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The Cutting Table · a common question

Will a bolster stay in place, or can it be attached?

Also asked as:The bolster rolls off the mattress.My bolster is missing the strap.

A round bolster wants to roll; that is its nature. Here is how the workshop keeps one where you put it, and what to ask for before the order is cut.

Answered by

The Elder of High Point · · Updated

The quick answer

A bolster ships loose, with no strap, unless you ask for one on the order. The shop can add a strap that holds a bolster to a mattress, or hook-and-loop fasteners that fix armrests to the base. Request it at order time; a replacement bolster with a strap once took about 1-2 weeks because the part had to be sourced.

Light gray wide-wale corduroy bolster with a beaded corded edge lying against a white beadboard daybed backSave
Chunky corduroy ribs run the length of the roll and wrap the end cap, finished with a bobbled cord at the seam.

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Key facts

  • Bolsters are made without straps as standard.
  • All set pieces are separate and loose by default.
  • A strap can be added on request to fix a bolster to a mattress.
  • Armrests can be attached to the base with hook-and-loop fasteners on request.
  • A replacement bolster with a strap took about 1-2 weeks because the part had to be sourced.
  • Perfectly flat bolster ends are close to impossible because of the inner filling.

Have it made

Have Harlan’s workshop cut this for you

The best cushions I have known began with somebody asking one more question. Ask yours here. — Harlan

Leave your details and the workshop will call you to confirm measurements, fabric, foam and piping. No prices, dates or payment on this page: it is a request, not an order.

Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you

Fabric
The cover cloth: weave, color and care code.
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
The corded seam edge: matching, contrast or none.
Only for this request: no marketing calls or texts. Outside the US, add the country code.
In inches: length × depth × thickness, plus any angles or cut corners.

* Required. A member of the workshop team will call you to talk it through; nothing is charged and nothing is made until you have agreed on every detail with them.

We use these details only to answer this request and make your cushion: your name and contact details, the cushion details and photos you send, the page you came from and the ad or link that brought you, if any. The workshop that makes the cushions receives them. We don't sell them or share them for advertising, and we delete requests after 24 months. Privacy notice for requests.

Nothing is made or charged until you approve the details.

Want to pick the shape and add photos? Use the full quote form

Loose by default, fixed on request

Every bolster and every piece of a set leaves the workshop loose. No straps, no fasteners, nothing tying one piece to the next. For plenty of homes that is right: you move a bolster, plump it, carry it to the other end of the daybed.

If yours keeps rolling off, my friend, say so on the order. The shop can sew on a strap to hold a bolster to a mattress, or add hook-and-loop tape so round armrests stay fixed to the base. It has to be asked for up front; it is not added by default.

A seam is a promise, and so is a strap. Put it in writing and it gets made. Where does your bolster sit, on a mattress or against an arm?

What to write on a bolster order

  • 'Add strap to fix bolster to mattress' if it rides on a daybed or bed.
  • 'Hook-and-loop on armrests' if round side pillows should stay on the base.
  • The diameter: 8 in (20 cm) is standard, from slim 4 in (10 cm) up to 10 in (25 cm). The bolster size Pattern helps you choose.
  • The length; for armrests it usually matches the seat depth.
  • Piping: same fabric, or contrast piping in a second fabric.

What a strap won't do

  • Make the ends perfectly flat; the filling inside rounds them a little.
  • Appear on its own; straps are never added unless the order asks.
  • Arrive overnight as a fix; a replacement bolster with a strap took about 1-2 weeks.
A real project

The bolster that needed tying down

A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop wanting a strap to hold a bolster on the mattress. The first one had been made the standard way, without a strap, because none had been asked for. The workshop made a replacement bolster with a strap, and it took about 1-2 weeks because the part had to be sourced. The same buyer asked whether the ends could be dead flat. The honest answer was close to impossible, with filling inside. Better to hear that before than after.

Bolsters and set pieces come loose by default; a strap or hook-and-loop fastener is added only when the order asks for one.

Harlan
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Can my bolster have a strap so it stays on the mattress?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes, but only if it's requested on the order; bolsters are made without straps as standard. The shop has made a replacement bolster with a strap, which took about 1-2 weeks because the part had to be sourced.

  2. A common question

    Are the round side pillows attached to the base, or loose?

    The workshop's answer

    All the pieces in the set are separate. If you want the armrests to stay put, the shop can attach them with hook-and-loop fasteners on request.

  3. A common question

    Can I get bolsters with contrast piping?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Bolsters can have same-fabric piping, contrast piping in a second fabric, or be made fully in a contrast or stripe fabric, in any length and diameter, through a private custom order.

  4. A common question

    Can you make a seat cushion set with matching bolsters and back pillows?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Give the seat's length x depth x thickness and how many bolsters and back pillows you want, and the shop sizes them to match. Sets ship filled, and the quote states making and delivery times for that set.

Questions buyers ask next

Why can't bolster ends be completely flat?

Because of the filling inside. A bolster is stuffed, and the filling presses gently against the end panels, so perfectly flat ends are close to impossible. Expect a softly rounded end rather than a drum-tight disc.

What diameter should a bolster be?

Standard is 8 in (20 cm), with an armrest bolster's length matching the seat depth. Any diameter can be made, from slim 4 in (10 cm) bolsters for thin cushions up to 10 in (25 cm), and long bolsters can be split in two.

Can I add matching throw pillows in the same fabric?

Yes, in any color and size, as covers only or filled with shredded foam or solid foam. Each piece has a minimum production price, so adding them to the original order costs less than ordering them later.