How to measure for replacement cushions.
Custom cushions are cut to the numbers you give us, so the twenty minutes you spend with a tape measure is the most valuable part of the whole order. Read the two rules first - between them they account for most of the remakes we see.
Rule one: measure the frame, not the old cushion. Foam compresses. A five-year-old seat pad can measure an inch narrower than the day it arrived, and a cushion cut to that number will slide around on the frame.
Rule two: do not add a seam allowance. Give us the finished size you want to end up with. We add what the construction needs. Customers who add half an inch "to be safe" get a cushion that bows.
What you need
- A retractable steel tape measure. Cloth tapes stretch and will read long.
- A pencil and paper. Write every number down as you take it.
- Ten minutes and the actual furniture. Not a photo, not the catalog listing.
Measure to the nearest half inch. Our designer works in half-inch steps because that is the smallest increment that survives cutting and sewing - a quarter inch disappears into the seam.
Seat cushions and bench cushions
These are flat pads with three numbers.
- Width. Left to right across the seat frame at its widest point.
- Depth. Front edge to back, where the cushion will actually sit. If there is a back rail, measure to the rail, not past it.
- Thickness. How thick you want the finished cushion. Two to three inches for a dining chair, three to four for a bench you sit on for hours.
If the frame tapers - wider at the front than the back - take both widths and choose the trapezoid shape in the designer. The front width goes in as the width, the back width as the back width.
Chair cushions (seat and back in one piece)
These have a hinge where the seat meets the back, so there is a fourth number.
- Width. Across the seat.
- Seat depth. Front edge back to the hinge point.
- Back height. From the hinge up to where you want the cushion to stop.
- Thickness. Usually the same through both sections.
The designer asks for the total length (seat plus back) and the back height separately; it works the hinge position out from the two. Sit in the chair before you decide where the back should stop - most people want it just below the shoulder blades, not at the top rail.
Deep seating sets
A deep seating set is two cushions: a thick seat and a separate back. Measure them independently.
- Seat: width, depth, thickness. Four to six inches thick is normal.
- Back: width, height, thickness. The back is usually an inch or two thinner than the seat.
Watch the arms. If the frame has arms that curve inward, measure the seat width at the narrowest point between them, not at the outside of the frame.
Chaise lounges
A chaise is a long cushion with a break where the backrest lifts. Measure the frame flat, with the back down.
- Width. Across the frame.
- Total length. Head end to foot end with the back laid flat.
- Back section length. Head end down to the hinge in the frame. This is the number the designer calls the back height.
- Thickness. Three inches is standard; four if it doubles as a day bed.
Round and trapezoid shapes
For a round cushion we need one number: the diameter, across the widest point. For a trapezoid we need three: front width, back width and depth. Take the front and back widths at the very front and very back edges, not partway in.
Thickness: what it actually changes
| Thickness | Best for |
|---|---|
| 2″ | Dining chairs, bistro sets, anywhere the seat height is already correct |
| 2.5″ - 3″ | The default. Benches, most seat pads, window seats |
| 4″ | Deep frames, wicker, anywhere the old cushion was thick |
| 5″ - 6″ | Deep seating and lounge frames built for a thick cushion |
Adding thickness raises where you sit. On a dining chair, two extra inches can put the table in your lap. On a deep seating frame it usually improves things. If in doubt, match what came off the frame.
Send us the numbers before you order
This costs nothing and takes us about ten minutes. Photograph the frame with a tape measure laid across it, write your numbers underneath, and send both through the contact form. We will tell you if something looks wrong before anything is cut.
It is worth doing on any frame that is not a plain rectangle, on any order over four cushions, and any time you are working from a cushion rather than a frame.
Once it is cut, it is cut. Custom cushions are made to your measurements and cannot be returned for a size change. If we cut it wrong against your written order we remake it at our cost - but if the number on the order was wrong, the remake is a new order. Ten minutes on the phone first is free.