---
title: "Cushion cover zipper on the long side, or any edge you name"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/answers/choose-zipper-side-cushion-cover/"
section: "The Cutting Table"
author: "Élodie Marchand, The Colorist of New Orleans"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/elodie/"
published: "2026-04-14"
updated: "2026-04-14"
keywords: "cushion cover zipper on long side, cushion zipper placement, which side zipper cushion cover, trapezoid cushion zipper, custom cushion cover zipper"
---

# Can I choose which side the zipper goes on?

*A zipper is the one line on a cushion you hope nobody reads, my friends. Tell the workshop where to hide it, and that is where it goes.*

Also asked as: Can I choose where the zipper goes?; Zipper along the back length?

> **The quick answer:** You can choose which edge of a custom cushion cover the zipper is sewn on. Name it in your order note: the long back edge, down a long side so the cushion can be flipped, one side only (such as the 21 in side of a 21 x 23 in cushion), or around the corner of a tapered cover. If you don't say, the shop asks.

![Salmon pink check outdoor chair pads with bow ties on black folding bistro chairs at a marble table on a Parisian balcony](https://cushionguide.com/media/dining-chair-cushions/salmon-check-bistro-chair-pads-parisian-balcony-1600.webp "Two tie-on pads in a salmon micro-check soften folding bistro chairs for a slow balcony breakfast.")

## Key facts

- The zipper edge on a custom cushion cover can be specified in the order.
- A zipper down a long side lets the cushion be flipped.
- The zipper can go on one named side only, such as the 21 in (53 cm) side of 21 x 23 in (53 x 58 cm) and 21 x 27 in (53 x 69 cm) cushions.
- On a trapezoid chair seat, the zipper can sit at the back.
- On a tapered cover, the zipper can run from the narrow end around the corner, so the cover slides onto its wider end.
- If no edge is named, the shop asks which side you want.

## Five edges you can ask for

- ✓ **The long back edge**, the one that faces the wall or the chair back.
- ✓ **Down a long side**, so the cushion can be flipped over.
- ✓ **One named side only**, like the 21 in (53 cm) side of a 21 x 23 in (53 x 58 cm) or 21 x 27 in (53 x 69 cm) cushion.
- ✓ **The back of a trapezoid chair seat**, away from the front edge your knees see.
- ✓ **The narrow end and around the corner** of a tapered cover, so the cover slides onto the wider end.

## Hide the zipper where the light doesn't land

A zipper is a small change of texture, a ridge of tape and teeth that catches light differently from the cloth around it. On a salmon check bistro pad or a cream linen window seat, I want that ridge on the edge the eye never visits: the back, the wall side, the turn of a corner.

Name the edge by its measurement, not by 'left' or 'right'. One buyer wrote 'zipper on the 21 in side only' for two cushions, and the order was accepted with the zipper exactly there.

The [zipper placement Pattern](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-zipper-placement/) walks through the reasoning edge by edge, the [trapezoid measuring Pattern](https://cushionguide.com/guides/trapezoid-cushion-measurements/) shows which edge is the back, and finished covers live in the [cushion covers atlas](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/cushion-covers/). Which edge of your seat faces the wall?

> **Tailor's margin:** A cushion cover zipper can go on one named side only: write 'zipper on the 21 in side' in the order note and it goes on that side.

> On a tapered cushion cover, the zipper can start at the narrow end and wrap around the corner, so the cover slides onto the wider end.
>
> — Élodie

## Buyer questions

**A common question:** Can I pick where the zipper goes on my cushion?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. Tell the shop the edge you want: along the long back edge, down the long side so the cushion can be flipped, at the back of a trapezoid chair seat, or at the narrow end and around the corner so a tapered cover slides onto its wider end.

**A common question:** Can the zipper go on one particular side of my trapezoid cushion?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. The shop asks which side you want and puts the zipper on a long side or wherever you specify, for example the 48 in (121.5 cm) side.

**A common question:** My two cushions are 21 x 23 in and 21 x 27 in. Can the zipper go on the 21 in side only?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. Both custom cushions were accepted with the zipper placed on the 21 in (53 cm) side only.

**A common question:** Could you make a cover with elastic, like a fitted sheet, instead of a zipper?

**The workshop's answer:** Mattress covers are zipper-only. For a cover you remove daily, the shop can make an open-bottom skirted daybed cover; elastic sofa covers are quoted with a warning that they fit poorly on soft, rounded cushions.

## Questions buyers ask next

### What is the clearest way to write the zipper side in an order note?

Name the edge by its length, such as 'zipper on the 21 in side', or by its position, such as 'back edge' on a trapezoid. A measurement can't be read two ways, while 'left' depends on where you stand.

### Why ask for the zipper down a long side of a cushion?

So the cushion can be flipped. Buyers who plan to turn a cushion over ask for the zipper along a long side, and it is sewn there.

### Will the foam come out of a trapezoid cover zipped on the short back edge?

Yes. On request the zipper goes on the shorter back edge and is sized to the shape, so the foam slides out for washing even when the front is wider. Send the back width, front width and depth.

## Related at the atelier

- [Cushion zipper placement: back edge, underside and odd shapes](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-zipper-placement/): The zipper goes on the back edge of the cushion, the side that faces the wall, window or chair back, or on the underside, where nobody sees it.
- [Can you sew just a new cover for my trapezoid or tapered cushion?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/trapezoid-tapered-cushion-cover-only/): Yes, a cover alone can be made for a trapezoid or tapered cushion you already have.
- [Can you make a zippered cover for a mattress I already have?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/custom-zippered-mattress-cover/): Yes, a zippered box cover can be made to fit a mattress you already own, at any size, including sizes well beyond the listed ones.
- [Can you make slipcovers for the sofa I already own?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/slipcovers-for-existing-sofa/): No: the workshop doesn't make fitted slipcovers for a whole conventional sofa (arms, back and skirt) or for an unrelated multi-piece set, such as a five-piece sofa with a storage ottoman.
- [Custom Cushion Cover in Forest Green Bouclé, Hidden Side Zipper](https://cushionguide.com/readings/forest-green-boucle-cover-hidden-side-zip/): A bouclé cushion cover can hide its zipper completely when the zipper sits in the seam of the side boxing strip: once closed, the loops lean over the tape and the front reads seamless.
- [Zippered Cushion Cover in Forest Green Bouclé Through the Year](https://cushionguide.com/readings/hidden-zipper-forest-green-boucle-cushion-cover/): A zippered cushion cover in bouclé works all year when the zipper runs along the back boxing seam, where it faces the wall and the loops close over the tape.
- [Box edge, knife edge, bullnose: cushion edge styles explained](https://cushionguide.com/guides/box-edge-vs-knife-edge-cushion/)

*With color and care — Élodie*

---

Written by Élodie Marchand (https://cushionguide.com/masters/elodie/) for CushionGuide (https://cushionguide.com/about/). The site explains made-to-measure cushions and the partner workshop makes them; measurements are in inches first. This Markdown mirrors the page at https://cushionguide.com/answers/choose-zipper-side-cushion-cover/