There are two different sizing systems on one bed, and confusing them is the most common ordering mistake in bedding. Pillow covers are sized to the pillow. Everything that lies across the mattress is sized to the bed. A king bed dressed with standard sleeping pillows takes standard shams, not king ones — which is not obvious until it arrives wrong.
Pillow covers: Standard, King and Euro
Standard is the everyday sleeping pillow, and it is the size most shams and pillowcases here are made for. King is the long sleeping pillow used on a king bed. Euro is the large square that stands at the back of an arrangement, behind the sleeping pillows, where it does structural work rather than decorative work.
The rule that saves you a return: match the cover to the pillow, not to the bed. Count the pillows you actually sleep on and buy that many covers in that size; then decide separately whether you want a Euro pair behind them.
Bed sizes: Twin, Full/Queen, Queen, King and Cal King
Quilts, coverlets, blankets, duvet covers and sheet sets are sized to the mattress. Where a piece is offered as Full/Queen or King/Cal King, that is one item cut to suit both beds — you are not choosing between them, and there is no third option you are missing. Where a piece is offered as Queen or Cal King alone, it has been cut for that bed specifically.
Decorative pillows are sized by the inch
Throw pillows sit outside both systems. They are listed by shape and by measurement rather than by a size name. The shapes in this range are Square, Lumbar, Long Lumbar and Extra Long, and the measured sizes include 18" x 18", 12" x 24", 13" x 21", 12" x 27" and 14" x 40".
Some decorative pillows are sold as a cover only and some with a feather down insert; the option is shown on the product page. If you buy a cover on its own you will need an insert to fill it, because a cover over a tired insert looks tired no matter how good the cover is.
Key takeaways
- Match a sham to the pillow it covers, never to the bed.
- Full/Queen and King/Cal King are single items cut to suit two beds.
- Euro shams sit behind the sleeping pillows and do structural work.
- Throw pillows are sized in inches, not by name — check whether an insert is included.
Pieces offered in Standard, King and Euro
Most of the pillow covers here run across all three. Simple Striped Linen Pillow Sham, Floral Motif Linen Sham and Textured Cotton-Linen Pillow Sham cover the linen end; Block Print Linen-Cotton Shams, Set of Two arrives as a pair, which is how a print is best used.
On the cotton side, Textural Cotton Pillow Sham, Tailored Quilted Cotton Sham, Gingham Quilted Cotton Sham and Botanical Cotton Sham in a Minimalist Palette all run the same three sizes. The velvet shams — Quilted Velvet Pillow Sham, Tailored Velvet Sham with Plush Quilting and Linear Quilted Velvet Sham — do too, as does Percale Sham with Envelope Closure.
Pieces sized to the bed
Washed Percale Duvet Cover, Textured Cotton-Linen Bed Blanket, Breathable Cotton Gingham Quilt and Delicate Botanical Cotton Coverlet are offered in Full/Queen and King/Cal King. Percale Sheet Set with Two Pillowcases runs Queen, King and Cal King, and Down Duvet Insert for a Cozy Bed follows the same Full/Queen and King/Cal King split as the covers it goes inside.
If you are still unsure
Our Size Guide sets out both systems side by side, and you can email support@minimaxstores.com with the piece you are looking at and the bed or pillow it is for. Anything that arrives in the wrong size returns within thirty days, unused and in its original packaging.