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The Cutting Table · a checklist answer

Do you make back cushions to match my bench cushion?

Also asked as:Do you make the back cushions too?Matching backrest cushions?

A seat without a back is half a sentence. Here is how the other half gets made in the same cloth, today or long after the seat came home.

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The Elder of High Point ·

Dove gray and ivory basketweave window seat cushion with self piping on a white painted seat under a garden windowSave
A gray window seat cushion with a deep boxed edge fills a painted window seat under a garden casement. Linen curtains repeat its warm gray.

The quick answer

Yes, matching back cushions are made to any size in the same fabric as your bench cushion. Choose firm foam inside for a structured back that holds its shape upright, or a soft filled pillow for a plumper, relaxed look. Order them together with the seat, or add them later by quoting the seat's original fabric code.

Get a quote for an outdoor bench cushion

Key facts

  • Back cushions are made to any size.
  • Backrests are cut from the same fabric as the seat.
  • Backs can be foam-filled (structured) or pillow-filled (soft and relaxed).
  • A matching back can be added later by quoting the original fabric code.
  • Example: a 15.7 x 74 x 3.9 in (40 x 188 x 10 cm) back over a 23.6 x 74 x 3.9 in (60 x 188 x 10 cm) seat.
  • Outdoor seat-and-back sets can be ordered together on a bench-cushion-with-backrest listing.

Have it made

Have Harlan’s workshop cut this for you

The best cushions I have known began with somebody asking one more question. Ask yours here. — 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
Backrests are cut from the same fabric as the seat.
Foam
Backs can be foam-filled (structured) or pillow-filled (soft and relaxed).
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

Five things to tell the workshop about your backs

  1. The seat's fabric code, so the back is cut from the same cloth.
  2. Each back's width, height and thickness, one size per piece.
  3. Foam or pillow: firm foam stands upright, a filled pillow is plumper and more relaxed.
  4. Where the set lives: indoor bench, outdoor sofa and chairs, or window seat.
  5. Piping: matching, or a contrasting line like the burgundy welt on one 74 in (188 cm) bench set.

Foam back or pillow back

A back cushion has one job the seat never does: it has to stand up. Firm foam inside, the same as the seat, gives a structured back that holds its shape upright against the wall. A soft filled pillow is plumper and more relaxed, the kind you sink into with a book. Neither is wrong, my friend. Decide the look first, then send the sizes.

Every back is cut to its own measurements, in the seat's fabric, whether it goes on an indoor bench, an outdoor sofa and chairs, or a window seat. The back cushion height Pattern and the notes on back cushion fill help you choose, and finished sets live under outdoor cushions and backrest cushions.

What breaks a matching set

  • Ordering a back without the seat's fabric code.
  • Assuming the seat price covers the back: standard listings price one seat cushion only.
  • Sending one size for several different backs; each piece needs its own.
  • Expecting seat and back to be joined: they are separate pieces, though corner ties can be sewn on.
A real project

A back cushion, added later

A returning buyer in the US had a corduroy window seat cushion and wanted a back to go with it. The buyer quoted the original fabric code, and the workshop cut a back cushion 90 in long, 11 in high and 3 in deep (229 x 28 x 7.6 cm) in the same corduroy, paid through a custom payment link. Nobody had to guess the color from memory; the code did the remembering. A seam is a promise, and a fabric code is how you keep it twice.

A matching bench back can be firm foam that stands upright or a soft filled pillow; choose the look first, then send the sizes.

Harlan
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Do you make back cushions for an outdoor sofa and chairs as well?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. A ready listing covers bench cushions with backrests, so the seats and backs are ordered together through it.

  2. A common question

    Can backrests be made to match the bench cushion I already have?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes, in the same fabric so the set matches, and built one of two ways: firm foam like the seat, which holds its shape upright, or a soft filled pillow, which is plumper and more relaxed. Say which look you want and send the sizes.

  3. A common question

    Can your bench cushions double as backrests? I need seats and matching backs.

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Three velvet seats of 30.4 x 13 x 3.1 in (77.25 x 33 x 8 cm) and three backs of 30.4 x 10.2 x 3.1 in (77.25 x 26 x 8 cm) went through together on one custom listing.

  4. A common question

    Could you make a backrest to go with the seat for my 74 in bench?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. For a 74 in (188 cm) bench the workshop made a 23.6 x 74 x 3.9 in (60 x 188 x 10 cm) seat and a 15.7 x 74 x 3.9 in (40 x 188 x 10 cm) backrest, finished with a contrasting burgundy piping line.

Questions buyers ask next

Does a bench back need the same thickness as its seat?

No. Many buyers pair a thicker, firmer seat with a thinner or softer back, such as 4 in (10 cm) backs on an 8 in (20 cm) seat, which also lowers the price. Backs are often cut a little narrower than the seat too.

Will the back cushion be sewn to the seat cushion?

No. Seat, back and any bolsters are separate pieces, so the back can lie flat or be used on its own. Corner ties can be sewn on if you want to tie the pieces to each other.

Can a seat and back for an outdoor bench go in one order?

Yes. Outdoor seat-and-back sets have their own bench-cushion-with-backrest listing, so both pieces are chosen together. Unusual seat-and-back combinations have also been set up through a custom listing or payment link.

How do I add a back cushion to a bench that already has a wooden back?

Order a thinner back cushion, 2 to 3 in, with ties sewn at the top corners to fasten around the top rail or through the slats. A thin back keeps most of the seat depth. Order it with the seat in the same fabric, or add it later by quoting your original fabric code, and mark the tie positions on a photo of the bench.

How much seat depth does a back cushion use up?

Roughly its own thickness. The standard back cushion is 4 in (10 cm) thick, so an 18 in deep bench leaves about 14 in to sit on, while banquette design guides suggest about 18 to 20 in of seat depth for dining. On a shallow bench, order a 2 or 3 in back, or a wedge that is thinner at the top.