Dakimakura Covers, Printed To Order

If you already own a long pillow, the insert is the part you keep. It is plain, it is not printed, and it has no opinion about what goes over it. The cover is the part that carries the design, wears out, and gets replaced.

So the cover only order is the normal one. It is cheaper, it is lighter to post, and it does not leave you with a second pillow you did not need.

Three reasons people order one

• A second cover, so one can be in the wash while the other is on the pillow
• A replacement, because the old one has faded or the print has worn
• A new design, on a pillow they already sleep on every night

All three need the same thing from you, and it is not the artwork. It is the measurement.

This is worth spelling out, because the pictures online never show it.

A cover that is too large

Fabric gathers into loose folds, and the print folds with it. A face crossed by a permanent wrinkle is the usual result, and no amount of smoothing fixes it because there is simply more cloth than pillow.

A cover that is too small

The fabric stretches to fit, and the artwork stretches with it. The distortion is worst across the widest part of the pillow, which is almost always where the face sits. On a stretchy tricot cover this can look acceptable at first and get worse as the fabric relaxes.

The sizes you will meet

• 150 by 50 cm, the common standard and what we print
• 160 by 50 cm, the Japanese standard, ten centimetres longer
• 120 by 40 cm and 100 by 35 cm, smaller formats sold mostly in Asia

If your insert is not 150 by 50, tell us before ordering rather than after, and we will say honestly whether it can be done.

The zip

A concealed zip runs along one long edge, which is the standard for this format. It disappears into the seam when closed, so the print is not interrupted by hardware, and the insert goes in and out without fighting you.

The seams

Double stitched, because a cover this size takes constant tension along its length. A single stitched seam is the first thing to fail on a cheap cover, usually at the corner nearest the zip.

The printing

Dye based inks are pushed into the fibres rather than sitting on top of them, so there is no surface coating to crack or peel and the cover survives washing. Printing runs edge to edge, so there is no white border unless your file has one.

Opacity

Both fabrics are fully opaque. A white insert will not show through a dark design, which is a real problem with thinner covers and one of the easier things to get wrong.

If you already own a cover, the useful question is what the next one should be, not which is better in the abstract.

Buying a second cover for rotation

Make the second one peach skin even if the first is tricot. It washes more easily, it takes the everyday wear, and the tricot one stays sharp because it is used less.

Replacing one that faded

Fading is almost always sunlight rather than washing. If the pillow lives by a window, the fabric will not change that, but turning it occasionally will.

Printing a new design

Match the fabric to the art. Flat cel shaded illustration is brighter and sharper on tricot. Painterly work, soft gradients and photographs sit better on peach skin, which does not add gloss to something that was not meant to have any.

A cover in daily use wants washing every two to three weeks. It takes more skin contact than anything else in the room.

• Insert out, cover turned inside out before it goes in the machine
• Cold water, gentle cycle, mild detergent, no bleach and no fabric softener
• Air dry where possible, or tumble on the lowest heat setting
• Never iron the printed face

Tricot needs a laundry bag

The stretch that makes it look good also lets it distort. A mesh bag stops it being pulled out of shape by the drum, and wringing it by hand does more damage than the wash does. Peach skin can go in as it is.

Why two covers is the real answer

A cover that is washed and dried and put straight back on never gets a rest. Two covers rotating outlast three bought one at a time, which is the whole reason this page exists as a separate order.

No minimum, and a single cover costs the same per piece as a run of twenty because nothing is batched.

• Confirm your insert is 150 by 50 cm
• Upload artwork you own, at the largest size you have it
• Pick peach skin or 2 way tricot
• Approve the free preview of both sides

Printing and sewing takes about three days from approval, then four to eight business days of tracked shipping. A cover posts lighter and cheaper than a full set, which is the other reason people order this way.

What we can print on it

Your own characters, commissions you own, your own photographs, and brand artwork. Not characters owned by a studio or publisher, including fan art of them. We decline those rather than printing them quietly.

• Dakimakura explained, the sizes in full, plus what makes a good insert
• Custom dakimakura printing, resolution, bleed and file formats before you upload
• Anime body pillows, art guidance for character illustration at full length
• Custom body pillow cases, the same cover printed with a photograph instead of artwork