Pyjama Fabric Guide
Pale silk fabric falling into soft folds, lit from the side.

Silk vs Modal vs Cotton Pyjamas

How do you sleep?

Three fabrics. One of them is yours. Answer three questions and we'll name it, then tell you what's wrong with it.

Mulberry silk, Modal Cloud and cotton feel nothing alike, cost between £18 and £300, and suit different people. Most fabric guides are written to make every option sound perfect. This one isn't: each fabric below carries the thing it can't do, in the same size type as the thing it can.

Sizes
UK 6–28 in modal & cotton. Silk runs 6–22.
Delivery
UK £5, free over £50.
Returns
30 days, unworn with tags.
Made
In audited factories. Audits on file.

Three questions

Tell us how you sleep. We'll tell you what to buy.

No email, no quiz results page. The answer appears as you go, and changes if you change your mind.

Question one

How do you run at night?

Question two

What is it actually for?

Question three

Laundry. Be honest.

Side by side

The seven things that actually decide it.

Not thread counts and adjectives. Temperature, weight, what the washing machine does to it, whether it comes in your size, and what it costs to start.

Mulberry silk, Modal Cloud and cotton sleepwear compared on feel, temperature, weight, washing, size range, entry price and drawbacks.
Property Mulberry SilkFrom £90 Modal CloudFrom £18 Pure CottonFrom £33
Feel Cool, fluid, heavier in the hand than it looks. Weightless. Stretches, then goes back. Crisp at first, soft by the twelfth wash.
Temperature Cool on contact, insulates when you're cold. Warm without weight. Wicks. Breathes hardest of the three.
Composition 100% mulberry silk, Grade 6A long-fibre. 95% modal, 5% elastane. 100% cotton.
Weight 19 momme, or 22 for the heaviest sets. Micro-knit, no stated weight. Woven, no stated weight.
Washing Hand wash cold or dry clean. Never biological detergent. Machine cold, gentle. Tumble low. Machine cold, gentle. Tumble low.
Sizes Women's UK 6–22. Men's S–XL. UK 6–28, plus Petite, Tall and Maternity. UK 6–28. Kids 1–2Y to 11–12Y.
What it's bad at Being easy. It is the most demanding thing we sell. The 5% elastane isn't biodegradable. A hot tumble dry. Shrinkage is permanent.

Fabric one

Mulberry Silk

22 momme black cockatoo-print mulberry silk long pyjama set.
22 momme Black Cockatoos long set, £300. The heaviest silk we weave.

The only fabric here that feels colder than the room when you get into bed.

Grade 6A long-fibre mulberry silk, woven at 19 momme for most sets and 22 momme for the heaviest. Momme is silk's weight measure: 22 hangs with noticeably more body, resists snagging better, and costs more because there is simply more silk in it. It sits cool against skin on contact, then holds your own warmth once you're still, which is why it works for people who go to bed too hot and wake up cold.

It is also the fussiest thing we make. If that sentence irritates you, buy the modal. You'll wear it more.

Weight
19 & 22 momme
Sizes
UK 6–22 · Men's S–XL
From
£90

It forgives

  • Hot sleepers, and beds shared with one.
  • Hair and skin. Nothing on it to catch.
  • Being the most photographed gift in the room.

It won't forgive

  • The washing machine. Not on a silk cycle, not in a bag.
  • Biological or enzyme detergent, which digests the protein, and the damage takes several washes to show.
  • A radiator, a tumble dryer, or a sunny windowsill.

Care: Hand wash cold with a pH-neutral silk detergent, or dry clean. Lay flat to dry, out of direct sunlight.

Shop mulberry silk

All 33 silk pieces →

Fabric two

Modal Cloud

Sweet Strawberry Modal Cloud short pyjama set worn in a bedroom.
Sweet Strawberry short set, £45. The one people re-buy in a second colour.

The one you'll still have on at noon, and the one that survives you.

A 95% modal, 5% elastane micro-knit. Modal is a soft, fluid fibre; the elastane is what lets a sleeve stretch over an elbow and go back afterwards. Together they make the only fabric here that doesn't crease in a suitcase, doesn't need ironing, and doesn't punish you for putting it through a normal wash on a Sunday.

This is the fabric to buy if you're buying one thing. It comes in the widest size range we make, UK 6 to 28, and in Petite, Tall and Maternity cuts, which the silk does not.

Composition
95% modal · 5% elastane
Sizes
UK 6–28 · Petite, Tall, Maternity
From
£18

It forgives

  • The machine, weekly, for years.
  • A suitcase. It comes out unwrinkled.
  • Being worn long after you should have got dressed.

It won't forgive

  • Hot water. It shortens the elastane's life and the stretch never comes back.
  • A hot tumble for the same reason. Low only.
  • Anyone wanting a fully biodegradable garment. The 5% elastane isn't.

Care: Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle; tumble dry low.

Shop Modal Cloud

All 30 Modal Cloud pieces →

Fabric three

Pure Cotton

Navy Zebra cotton crewneck long pyjama set.
Navy Zebra crewneck long set, £45. Cotton holds a print the other two can't.

Worst of the three on the first night. Best of the three on the hundredth.

100% cotton, woven rather than knitted, with no synthetic blended in. It arrives crisp. Some people love that immediately and some find it stiff for a fortnight. Then it breaks in, and keeps breaking in, and by the twelfth wash it is the pair you reach for without thinking. It breathes harder than the silk or the modal, which is why it's the summer answer and the answer for anyone who sleeps under a heavy duvet regardless of season.

It also takes a print properly. The zebras, cheetahs, dice and dinosaurs on this store are cotton for a reason.

Composition
100% cotton
Sizes
UK 6–28 · Kids 1–2Y to 11–12Y
From
£33

It forgives

  • Everything a machine does at 30°C, indefinitely.
  • Children, and what children do to clothes.
  • Heat. It's the most breathable thing we sell.

It won't forgive

  • A hot tumble dry. The shrinkage is permanent and a returns policy can't undo it.
  • Being judged on night one. It's a fabric that pays out slowly.
  • Anyone who wants fluid drape. That's the modal.

Care: Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle; tumble dry low.

Shop pure cotton

All cotton sets →

Four things this page won't claim.

  • No third-party fabric certification. We don't hold OEKO-TEX or an equivalent, so we don't print one. What we do have is factory audits, and they're on file.
  • Silk doesn't run to UK 28. Women's silk stops at 22 and men's at XL. If you need 24–28, modal and cotton are the honest answer, not a silk set that won't fit.
  • Modal isn't fully natural. The 5% elastane is what makes it stretch and recover. It is not biodegradable, and we haven't found a version of this fabric without it.
  • Monogrammed pieces can't come back. Everything else is 30 days, unworn with tags, but hand embroidery is final. See how monogramming works →

Sizing

Before you pick a size.

Women's

UK 6–28 in Modal Cloud and cotton. Mulberry silk runs UK 6–22. Petite, Tall and Maternity cuts exist in Modal Cloud: same size number, different length and rise.

Men's

S to XL across the silk sets. Sizing is relaxed rather than tailored: these are made to be slept in, not to fit like a shirt.

Kids

1–2Y through 11–12Y in cotton, in the same prints as the adult sets, which is the entire point of the family sets.

Before you buy

The questions people actually ask.

Which fabric is best for hot sleepers?

Cotton breathes hardest, so it's the safest answer for someone who overheats every night of the year. Mulberry silk feels colder on contact and is the better answer if you go to bed hot but wake up cold: it cools on touch, then holds your own warmth. Modal Cloud sits between the two.

Can I put mulberry silk in the washing machine?

No. Hand wash cold with a pH-neutral silk detergent, or dry clean. The most common mistake isn't the machine, though. It's biological or enzyme detergent, which digests silk protein. The damage doesn't show for several washes, so people don't connect it to the cause.

If you know a hand wash isn't going to happen, buy the Modal Cloud instead. You'll wear it more.

What does momme mean, and is 22 better than 19?

Momme is a weight measure for silk, like GSM for cotton. Our 19 momme sets are the standard weight; 22 momme has more silk in the same area, so it hangs with more body and resists snagging better. It also costs more. Heavier isn't automatically better: 19 momme is cooler and lighter to sleep in, which some people prefer.

Do you go above a UK 22?

In Modal Cloud and cotton, yes, up to UK 28. In mulberry silk, no: women's silk stops at UK 22 and men's at XL.

Is any of this certified organic or OEKO-TEX?

No. We don't hold third-party fabric certification, so we don't claim it. Our factories are audited and the audits are on file, and our packaging is recyclable and plastic-free. That's the honest extent of it.

What does delivery cost?

UK delivery is £5, and free on orders over £50. In the EU: Estonia is free, the Nordics and Baltics £5, Eastern and Southern EU £5.50, Western EU £6.

Can I return something if the fabric isn't right for me?

Yes: 30 days, unworn and with tags on. Returns are free in the UK and Estonia; elsewhere in the EU, return postage for a change of mind is yours. Monogrammed pieces are the exception and can't be returned, because they can't be resold.

Can I have it monogrammed?

Any of it: silk, modal, cotton, and the bedding too. Initials are hand-embroidered in our London atelier. Start a monogram →

Still undecided

The cheapest way to find out is £18.

An eye mask is the same Modal Cloud as the pyjamas. If you like how it feels against your face for a week, you'll like the set. If you don't, you're out eighteen pounds instead of three hundred.

Shop all sleepwear Start with an eye mask Read the care guide

Sleep well, snoozyn

Bedding is a different set of fabrics entirely: cloud cotton, silky cotton, plain cotton and linen. See the bedding fabric guide → or build a bed →