---
title: "Odd Shaped Window Seat Cushion: Draw It, Measure Every Side"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/answers/odd-shaped-window-seat-nook-cushion/"
section: "The Cutting Table"
author: "Nate Kowalski, The Pattern Engineer of Detroit"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/nate/"
published: "2026-05-05"
updated: "2026-05-05"
keywords: "odd shaped window seat cushion, irregular shape cushion, custom curved breakfast nook cushion, 6 sided window seat cushion, cushion with cut out"
---

# Can you make a cushion for an odd-shaped window seat or nook?

*Six sides, a curve, a cut-out around the air conditioner: none of it frightens a pattern maker. What stalls an odd shape is a missing number.*

Also asked as: Not a perfect trapezoid, it's 6-sided.; Window bench built into my dining nook, odd shape.

> **The quick answer:** Yes, an odd-shaped window seat or nook cushion can be made in any size and shape. Draw the shape on paper, write every side on it in inches or centimeters, mark rounded corners, joints and cut-outs, then send a photo of the drawing and of the space. The workshop redraws it as a clean diagram for you to confirm before quoting.

![Mustard ochre bouclé cushion in a deep arched plaster window alcove, lavender and olive in stoneware jugs, terracotta floor](https://cushionguide.com/media/window-seat-cushions/mustard-ochre-cushion-arched-plaster-window-alcove-1600.webp "Mustard reads like late sunlight on plaster, so this alcove cushion looks warm even on a gray day.")

## Key facts

- Cushions can be made in any size and shape.
- Custom shapes need a hand drawing with every side measured, in inches or centimeters.
- Rounded corners, joints and cut-outs must be marked on the drawing.
- A photo of the space is requested before quoting.
- The workshop redraws odd shapes as a clean diagram for your confirmation.
- Genuinely difficult pieces go to the most experienced craftsman and are paid through a private purchase link.
- Fabric and color can be matched to an earlier order.

## The odd-shape drawing checklist

1. Sketch the seat from above on plain paper, roughly to shape.
2. Measure every side and write it on its edge, in inches or centimeters; pick one unit.
3. Mark rounded corners, joints between pieces and cut-outs, such as an indent around an air conditioner.
4. Photograph the drawing flat, in good light.
5. Photograph the space itself, straight on.
6. Send both, then confirm the clean diagram the workshop draws back.

## What a drawing must not leave out

- ✗ A side with no number on it.
- ✗ A curved edge with no measurements.
- ✗ A cut-out shown but not sized.
- ✗ The thickness you want.

## Odd shapes already on the workshop's drawings

The unusual ones keep arriving: a 6-sided window seat 86.5 in (220 cm) at its longest and 20 in (51 cm) at its widest; a stepped bench about 75.5 in (191.5 cm) along one side, 2 in (5 cm) thick; a curved breakfast nook over lift-up storage benches; a window seat with L-shaped cut-outs at each end to wrap the corners; rounded-end benches; even a round sofa.

Angles are just lengths in disguise. Give the workshop every length and the shape takes care of itself. For curves, the [chord and rise method](https://cushionguide.com/guides/curved-cushion-chord-rise-radius/) is the cleanest way to write one down.

## When the shape is genuinely hard

Some pieces earn a second look, partner. A corner window seat that ran onto trim sections at both ends was one: the workshop called it genuinely difficult and gave it to its most experienced craftsman. Complex pieces like that are sold through a private purchase link made for your order, which works like a normal purchase.

Sometimes the photo review ends somewhere simpler, and a buyer settles on a standard rectangle from the listing. Is your nook truly odd, or a rectangle with an attitude? More layouts live under [banquette cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/banquette-cushions/) and in the [custom-shape drawing Pattern](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-shape-cushion-drawing/).

> **Tailor's margin:** An odd-shaped cushion drawing needs a number on every side, plus every rounded corner, joint and cut-out marked; a side without a number is a guess.

> A 6-sided window seat, 86.5 in (220 cm) at its longest and 20 in (51 cm) at its widest, was quoted from a hand drawing with every side on it.
>
> — Nate

## Buyer questions

**A common question:** My window seat is 6-sided, curved or stepped. Can you still make a cushion?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes, any size and shape. Measure every side, draw the shape on paper with all the sizes written on it and send a photo of the drawing; the workshop checks it and then quotes. A 6-sided seat 86.5 in at its longest and 20 in at its widest was handled this way.

**A common question:** I had an odd-shaped bench built into my dining nook. How do I order a cushion?

**The workshop's answer:** Draw the shape with the sizes written on it and send a picture of the drawing; the workshop redraws it as a clean diagram to confirm with you. Chairs with a trapezoid-shaped seat work the same way: send a drawing with exact dimensions and a photo of the chair.

**A common question:** Can you do rounded ends or a cut-out instead of a plain rectangle?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. Send a paper drawing with every dimension in inches or centimeters, including rounded corners, joints or cut-outs, and the workshop quotes from the drawing. A rounded-end breakfast nook set was quoted this way.

**A common question:** Can a corner window seat cushion extend onto the trim at both corners?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes, though it is a genuinely difficult piece. The workshop assigned its most experienced craftsman and sold it through a private purchase link made for that order, which works like a normal purchase.

## Questions buyers ask next

### Can an odd-shaped cushion match the fabric of my earlier order?

Yes. Mention the earlier order's fabric and color when you send the drawing, and the workshop can use the same ones so the new shaped cushion sits well beside what you already have. Ask for a close-up to compare.

### Why does the workshop redraw my sketch?

The clean diagram is a check. It turns your hand drawing into exact lines and numbers so you can confirm every side, corner and cut-out before anything is quoted or cut. Mistakes are cheapest on paper.

### What if my odd shape turns out to be a plain rectangle?

It happens. After the photo review, some buyers find a standard rectangle from the listing fits their seat, which keeps ordering simple. Truly irregular pieces are quoted individually rather than from a size chart.

## Related at the atelier

- [Can you make any curved shape, or are some too hard to make?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/curved-cushion-shapes-declined-limits/): Yes, curved cushions can be made when the curve is mild, but only after the craftsmen review a measured drawing and photos.
- [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.
- [Do I need to make a paper template for a custom cushion, and should I mail it?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/paper-template-custom-cushion-needed/): No, a paper template isn't required: a simple drawing with every edge measured, or photos plus measurements, is enough for an angled cushion.
- [Making a paper template a cushion workshop can actually use](https://cushionguide.com/guides/paper-template-for-custom-cushion/): A cushion template is a full-size paper tracing of the seat, marked top side up, with the wall edge, two measured reference lines and every edge length written on it.
- [Banquette Cushion in Two Lengths: a Saffron Courtyard Bench](https://cushionguide.com/readings/saffron-outdoor-banquette-cushion-italian-courtyard/): A banquette cushion longer than about 8 ft (2.4 m) is usually made in two lengths that butt together, because very long cushions are made and shipped in two pieces.
- [Banquette Cushion in Golden Mustard: The Kitchen Settle Test](https://cushionguide.com/readings/golden-mustard-kitchen-settle-bench-cushion/): A banquette cushion in a busy kitchen ages well when the cloth is tightly woven, the color is a warm mid-tone like golden mustard, and the box edge is piped to hold its line.
- [U-shaped banquette cushions: measuring three runs that never quite match](https://cushionguide.com/guides/u-shaped-banquette-cushions/)

*± 1/4 in — Nate*

---

Written by Nate Kowalski (https://cushionguide.com/masters/nate/) 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/odd-shaped-window-seat-nook-cushion/