TYPES OF OUTDOOR CUSHIONS

WHAT IS A CUSHION?

Outdoor cushions provide comfort and decoration to outdoor seating, whether on chairs, dining sets, or poolside lounge furniture. Here’s everything you need to know about choosing the best outdoor cushions for your space and price point.

TYPES OF FABRICS

When choosing outdoor cushions, you want them to hold up to both sun and weather. Because the elements rain, pollen and sunshine can do a number on your outdoor cushions, take the time to choose quality outdoor fabrics that are designed to hold up outside.

Sunbrella, polyester, Olefin, and Texteline fabric are known to hold up well to the elements. Each of these fabrics has its own set of parameters that make it a good choice including, sun exposure, bleachability, and fast drying.

CUSHION STYLES

BOX EDGE

The box edge cushion has a vertical side panel between the top and bottom cushion pieces. It sits square on the piece of furniture and is equally raised on each side. The box edge cushion looks tailored and can have welting of the same or different fabric.

For an expensive look, opt for the box cushion.

Here are two great tutorials on sewing box edge cushions if you like a DIY project.

https://www.bhg.com/decorating/do-it-yourself/accents/how-to-sew-box-edge-cushions/

https://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/upholstery-basics-boxed-cushion-sewing.html

KNIFE EDGE

In contrast, the knife edge cushion’s top and bottom pieces are sewn together directly, in the middle of the height of the cushion. They have a slightly less tailored look, but are often cheaper than box edge cushions.

SINGLE WELT

A single welt cushion is a knife edge cushion, top and bottom sewn directly together, with a single piece of cording (welt) in between the top and bottom layer. A knife edge cushion can only be single welt.

DOUBLE WELT

The double welt, on the other hand, is used for a box edge cushion where the top and bottom panels are connected with another strip of fabric that creates a vertical wall. The welting, or cording, is sewn both on the top panel and bottom panel, making two distinct outlines of welting.

CONTRAST WELT

While we talked about the outer cushion construction and how they are made, either a box edge or knife edge, the welt can add a lot to the design. A lot of times outdoor cushions are made in a stripe or geometric pattern. There are at least two colors in these patterns and the welt can be either in the same fabric or in one of the main colors. When you choose a different color for the piping, it is called a contrast welt. The contrast welt looks very classic on a boxed edge cushion. Below are some examples.