueless at the end. Your daughter is such a cutie. Thanks again.

    Reply
  49. jesse lentz says

    December 2, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    Thank you for this! I Used this for the throw pillows on my bed so they match now! This has been the only article I could find that give any advice like this so good job!!

    Reply
  50. Sowmya Mani says

    February 8, 2018 at 11:59 pm

    Simple idea and achieves what i want. My husband has a favourite odd sized small pillow that he has owned for ages and i was able to fit my regular queen sized pillow cover on this one and still make it look neat. Thanks for the idea.

    Sowmya

    Reply
  51. Courtney Shane says

    March 29, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    Thank you for creating this!

    Reply
  52. Adam says

    May 26, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    Thanks, practical and useful. Much appreciated.

    Reply
  53. Calator says

    December 7, 2019 at 3:45 am

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    great publish, very informative. I ponder why the opposite experts of this sector
    do not notice this. You must proceed your writing.
    I’m sure, you have a huge readers’ base already!- calator.tel

    Reply
  54. Summer says

    December 20, 2019 at 3:06 pm

    Thank you! I’ve been wasting my cute King pillowcases because of the droop! I thought if I can fold a fitted sheet there is surely something I can do! And that last reply was correct… You have a writers skill and should use it. Babies and puppies are the BEST DISTRACTION EVER!

    Reply
  55. Shannon Karageorge says

    May 20, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    I haven’t been able to figure out a fix for my girly pillow cases that have ruffles on the ends; folding them inward removes the detailing. (Argh!) Any suggestions? My alterations lady is making a killing off me. 🙁

    Reply
  56. Fran says

    June 8, 2020 at 12:22 pm

    Thank You Soooooo Much!!!! BTW Lindsey is precious:-)

    Reply
  57. Donna` says

    July 18, 2020 at 6:48 am

    Well I’m embarrassed to say how ridiculous happy this made me!! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  58. BH says

    September 29, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Thank you for posting this! So simple but awesome!!

    Reply
  59. Jordan says

    February 12, 2021 at 11:07 am

    Thank you! Love my king bed, irritated with the long pillow cases. This helps!

    Reply
  60. Scott says

    February 26, 2021 at 4:32 am

    THANK YOU. I felt like such an idiot having to look up how to do this and it even took me a few just to phrase the question right on Google. Thank you for posting this.

    Reply
  61. Katherine J Martin says

    March 18, 2021 at 10:16 am

    Brilliant!

    Reply
  62. Kristen says

    November 16, 2021 at 10:12 pm

    Thank you, fixed my problem and quick and easy!

    Reply
  63. ALLY says

    March 3, 2023 at 1:51 pm

    I was just thinking about how much I love/hate our new king bed and how weird that is when I discovered this post! Wowzers. I’m not the only one. I seriously was stressed about pillows. Now I can get on with my life! There are so many more vital things to think about and you relieved of this burden. THANK YOU!

    Reply
  64. Will says

    April 11, 2023 at 11:58 am

    Thank you! Twelve years later, your king pillow case technique to fit queen pillows is still helping people. You saved me hours of online research-after wasting a lot of time there already.

    Reply
  65. Ellen Crowley says

    February 13, 2023 at 8:59 am

    Thank you so much for this great tip!
    It is so simple but I would not have thought of this by myself sad to say😛

    Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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