diff --git a/loadertest/fake_loader.go b/loadertest/fake_loader.go
index 1dd0b6369..0b1ca2ed5 100644
--- a/loadertest/fake_loader.go
+++ b/loadertest/fake_loader.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package loadertest
 
 import (
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/kinflate/util/fs"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/loader"
@@ -30,11 +31,15 @@ type FakeLoader struct {
 }
 
 // NewFakeLoader returns a Loader that delegates calls, and encapsulates
-// a fake file system that the Loader reads from . "initialFilePath" parameter
-// must be an absolute path.
+// a fake file system that the Loader reads from. "initialFilePath" parameter
+// must be an absolute path, and it can be a directory if it has a
+// trailing slash: "/home/seans/project/" (dir) -- "/home/seans/project" (file)
 func NewFakeLoader(initialFilePath string) FakeLoader {
 	// Create fake filesystem and inject it into initial Loader.
 	fakefs := fs.MakeFakeFS()
+	if strings.HasSuffix(initialFilePath, "/") {
+		fakefs.Mkdir(initialFilePath, 0x777)
+	}
 	var schemes []loader.SchemeLoader
 	schemes = append(schemes, loader.NewFileLoader(fakefs))
 	rootLoader := loader.Init(schemes)