--- title: "L-Shaped Cushion With Cutout for a Pillar: Notch or Sections" url: "https://cushionguide.com/answers/l-shaped-cushion-cutout-pillar-notch/" section: "The Cutting Table" author: "Hana Lindqvist, The Quiet Geometer of Seattle" author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/hana/" published: "2026-09-17" updated: "2026-09-24" keywords: "l shaped cushion with cutout, l shaped bench cushion pillar, notched banquette cushion, custom shape cushion cut out, corner cutout cushion" --- # Can an L-shaped cushion have a cut-out for a pillar or corner? *A pillar in the middle of a bench is a fact of the room. The cushion can go around it in one piece, or in two.* Also asked as: L-shaped cushion with a small corner cutout, one piece?; Can you do an L shape with a notch? > **The quick answer:** An L-shaped cushion can have a cut-out: either one piece with a precise notch around the pillar or corner, or separate sections that butt together around it. Sections are easier to place and last longer. Send a photo and full measurements, including where the pillar sits and its width, depth and height, and the shop recommends one. One-piece notched Ls go on the custom-shape listing. ![Blue and cream striped box cushion on a white beadboard corner dining bench with woodland wallpaper and rattan pendant](https://cushionguide.com/media/banquette-cushions/cobalt-stripe-corner-banquette-cushion-woodland-wallpaper-1600.webp "A crisp blue stripe cuts through busy wallpaper and a mustard curtain, keeping the dining corner bright.") ## Key facts - An L-shaped cushion can be cut in one piece with a precise notch around a pillar or corner. - Separate sections that butt together are the alternative; they are easier to place and last longer. - Send a photo plus the pillar's position, width, depth and height. - A one-piece L with a cut-out is ordered through the custom-shape listing, with your drawing uploaded. - The cushion is produced exactly to the drawing. - A long seat, an L-piece with a cut-out and back cushions can be quoted as one set. - Very narrow notches and small round holes can't be sewn to hold their shape. ## One notched piece, or sections that meet A pillar changes the bench. It does not have to change the cushion much. There are two ways around it. The workshop can cut one [L-shaped cushion](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/l-shaped-cushions/) with a precise [notch](https://cushionguide.com/glossary/#notch) that fits the pillar. Or it can make separate sections that meet at the pillar and butt together. Sections are easier to place. They also last longer. One piece gives an unbroken seat. Which suits your [banquette](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/banquette-cushions/) depends on where the pillar stands, so send a photo and the numbers, and the shop recommends one. ## The follow-up: what the shop needs to see Four numbers for the pillar: where it sits along the bench, its width, its depth and its height. Then every edge of the bench itself. A photo of the space ties it together. If you choose one piece, it counts as a custom shape. Order it on the [trapezoid and custom-shape listing](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/trapezoid-cushions/), upload your drawing with the measurements, and it is made exactly to that. The [notched cushion Pattern](https://cushionguide.com/guides/notched-cushion-cutouts-posts-casings/) and the [L-shaped bench measuring Pattern](https://cushionguide.com/guides/l-shaped-bench-cushion-measurements/) show how to draw it. Where does your pillar stand, near the corner or mid-run? One piece looks continuous. Two pieces forgive. The pillar decides. ## A kitchen bench, quoted as one set A buyer wrote to the workshop about a kitchen bench. The list was clear: one long seat of 85.5 x 19.7 in (217 x 50 cm), an L-piece of 27.5 x 19.7 in (70 x 50 cm) with a 4.3 x 20.9 in (11 x 53 cm) cut-out, and five back cushions of 11.8 x 19.7 in (30 x 50 cm). They sent a picture of the space with the sizes. Seat, corner piece and backs were quoted together as one order. ## Cut-outs that won't hold their shape - ✗ Very narrow notches: the edge runs straight past the recess instead. - ✗ Small round holes, such as for floor vents: the cushion is split into pieces around the obstacle instead. - ✗ Notches around dining chair back posts on remote orders: an arched back edge is offered instead. > **Tailor's margin:** For a pillar cut-out, send four pillar numbers: its position along the bench, its width, its depth and its height, plus one photo. > An L-shaped cushion can go around a pillar in one notched piece or in sections that butt together; the sections are easier to place. > > — Hana ## Buyer questions **A common question:** Can an L-shaped cushion with a small corner cut-out be made as a single piece? **The workshop's answer:** Yes. It counts as a custom shape and is ordered through the trapezoid/custom-shape listing. Upload your drawing with the measurements when you order, and the cushion is produced exactly to it. **A common question:** My L-shaped bench has a pillar in the middle. Can the cushion work around it? **The workshop's answer:** Yes. The shop either cuts one cushion with a precise notch around the pillar or makes separate sections that butt together, which are easier to place and last longer. Send a photo and full measurements, including the pillar's position, width, depth and height, and the shop recommends one of the two. **A common question:** Could you make an L-shaped bench cushion with one corner cut out? **The workshop's answer:** Yes. Send a picture of the space along with the sizes. A kitchen set of an 85.5 x 19.7 in seat, a 27.5 x 19.7 in L-piece with a 4.3 x 20.9 in cut-out and five back cushions was quoted together. **A common question:** How should I label the sides on my drawing? **The workshop's answer:** Write a length on every edge using letters, A to D, plus E and F for clipped corners, and add the depth and thickness. The shop checks the geometry and sends a full list to confirm before cutting. ## Questions buyers ask next ### Is a notched single piece or butted sections better for a kitchen banquette? Sections are easier to place and last longer; a single piece gives an unbroken seat. The workshop recommends one after seeing a photo and the pillar's position, width, depth and height. ### Can dining chair pads be notched around the back posts? Not on remote orders. An arched back edge is the recommended alternative. Send a detailed drawing with the front and back widths, the curved side length and the tie positions before asking for a quote. ### Can the back cushions be priced together with the L-shaped seat? Yes. A long seat, an L-piece with a cut-out and several back cushions can be quoted as one set, as one kitchen bench order with five 11.8 x 19.7 in (30 x 50 cm) backs was. ## Related at the atelier - [Can you cut a cushion to fit around a post, a pillar or bench legs?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/cushion-notch-cutout-post-pillar-legs/): Yes, a cushion can be cut with a notch to fit around a post, pillar, window column or bench legs. - [My corner bench meets at an angle. How should the cushions be split?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/corner-bench-cushion-angled-45-degree-split/): At a normal 90° corner, split the bench as one long and one short rectangle that butt together; it costs nothing extra and fits most reliably. - [Can you make a cushion for an odd-shaped window seat or nook?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/odd-shaped-window-seat-nook-cushion/): Yes, an odd-shaped window seat or nook cushion can be made in any size and shape. - [Banquette Cushion in Sage Bouclé for an L-Shaped Kitchen Nook](https://cushionguide.com/readings/sage-boucle-l-shaped-kitchen-nook-banquette-backrest/): A sage bouclé banquette cushion works in a cream kitchen nook because one plain green on both seat and backrest reads as built-in, while oak furniture warms it and morning light keeps it fresh. - [Banquette Cushion in Apricot Stripe: What Reads From Ten Feet](https://cushionguide.com/readings/apricot-stripe-l-shaped-corner-banquette-cushions/): From ten feet away a banquette cushion is read by color block, stripe direction and the corner join, not by thread detail. - [Banquette Cushion in Mulberry Velvet: Feel, Wear and Cleaning](https://cushionguide.com/readings/mulberry-velvet-oak-corner-banquette-marble-table/): Mulberry velvet suits a corner banquette cushion when it is cut as a slim box, because a high oak back already sets the sitting position. - [How to measure an L-shaped bench or corner banquette for cushions](https://cushionguide.com/guides/l-shaped-bench-cushion-measurements/) - [Which piece owns the corner? Joining L-shaped bench cushions](https://cushionguide.com/guides/l-shaped-cushion-corner-joint/) *— Hana* --- Written by Hana Lindqvist (https://cushionguide.com/masters/hana/) 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/l-shaped-cushion-cutout-pillar-notch/