CushionGuide
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The Cutting Table · a checklist answer

Can I use your linen, velvet or chenille cushions outside?

Also asked as:Is this material good for outdoor cushions?Is fabric W20 waterproof?

Short answer: no. Longer answer: there is a fabric built for your patio, and it comes in more colors than most people expect.

Answered by

The Weather Man of Casco Bay · · Updated

Deep green marbled outdoor cushion on a teak bench in a glass orangery with ferns, monstera, lemon tree and watering canSave
A malachite-green cushion on a teak bench surrounded by ferns and potted citrus under a Victorian glass roof.

The quick answer

No: linen, velvet, chenille and the other indoor-listing fabrics are not made for open-air use. Order outdoor cushions through the outdoor listing instead, where all 100+ colors are outdoor-rated, water-repellent and UV-resistant, resist moisture, mildew and mold far better, and can be paired with any piping color from the same charts.

Get a quote for an outdoor bench cushion

Key facts

  • Indoor-listing fabrics, including linen, velvet, chenille and code W20, are not for outdoor use.
  • Genuine linen is not suitable outdoors.
  • Chenille is not recommended for permanent outdoor exposure, especially in humid climates.
  • Outdoor-listing fabrics are outdoor-rated, water-repellent and UV-resistant, in 100+ colors.
  • Outdoor-performance fabrics resist moisture, mildew and mold better.
  • Any color and piping combination is possible in outdoor fabric.
  • Outdoor codes picked from samples, such as T-33 or HM-36, are ordered through the outdoor listing.

Have it made

Have Callum’s workshop cut this for you

Tell them where it lives. Porch, deck or boat: the weather picks the fabric and the foam before anyone else does. — Callum

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
Genuine linen is not suitable outdoors.
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
Any color and piping combination is possible in outdoor fabric.
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

Fabrics that stay indoors

  • Linen and cotton-linen, including white linen with black piping.
  • Velvet, however rich the color.
  • Chenille, above all in humid air.
  • Code W20 and the other indoor-listing codes.
  • The fabrics on the bench-with-bolsters listing.

What to order for a seat under open sky

  • Order through the outdoor listing, not an indoor one.
  • Pick from the outdoor charts: 100+ colors, all outdoor-rated, water-repellent and UV-resistant.
  • Choose piping from the same outdoor charts; any combination works.
  • Found T-33 or HM-36 in your samples? Order it on the outdoor listing too.
  • Need a custom bench size or shape? There's a separate outdoor bench cushion line.

Humidity is the test that sinks chenille

Rain doesn't negotiate, and a humid August night on a Southern porch doesn't either. Chenille isn't recommended for a cushion that lives outside all season, and humidity is where it struggles most. Genuine linen was never built for weather at all. Outdoor-performance fabrics resist moisture, mildew and mold far better, which is the whole reason they exist.

One exception, friend: a fully covered porch where rain and direct sun never reach. That case has its own Pattern, indoor cushions on a covered porch. For everything under open sky, start at outdoor cushions and the outdoor fabric family. How many hours of direct sun does your seat get in July?

A real project

Two indoor orders, turned around before cutting

A buyer in the US ordered linen and velvet cushions, then asked whether they would hold up outside. They wouldn't. The workshop canceled and refunded those indoor orders so the seat cushions and their backrests could be reordered through the outdoor listing, with more than 100 colors to choose from. Better to fix an order before the cutting than a cushion after the first storm.

Chenille isn't made for a cushion that stays outdoors all season, especially in humid air; outdoor-performance fabric resists mildew and mold far better.

Callum
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Can I use a fabric from your indoor listing, like W20, for outdoor cushions?

    The workshop's answer

    No. Indoor-listing fabrics such as W20 are for indoor use only. Order outdoor cushions through the outdoor listing and choose from its charts, which are all outdoor-rated, water-repellent and UV-resistant. An outdoor code picked from samples, such as T-33 or HM-36, goes through the outdoor listing as well.

  2. A common question

    Can I get white linen with black piping on my outdoor cushions?

    The workshop's answer

    Genuine linen isn't suitable outdoors. Indoors, white linen with black piping from the linen chart works well; for outside, choose from the outdoor charts, where any color and piping combination is possible too.

  3. A common question

    It's very humid where I live. Will your chenille get moldy outside?

    The workshop's answer

    Chenille isn't recommended for permanent outdoor exposure, especially in high humidity. Choose one of the outdoor-performance fabrics, which resist moisture, mildew and mold better.

  4. A common question

    Is the bench-with-bolsters fabric suitable for outdoors?

    The workshop's answer

    No. Those indoor fabrics aren't for outdoor use, but there is a separate outdoor bench cushion line in water-repellent, UV-resistant fabrics, made in custom sizes and shapes.

Questions buyers ask next

Can indoor fabric work on a fully covered porch?

Possibly, if rain and direct sun never reach the seat. For fully covered areas, the workshop has re-quoted outdoor orders in cheaper indoor fabric. Anywhere the cushion can get wet or sunbaked, stay with outdoor fabric.

Is the regular indoor cushion fabric waterproof?

No. The standard fabrics are indoor fabrics and aren't waterproof. For spill-prone indoor rooms, such as a classroom, there is a water-repellent collection that sheds spills; cushions that live outside belong in the separate outdoor range.

Why do outdoor-fabric cushions cost a little more?

Outdoor fabrics are a premium cloth, water-repellent and highly UV-resistant, so the outdoor-fabric upgrade carries a small surcharge. For a fully covered area where weather never reaches, ask for a re-quote in indoor fabric.