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The Cutting Table · a common question

Can I buy just a bolster, or only a bolster cover?

Also asked as:Do you sell these bolster cushions individually?Can I start with one or two bolster covers?

The cover wears thin long before the bolster gives up. Here is how to buy the one piece you actually need, and nothing you don't.

Answered by

The Elder of High Point ·

The quick answer

Yes, you can order a single bolster or just a custom bolster cover. Round bolsters are made on their own in any color, even matched to the exact color of an earlier order, and zippered covers are cut to your bolster's diameter and length, such as 13 in diameter by 32 in long. Mixed sets are priced through an offer or a custom link.

Two forest green velvet bolsters with self piping on an ivory box cushion inside a black wrought iron scroll daybedSave
Deep green velvet against black ironwork and an ivory box cushion, lit by a side window.

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Key facts

  • Round bolsters can be ordered on their own, in any color on the chart.
  • A new bolster can match the exact color of a previous order.
  • Covers alone are made to size, for example for a 13 in (33 cm) diameter x 32 in (81 cm) bolster.
  • Zippered bolster covers have been made at 9 x 22 in (23 x 56 cm), 8 x 24 in (20 x 61 cm) and 4 3/4 x 22 in (12 x 56 cm).
  • Custom combinations are priced through an offer or a custom link.

Have it made

Have Harlan’s workshop cut this for you

Fabric has a temper and foam has a memory. Better to settle both in a conversation than to guess at them alone. — 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

The cover wears out first. The bolster rarely does.

A round bolster takes elbows, heads and the odd Sunday nap, and the cover tires long before the fill. So yes, you can buy only the piece you need. Round bolsters are made singly in any color on the chart, and a new one can match the exact color of an earlier order.

If the fill is still good, a zippered cover alone is the thriftier road. Covers are cut to your bolster's diameter and length: one was made for a 13 in (33 cm) diameter x 32 in (81 cm) bolster, another at 9 x 22 in (23 x 56 cm) with a zipper, and a pair in corduroy at 8 x 24 in (20 x 61 cm) and 4 3/4 x 22 in (12 x 56 cm).

A seam is a promise, my friend, and a cover cut to the right numbers keeps it. Browse the bolster pillows in the Atlas for shapes, or the bolster size Pattern if you are starting fresh. What does your old bolster measure end to end?

What to send for a cover-only order

  • The bolster's diameter, measured across the round end
  • Its length, end to end
  • The fabric family and color, or the color of your earlier order
  • A zipper closure, as on the 9 x 22 in (23 x 56 cm) cover
  • Any mix of shapes, so the set can be priced through an offer or custom link
A real project

Two black bolsters and a dark brown set

A buyer in the US came back for two 34 in (86 cm) round bolsters to sit beside an earlier order. They were made in the exact black of that first order, sold as a pair, nothing else attached.

Another buyer in the US wanted a mix: three 32 in (81 cm) cylinder cushions with two 18 x 37 in (46 x 94 cm) rectangles, all in dark brown. Mixed sets like that are priced through an offer or a custom link rather than a standard option.

Round bolsters can be bought one at a time in any color, and a new bolster can match the exact color of an earlier order.

Harlan
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Do you sell the round bolster cushions on their own?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. A pair of 34 in (86 cm) bolsters was made on its own, in the exact black of the buyer's earlier order. Any color on the chart works.

  2. A common question

    Can I order just one bolster, or only the covers?

    The workshop's answer

    On the floor-sofa listing, bolsters normally come as part of the set, but covers are made on their own: one for a 13 in diameter x 32 in bolster, sold singly or as a pair, and a 9 x 22 in (23 x 56 cm) zippered cover.

  3. A common question

    Can you make cylinder bolsters and zipped bolster covers?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. One order paired three 32 in (81 cm) cylinder cushions with two 18 x 37 in rectangles in dark brown; another was zipped corduroy covers at 8 x 24 in (20 x 61 cm) and 4 3/4 x 22 in (12 x 56 cm).

  4. A common question

    Can my bolster have contrast piping?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Bolsters can take same-fabric piping, contrast piping in a second fabric, or be made entirely in a contrast or stripe fabric, in any length and diameter, ordered through a private custom link.

Questions buyers ask next

What diameter should a replacement bolster be?

The standard is 8 in (20 cm) across, 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 a long bolster can be split in two.

Will a new bolster match the set I bought last year?

It can. Bolsters have been made in the exact color of a buyer's earlier order, such as a pair of 34 in black bolsters. Tell the workshop which color you ordered the first time and the new piece is made to match it.

Can round bolsters serve as armrests on a window seat?

Yes. Armrest bolsters are made in the seat's fabric and piping, one per end, usually cut to the seat depth. They arrive filled, in indoor or outdoor fabric, and the set can be mocked up before it is sewn.