Almost every problem people have with a dakimakura comes down to one number being wrong. Not the print, not the fabric, the size. So here is the whole thing in one place.
The four sizes you will meet
These four cover essentially everything sold anywhere.
- 150 by 50 cm. The common standard outside Japan, and the size we print. Long enough to hug properly, short enough to fit a single bed without hanging off the end.
- 160 by 50 cm. The Japanese standard. Ten centimetres longer, which sounds trivial and is not: a 150 cover will not close over a 160 insert.
- 120 by 40 cm. A smaller format, easier in a shared bed and cheaper to ship.
- 100 by 35 cm. Closer to a large cushion than a body pillow. Popular as a desk or sofa piece.
How to measure an insert you already own
If you are buying a cover on its own, this is the only thing that matters. Do it before you choose artwork.
- Lay the insert flat on the floor or a bed. Do not stand it up.
- Do not compress it. A body pillow squashed under a hand measures several centimetres shorter than it is.
- Measure seam to seam, along the edge, not across the middle of the stuffed part.
- Do the same for the width, at the widest point of the seam.
If you get 150 by 50, you are on the standard. If you get 160, your insert is the Japanese size and a 150 cover will not fit it. If you get something else entirely, it is probably a generic long pillow rather than a dakimakura insert, and measuring twice is worth the two minutes.
What a bad fit actually looks like
Cover too large
The fabric gathers into loose folds and the print folds with it. The usual result is a permanent wrinkle crossing a face, and no amount of smoothing fixes it, because there is simply more cloth than pillow.
Cover 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 is. On a stretchy 2 way tricot cover this can look acceptable on day one and get worse as the fabric relaxes.
If you are drawing for it
150 by 50 cm is a 3 to 1 ratio. Art drawn at any other ratio has to be cropped or padded, and cropping a standing figure costs you either the feet or the top of the head.
Work at 3 to 1 from the first sketch and the problem disappears. Keep faces and important details at least 3 cm inside the edge, and leave about 2 cm of extra background beyond where you want the image to end, because sewing takes a little fabric at the seam.
Which size to actually buy
If you own nothing yet, buy 150 by 50. It is the size most covers on the market are made for, which means the widest choice of designs later and the easiest replacement when one wears out. Buying into 160 limits you to a smaller pool of covers unless you are shopping in Japan.
If you share a bed, 120 by 40 is worth considering. A 150 cm pillow takes up roughly a third of a single bed, which is either the point or a nightly argument.
Where to go next
- Dakimakura explained, the whole format including inserts and care.
- Dakimakura covers, if you already own an insert and just need the cover.
- Custom dakimakura printing, for file resolution and bleed before you upload.