diff --git a/lib/escape.c b/lib/escape.c
index 1633c2da2b..9b6edb4433 100644
--- a/lib/escape.c
+++ b/lib/escape.c
@@ -63,12 +63,12 @@ char *curl_easy_escape(struct Curl_easy *data, const char *string,
   if(!string || (inlength < 0))
     return NULL;
 
-  Curl_dyn_init(&d, CURL_MAX_INPUT_LENGTH * 3);
-
   length = (inlength?(size_t)inlength:strlen(string));
   if(!length)
     return strdup("");
 
+  Curl_dyn_init(&d, length * 3 + 1);
+
   while(length--) {
     /* treat the characters unsigned */
     unsigned char in = (unsigned char)*string++;