How To Keep A Feather Pillow From Poking You 🛏️ (10 Tips)

The quills in your feather pillow can poke at you as you sleep, making sleep uncomfortable. However, there are still advantages to choosing to sleep with a feather pillow. So, what do you do if you want to keep using your feather pillow but don’t want it to make your nights uncomfortable?

This article will discuss some ways you can make your feather pillow more comfortable, as well as some tips for choosing a feather pillow that won’t poke you. Read on to get one step closer to a great night’s sleep.

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Use Multiple Pillow Cases

Using multiple pillow covers is the simplest solution if the quills in your feather pillow are poking you. If you can get another pillowcase, add it to your pillow. If you are still getting poked, keep adding pillowcases until you don’t notice the feathers poking you. 

Depending on the type of pillowcases you have and the severity of your feather-poking problem, you will likely only need to add one or two additional cases. 

Cover Your Pillow With Ticking

A pillow casing made of ticking material will go a long way in keeping the feathers in your pillow from poking you. Ticking is a material specially made to cover pillows and mattresses and ensure that the stuffing doesn’t poke through. For this reason, having high-quality ticking in your pillowcase ultimately makes your pillow more comfortable. 

The best pillow ticking should have the following qualities: 

• The fabric should be tightly woven. The more tightly woven the ticking fabric is, the more likely it is that the feathers will stay in place and won’t poke you. 
• The material should have a high thread count. A higher thread count will significantly contribute to the quality and tightness of the fabric’s weave. 
• The threads used should be thick. Thread thickness contributes to the effectiveness of the ticking. Thick threads can more effectively contain feathers and block them from poking through the fabric.

Since ticking is not very comfortable to sleep on, you should consider placing a pillowcase or other cover over it. A pillowcase will also help if you don’t like striped colors, considering that ticking fabric is almost always striped. 

You can easily get ticking fabric online. This Waverly Timeless Ticking Fabric on Amazon, made of pure cotton, is a great option. The fabric is a substantial weight, and the product is relatively cheap. Once you have the material, you can either make the casing yourself if you can or get someone to do it for you. 

Tighten Leaking Seams

Your feather pillow may be made of a high-quality shell that doesn’t allow the feathers to poke through. However, the feathers could still be poking through at the seams. This happens for several reasons, including poor-quality sewing. 

Oversewing Fixes Loose or Worn Seams

If one of the reasons behind your poking problem is worn seams, you can resolve the issue by oversewing the edges. In oversewing, every stitch passes over a join. 

Oversewing tightens up the seams and reduces the chances of leaks happening in the future. And if the feathers in your pillow were only poking you through the seams, you would have solved your problem. 

Patch Your Pillow’s Worn Areas

When you have used your feather pillow for a long time, it is natural that it might have become worn out in some places. At times, only one spot or area is worn out, and the rest of the pillow looks fine. Such an area can cause discomfort by allowing feathers to poke through and get to you. 

Patching up such an area can solve the problem. 

You don’t have to be particularly skilled in sewing. A basic stitch will do. In addition, if you are using a pillowcase or other cover, the material you use to apply the patch doesn’t matter. 

If you’d like to learn some sewing skills, you should check out Sewing for Dummies on Amazon. It’s an excellent guide for beginners. In addition, the skills outlined in the book are bound to come in handy in other areas.  

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Use a Modern Feather-Proof Pillow Protector

Pillow protectors help keep pillows clean. They also help reduce wear and tear. However, you can also use a pillow protector to combat poking from quills in feather pillows. 

Pillow protectors can be classified into two based on their structure. The first type of pillow protector has only one layer of fabric, just like a regular pillowcase. 

The second type is quilted, with two layers that enclose a thick layer of fabric, which provides more padding and helps reduce the poking effect of quills. The quilted pillow protector is essentially a feather-proof pillow protector. 

This method is cheaper than replacing your feather pillow. Some pillow protectors also come with bonus features such as waterproofing to protect your pillow from drool. 

If you think this is the way to solve your poking problem, here are some of the best pillow protectors on Amazon. 

Best Overall for Unmatched Pillow Protection: Niagara Sleep Solution Waterproof Pillow Protectors

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This protector from Niagara sleep solutions will not let anything get through to your pillow. 

It is waterproof and is great for an environment with children, where spills are likely to occur every once in a while. It is perfect if you don’t want anything getting on your expensive pillows. 

Additionally, it is soft, and you won’t feel any feathers poking at you. 

However, in the first few days of using it, sleeping on your pillow may feel different and weird. 

Best for Allergen Protection: Aller-Ease Maximum Allergy Pillow Protector

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This pillow protector is made of a combination of polyester and nylon and is tightly woven to make it difficult for particles to embed themselves in the fabric. It is great if you have a problem with allergens such as dust mites. 

Moreover, the quality of the material, in addition to the expert weaving on the fabric, ensures that no feathers will poke you. 

One feature that might be inconvenient is that you can’t wash this pillow protector in hot water. 

Best Pillow Protector on a Budget: Amazon Basics Hypoallergenic Pillow Protector

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You’ll find this a great option if you’re on a budget. This protector is tightly woven, which makes it good at keeping allergens off. It includes a zipper, which makes it easy to keep the case’s contents in and everything else out. 

It is also light and feels comfortable to sleep on. 

However, as far as protection goes, this protector is not waterproof. It also isn’t ideal for people who are allergic to polyester. 

Best for Comfort: Shunjie.Home Egyptian Cotton King Pillow Protectors

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This protector is made of 100% Egyptian cotton – considered the highest quality cotton for such fabrics. The cotton fabric and high-quality knit make it soft and comfortable to sleep on. 

It has a thread count of 400, which ensures that those pokey feathers can’t get to you. 

Additionally, this protector doesn’t make noise when you sleep on it and doesn’t wrinkle easily. 

Get a Bed Bug Cover for Your Pillow 

Bed bug covers are used to prevent pests like bed bugs and mites from thriving and breeding in your pillow. However, they can also come in handy when the feathers in your pillow are poking you. 

Bed bug covers have a tough material that is impenetrable both to pests and feathers. As a result, the cover will protect you from troublesome feathers. In addition, in case the quills do poke through the shell of your feather pillow and get out, the pest cover will still contain them. 

And as a bonus, pests will not be able to use your pillow as a breeding ground. 

Below are some of the best bed bug covers you can buy. 

Best Overall for BedBug Protection: SureGuard Pillow Protectors

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In addition to high-quality fabric, they have a super-fine zipper, which completely seals off the contents. This makes it impossible for bed bugs to survive inside or even get in. 

Additionally, they are waterproof and double up as effective pillow protectors. They are also made so that they prevent allergens like dust mites and pollen from sticking, making them a great hypoallergenic option. 

The material is woven extremely tightly. This ensures that there will be no quills poking at you from your feather pillow. 

A disadvantage of this product is that since it is built to seal off the contents, it creates a pocket of air that some people may find uncomfortable when sleeping. 

Best Bed Bug Cover on a Budget: Mattress Encasement Premium Bed Bugs Pillow Protector

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Even for the relatively low price point, this pillow cover does exactly what it is supposed to do: protect you from bugs and other parasites. It is designed to suffocate any bugs that are inside and keep any from getting in. 

A downside of this protector is that air gets stuck in the cover, which may be a bit uncomfortable at first. However, you can let the air out by opening the zipper. 

Additionally, this protector doesn’t make a noise like some other bed bug covers do. 

Best for General Protection in Addition to Bedbug Protection: Linenspa Pillow Encasement

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This product is great in shielding against bed bugs. The zipper and polyester fabric are structured in such a way that bedbugs can’t get in and breed. The structure of the material is perfect for ensuring that you are not poked by feathers in your pillow. 

Additionally, it is waterproof and can be used to protect the pillow against spills and drool. And unlike other options, this bed bug cover doesn’t produce noise and is soft. 

Best Bed Bug Cover for Comfort: SafeRest Premium Pillow Protector

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This cover has a micro zipper, is waterproof, and is woven in a way that ensures that bed bugs stay out. 

Most importantly, it is breathable, unlike some bed bug covers. Air pockets don’t build up inside this cover. This quality, along with the fact that it doesn’t produce noise, makes it an extremely comfortable option. 

This cover is also made to resist allergens, making it great for people who suffer from allergies. 

However, because of the waterproof layer, the cover can become crinkly. These crinkling sounds can be uncomfortable for some people. 

Fluff Your Pillow Regularly 

Fluffing your feather pillow makes it feel more comfortable. However, the fluffing technique can also help rearrange feathers that are sticking out and poking you. 

Fluffing is a temporary solution, but it can be pretty helpful in a pinch. With some luck, you can go for a long time without being poked after fluffing your pillow. 

This approach to the problem is handy if you have a pillow with feathers that are poking you, and you can’t immediately implement the other tips in this article. 

Fluffing your pillow can also make it more durable. By rearranging the feathers protruding into the sheath, you can prevent permanent holes from forming over time. 

Buy a Feather Pillow With a Greater Proportion of Down

Down is the soft fluff that is close to the skin of a goose or duck. It is usually found underneath the feathers of a bird. 

There are feather pillows that are made entirely of feathers. However, most feather pillows come with at least some proportion of down. Down is added to a feather pillow to keep it from going flat and to increase its loft, or the pillow’s height when it has your body’s weight on it. 

The more down your feather pillow has, the softer it will feel. Having more down may also reduce the poking effect of the quills in the pillow. 

Buy a Feather Pillow With Small and Soft Feathers

Feather pillows are typically made from the feathers found on the wings and backs of ducks and geese. 

Large feathers tend to be hard and will poke you more. On the other hand, small feathers tend to be more delicate and soft. In general, these smaller feathers are more comfortable to sleep on. 

Manufacturers don’t usually list the size of the feathers that were used to make a particular feather pillow. Generally, the feel of a pillow will reflect the quality of the material used to make it. In addition, reputable manufacturers tend to care more about selecting the best materials for their pillows. Keep this in mind when shopping for a new feather pillow.

Invest in a Quality Feather Pillow

The higher the quality, the more expensive the pillow will be. So, it may be worth sacrificing a little more money for optimum comfort. If you can, you should buy higher-quality pillows as they are less likely to poke you. 

Also, quality can depend on the brand that you are purchasing from. If you’re on a budget, you should still consider buying low-end items from manufacturers with reputable brands. Such brands adjust their pillows according to the materials they’ve used. 

Buy From Reputable Pillow Manufacturers

Manufacturers don’t need to make significant adjustments for pillows stuffed with high-quality feathers or down. For pillows with low-quality feathers, reputable manufacturers will offset the low quality with a shell that has a high thread count, which helps keep the feathers from poking you. 

Less reputable brands may not care as much. So, even if they use low-quality feathers that are likely to poke through and make sleep uncomfortable, they still use low-quality shells. While this lowers the overall quality of the pillow, it also helps keep the price down. 

At the end of the day, even when on a budget, it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for. 

Buy a Pillow With a High-Quality Shell

Apart from the quality of the feathers in your pillow, the other major factor that influences poking is the shell. The shell is the casing that encloses the inner contents of your pillow. 

Do not confuse the shell with a pillow cover. Every pillow comes with a shell. Conversely, you will often buy a pillowcase as a separate product. Some sellers will even give you pillowcases as a bonus. 

If you buy a high-quality product, you don’t have to get an additional pillowcase to prevent the feathers from poking you. The shell that comes with the pillow should be enough. 

A high-quality shell is key in preventing feathers from poking through. Quality shells are made of a high-quality fabric that is tightly woven. They will typically be made of pure cotton. High-grade Egyptian cotton fabric is an excellent choice in this case, as it is durable and comfortable. 

You can check for the material used to make the shell when buying your feather pillow. In fact, it should be one of the most important considerations as you shop for a pillow. 

Don’t Wash Your Feather Pillow Too Often

Washing your pillow regularly can speed up the natural wear and tear that fabrics undergo as they are used. This can lead to a faster loss of integrity in your material, which will make it easier for feathers to poke through, ultimately making sleep less comfortable. 

However, pillows do still get dirty. Just like all other beddings, pillows need to be washed; for tips on the most effective ways to wash your pillow, check out this article. 

Rather than wash your pillow too often, you can protect it from dirt and grime by using a pillow cover. A pillow protector with a zipper is even more effective. 

With an extra protective casing, you don’t have to wash your pillow as often as you would if you left it exposed. 

Though this tip is helpful for all feather pillows, it is most beneficial when you have pillows with low-quality shells that are more susceptible to wear and tear. 

Sources

• Down and Feather Company: Feather Pillows
• Mattress Clarity: Down vs. Feather Pillows: What’s the Difference?
• Quora: What fabric thread count is needed to keep feathers inside a blanket?
• Quora: Bedding: How can I stop the feathers escaping from my duvet and pillows?
• Wiggly Wisdom: 5 Smart Ways to Keep Feathers From Coming Out of Pillows