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The Cutting Table · a question, worked through

I only received the cover. Where is the foam insert?

Odds are you are holding it. Vacuum packing presses a foam insert as flat as a folded sail.

Answered by

The Weather Man of Casco Bay · · Updated

Pinned by Callum

The quick answer

If you received the cushion cover but no foam, look again: foam inserts are vacuum-compressed inside their covers for shipping, so a finished cushion can look like an empty cover. Open the plastic and the foam starts expanding back into shape over the next few days. Every order is photographed before it ships, and a genuinely missing insert is investigated.

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Key facts

  • Foam inserts ship vacuum-compressed inside their covers.
  • A compressed cushion can look like a cover on its own.
  • Once opened, the foam expands back into shape within a few days.
  • Every order is photographed before it ships.
  • If the foam really is missing, the workshop checks those photos and investigates.

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Short list: size, sun hours, how fast it has to dry. The workshop goes through it with you. — 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
The cover cloth: weave, color and care code.
Foam
Foam inserts ship vacuum-compressed inside their covers.
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.

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“There's only a cover in the box.”

Press the middle of it, friend. Feel a firm slab under the fabric? That's the insert. Foam ships vacuum-compressed straight inside its cover, squeezed so flat the whole cushion passes for an empty case.

In one case the pre-shipping photo showed the cushion complete, foam and all. It had simply been packed tight.

“How do I open it without cutting the fabric?”

Carefully. The cushion sits right against the plastic, so no knives and no long scissors. Snip the bag at an edge away from the cushion and tear it open by hand. The foam starts moving at once and reaches full shape in about 24 to 48 hours. The first 72 hours Pattern walks through it.

“It's out, but it still looks thin.”

Give it time. Foam straight out of the bag measures short and keeps recovering for 3 to 5 days, sometimes up to a week. Re-measure after that. If it's still short, send the workshop photos with a tape measure along the length, width and thickness. The bench cushions and foam inserts pages show what full thickness looks like. How long has yours been out of the bag?

“There really is no foam.”

Then write in. Every order is photographed before it ships, so the workshop checks that photo against what reached you and investigates from there. Rain doesn't negotiate, and neither does a photograph.

Every cushion order is photographed before it ships, so a missing foam insert can be checked against the photo of the finished cushion.

Callum
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    All I got was the cover. Where's the foam?

    The workshop's answer

    The pre-shipping photos showed the cushion complete with its foam. Vacuum packing makes it so flat it can pass for just a cover; it expands back into shape within a few days.

  2. A common question

    The covers came but no cushions. Are the inserts shipping separately?

    The workshop's answer

    Check the package again. Inserts are often vacuum-compressed straight into the covers, so the parcel looks like covers only. If the foam really is missing, the workshop investigates.

  3. A common question

    The box is tiny. Can a whole cushion set really be in there?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Cushion sets and sofas are vacuum-compressed, so everything fits a surprisingly small parcel with no extra stuffing. Open it promptly and allow about 36 to 48 hours to expand.

Questions buyers ask next

How soon after delivery should the vacuum bag come off?

Promptly. The foam begins expanding the moment air gets in, reaches its full shape in about 24 to 48 hours, and keeps settling for a few days before it is worth measuring.

What should I send if the foam truly isn't there?

Write to the workshop with a photo of what arrived. Every order is photographed before shipping, so your photo is compared with that one and the missing insert is investigated.

Will a large order arrive in one box?

Not always. Big orders ship as several separately tracked parcels that can arrive on different days, and bars, armrests or backrests may travel on their own. Check every tracking number before counting a piece as missing.