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The Cutting Table · a question, worked through

Should I order my bench cushion a bit smaller than the bench so it fits?

Measure twice; the fabric remembers. And once you've measured, partner, send the number you measured, not a nervous inch less.

Answered by

The Pattern Engineer of Detroit ·

Pinned by Nate

The quick answer

No: order the exact size of the space, because the workshop makes the cushion to the full dimensions you give, with no deduction, and handles sewing allowances itself. A snug fit looks clean, and on a dining bench a close match to the seat beats an overhang. Write smaller only for gaps between cushions or a lift-up lid that must clear.

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Key facts

  • Order the exact size of the space.
  • Cushions are made to the full dimensions given, with no deduction.
  • The workshop handles sewing allowances.
  • On a dining bench, a close match to the seat surface is advised rather than an overhang.
  • Write slightly smaller sizes only if you want visible gaps between cushions.
  • On request, sizes are rounded down, never up, so hinged bench lids can lift.
  • Measure the installed bench, not the plans.

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Have Nate’s workshop cut this for you

Every edge and both diagonals, to the nearest 1/4 in. If the numbers do not close, the workshop will say so on the call. — Nate

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

“Should I take an inch off?”

No. The cushion is cut to the numbers you send, with nothing deducted, and the sewing allowance is the workshop's job, not yours. If your bench cushion space is 47 x 18.5 in (119 x 47 cm), write 47 x 18.5 in. Take an inch off and you buy an inch of gap.

“Shouldn't it hang over the edge a little?”

Not on a dining bench. The advice there was a close match to the actual seat surface, not an overhang. A snug fit reads as built in.

“My bench seat lifts up. Now what?”

Then ask for rounding, and name the direction: down, never up. If a depth falls between marks, say 23.5 or 23.75 in, the workshop rounds down so a hinged lid still lifts freely. The storage bench pattern covers splitting at the hinge.

Measuring for the exact size

  1. Measure the bench once it's installed, not from the plans.
  2. Write length x depth x thickness, fractions included; the bench measuring pattern shows where the tape goes.
  3. Several cushions in a row? Divide the total for flush pieces, or write each slightly smaller only if you want gaps.
  4. Hinged lid? Add round down, never up to the note.

If a bench seat has a hinged lid, ask for the cushion sizes to be rounded down, never up, so the lid still lifts freely.

Nate Kowalski
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Should the cushion be an inch smaller than my bench for a good fit?

    The workshop's answer

    No, don't go smaller. Order the exact bench size, such as 47 x 18.5 in (119 x 47 cm), for a clean, full look, and measure the bench after it's installed.

  2. A common question

    Do you make the cushion to my exact bench size, or slightly smaller?

    The workshop's answer

    To the full dimensions you give, with no deduction. For a dining bench, the workshop advised a close match to the actual seat surface rather than an overhang.

  3. A common question

    My exact size isn't a listed option. Should I pick the next size down?

    The workshop's answer

    Some buyers do: one chose a listed 43 1/4 in (110 cm) size for a 44 in (112 cm) space to leave a little room. Or the workshop makes the exact size.

Questions buyers ask next

Will an exact-size cushion be hard to fit between two arms?

It fits snugly, which is the point: the workshop allows for sewing, and a snug fit looks clean. Nothing needs shrinking unless you want visible gaps between cushions.

Should I measure from the plans or from the built bench?

From the built bench. Measure once it is installed, not from the drawings, because the cushion is cut to exactly the numbers you send.

My measurement falls between two numbers. Which do I send?

Send the exact figure, fractions included; the cushion is made to it. If rounding is needed, the workshop rounds down, never up, which matters most where a hinged lid has to lift.

Why do some cushion makers tell you to round down or subtract a quarter inch?

Because they build differently. Some wrap the foam in a thick fiber layer that puffs past its cut size, so they ask you to round down; others cut foam to your number and want 1/4 to 1/2 in off for a wall-to-wall fit. The workshop adds its own seam and fit allowance and cuts to the space you send, so give the true measurement and deduct only for a lid that must clear.

Another shop told me to order a piano pad slightly larger. Does that apply here?

Not for a made-to-measure cushion. Sellers of stock piano pads suggest the next size up when your exact size isn't listed, because a pad a little long beats one that leaves bare wood. When the cushion is cut to your own numbers, send the bench top exactly, and the finished pad will match it within normal handmade tolerance.