A folded champagne silk pillowcase resting on a brushed-brass balance tray.

22 momme: what silk weight means

The short answer

Momme is the weight of a silk fabric. One momme is about 4.34 g per square metre, so 22 momme is about 95 g of silk in every square metre. It is a dense, substantial weight for a pillowcase, heavier than 19 momme and lighter than 25. It tells you how much silk there is; the fibre, the grade and the sewing tell you the rest.

Turn over the label of a silk pillowcase and, next to “100% mulberry silk”, you will often find a number followed by the word momme, or the letters mm. It is often the figure that raises the most questions, and the one most easily read as a score.

It is not a score. It is a weight, and a useful one, once you know what it measures and what it leaves out.

What is momme?

Momme is the traditional unit for weighing silk fabric. A textile guide from Carnegie Mellon University defines it as the weight in pounds of a piece of silk 45 inches wide and 100 yards long, and puts one momme at about 4.34 g per square metre.

The arithmetic is simple. A pound is about 453.6 g, and a piece 45 inches by 100 yards measures about 104.5 square metres. Divide one by the other and you get about 4.34 g per square metre for each momme.

How do you convert momme to grams?

Multiply the momme by 4.34 and you have the weight of the fabric in grams per square metre:

Momme About In the hand
19 momme 82.5 g/m² Lighter and more fluid; a little more see-through against the light
22 momme 95.5 g/m² Dense and substantial, still fluid; the weight of our pillowcase
25 momme 108.5 g/m² Heavier, with more body and a firmer drape

At 22 momme, a pillowcase has about 16 per cent more silk per square metre than at 19, and about 12 per cent less than at 25. These are measurements, not rankings: a well-made 19 momme can be a better piece than a careless 25.

How do you read momme on a label?

The same weight can appear in three ways:

  • 22 momme, the usual form on silk labels and product pages.
  • 22 mm, the short form. It is still momme, not millimetres.
  • 95 g/m², the metric form used for most other fabrics.

To go from grams to momme, divide by 4.34: a silk of 95 g/m² is about 22 momme, one of 82 g/m² about 19. If a listing gives no weight at all, ask for it. It is one of the few numbers that tells you how much silk you are buying.

What does 22 momme change in practice?

More silk in the same square metre changes how the fabric behaves in your hands and on the pillow.

  • Opacity. Hold a 19-momme pillowcase up to a window and the light comes through more readily. At 22 momme, the fabric reads as a solid colour, which matters when it covers a white pillow.
  • Drape. A heavier silk falls into soft, rounded folds and lies flat on the pillow, rather than sliding or bunching.
  • Hand. Rub it between two fingers and 22 momme feels substantial without stiffness: present, but fluid.
  • Sheen. The sheen comes from the satin weave, not from the weight. A heavier silk satin simply looks deeper, more even across the surface.

Hair glides over silk instead of rubbing, so blowouts last and mornings start with fewer tangles. What momme adds is how the fabric feels and sits: more silk under your cheek, night after night.

Is a higher momme always better?

No. A higher momme means a heavier fabric, not a better one by default. A 30-momme silk weighs about 130 g per square metre, which some people like for its body and others find too heavy for a pillowcase. A very light silk suits a scarf better than a bed.

For a pillowcase, the question is balance: enough silk to feel substantial and to stay opaque, without losing the fluid fall that makes silk pleasant to sleep on. That is why we chose 22 momme for the pillowcase, and for every other Siluxe piece too, from the eye mask to the scrunchies.

What momme cannot tell you

Momme answers one question: how much silk is in the fabric. Read the rest of the label for the others.

  • The fibre. A momme figure does not prove that the fabric is silk. Look for the composition, such as “100% mulberry silk”, on the sewn label. Our guide to silk or satin explains why the word satin alone proves nothing.
  • The weave. Momme does not say whether the silk is woven in satin, twill or crêpe. A pillowcase is often silk satin, for its smooth, bright face.
  • The grade. Raw silk is graded before weaving, separately from its weight. Our guide to Grade 6A explains what that grade measures.
  • The making. Seams, closure, sizes and finishing are a separate matter. Look for clear dimensions and a closure that holds the pillow without a zip or button against your face.
  • The certificate. A weight is not a safety label. Look for a certificate number you can check, such as OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100.

Is a 22 momme silk pillowcase worth it?

It depends on what you are comparing. Against a cotton pillowcase, you are paying for a different fibre: a long, continuous protein filament, woven into a smooth surface. Against a lighter silk, you are paying for more silk in every square metre, which you can see against the light and feel in the hand.

What a 22 momme number cannot do is justify a price on its own. Read it with the rest of the label: 100% mulberry silk, the grade, the weave, the sewing and a certificate you can check. If all of those are clear, the momme tells you the last thing you need to know: how much silk you are buying.

How do you care for 22 momme silk?

A heavier silk is still silk, and it asks for the same simple care. Our care label says:

  1. Wash by hand, or in the machine at 30 °C on a delicate cycle, inside out in a mesh bag.
  2. Use a pH-neutral silk detergent, with no bleach and no fabric softener.
  3. Do not wring. Press it gently in a towel, then dry it flat, away from direct sun and heat.
  4. Never tumble dry.
  5. Iron on low heat, on the reverse, or with a light touch of steam.

Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that silk is weaker while wet and tends to break down with long exposure to sunlight: two good reasons to handle it gently in the wash and to dry it in the shade.

Where Siluxe fits

The Siluxe silk pillowcase is 22 momme, 100% mulberry silk, Grade 6A, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, certificate 26.HCN.36686, tested for harmful substances, and designed in Paris. It comes in Standard 50 × 70 cm (Rose gold or Gold) or Euro 65 × 65 cm (Gold), with an envelope closure and an embroidered S monogram, at $99. See the pillowcase.

Complimentary delivery from $100 on USD orders: the pillowcase with a scrunchie M qualifies.

FAQ

What does 22 momme mean?

It is the weight of the silk fabric: about 95 g of silk per square metre, since one momme is about 4.34 g per square metre. Momme measures how much silk there is, not the fibre, the weave or the sewing.

Is 22 momme better than 19 momme for a pillowcase?

It is heavier: about 95.5 g per square metre against 82.5 g, roughly 16 per cent more silk. In the hand, 22 momme feels more substantial and looks more opaque. Whether it suits you better also depends on the fibre, the weave and the making.

Is 22 or 25 momme better?

Neither is better by default. 25 momme, about 108.5 g per square metre, has more body; 22 momme keeps a more fluid fall while staying dense and opaque. For a pillowcase, 22 momme is a balanced weight; 25 suits people who like a heavier silk.

Is momme the same as thread count?

No. Thread count counts the threads in an area of cotton cloth; momme weighs the silk fabric. A silk pillowcase is described by its momme, its fibre and its weave, not by a thread count.

Does 22 momme mean the pillowcase is 100% silk?

No. Momme states a weight, not a composition. The fibre must be named separately on the sewn label, such as “100% mulberry silk”, with its percentage.

Sources

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