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The Cutting Table · a common question

Can you sew just a new cover for my trapezoid or tapered cushion?

Also asked as:Tapered shape, 17 in back and 19.5 frontIs it possible to recreate this shape?

Sometimes the foam is still good and only the cloth has faded. A new cover for an angled shape starts with four numbers and a sketch.

Answered by

The Colorist of New Orleans · · Updated

The quick answer

Yes, a cover alone can be made for a trapezoid or tapered cushion you already have. Send a drawing or photo with every side labeled and measured, such as a chair cushion 17 in (43 cm) wide at the back, 19 in (48 cm) at the front, 19 in (48 cm) deep and 3.5 in (9 cm) thick. The cover is quoted, and you add fabric and piping codes.

Green and white stripe trapezoid window seat cushion with solid green piping, rust velvet and gray pillows in a baySave
Solid green piping frames the stripe and keeps the long taper at the right end crisp.

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Key facts

  • Tapered and trapezoid shapes can be made as covers only.
  • A drawing or photo with every side labeled and measured is needed.
  • Example: 17 in (43 cm) back, 19 in (48 cm) front, 19 in (48 cm) deep, 3.5 in (9 cm) thick.
  • You add your fabric code and, if wanted, a piping code.
  • Cover-only quotes for shaped cushions are sent on request, and a tapered cover quote came already discounted against a full cushion.

Have it made

Have Élodie’s workshop cut this for you

Describe the room at four in the afternoon: the floor, the wall, the one color you love. That is where a good fabric choice begins. — Élodie

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
You add your fabric code and, if wanted, a piping code.
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
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

The four numbers a tapered cover hangs on

My friends, a taper is a quiet thing. A chair cushion 17 in (43 cm) across the back and 19 in (48 cm) across the front looks square until you lay a new cover on it and the corners hang loose. So the workshop asks for four numbers: back width, front width, depth, thickness. In one real order those were 17, 19, 19 and 3.5 in (43, 48, 48 and 9 cm).

Add a drawing or a photo with every side labeled, and the cover alone is quoted. More shapes live under trapezoid cushions and cushion covers, and the trapezoid calculator checks that your sides agree.

What to send with the request

  • A drawing or photo with every side labeled (A, B, C, D) and measured.
  • Back width and front width, measured separately.
  • Depth, front edge to back.
  • Thickness of the cushion you're keeping.
  • Your fabric code, and a piping code if you want a welt.

Choosing cloth and welt for an old shape

Look at the cushion in the photo above: a kelly green and white pinstripe on a trapezoid window seat, finished with a solid green welt. Let one color speak and the others listen. The stripe does the talking; the welt draws the angle so the eye reads the taper as intentional.

On a new cover the piping is its own code, chosen next to the fabric code, so an old plain cover can come back with a welt. The piping Pattern and the covers-for-existing-foam Pattern walk through both choices. Which color would you let speak on yours?

A cover-only order for a tapered cushion needs four numbers: back width, front width, depth and thickness, plus a sketch with every side labeled.

Élodie
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Can you recreate a cover for a tapered cushion that's narrower at the back?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Send a drawing or photo with the sizes. A cover only for a cushion 17 in (43 cm) at the back, 19 in (48 cm) at the front, 19 in (48 cm) deep and 3.5 in (9 cm) thick was quoted already discounted; you add your fabric and piping codes.

  2. A common question

    Can I order only the cover for my trapezoid window seat?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Send all the exact measurements, ideally as a drawing with every side labeled, and the workshop quotes the cover alone.

  3. A common question

    How much less is a cover alone than a full cushion with foam?

    The workshop's answer

    A cover alone costs less than the same cushion with foam; how much less depends on the size and fabric, and the quote shows the difference. Covers are quoted per piece by size and fabric, and multi-cover orders have been given a bulk discount.

  4. A common question

    Can you make zippered covers for pillow inserts I already own?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Order on the zippered cover listing, put the sizes in the Exact Size field, note that they're pillow covers with your color and piping codes, then message the workshop. Any chart fabric works, and the covers close with a zipper.

Questions buyers ask next

Why does a tapered cover need a drawing if I give all four sizes?

A drawing or photo with every side labeled shows which edge is the back and which is the front, so the taper runs the right way. Four numbers alone can be read two ways; the sketch removes the doubt.

Can the replacement cover have piping when the old one had none?

Yes. Piping is chosen by code alongside the fabric code, so a plain old cover can come back with a welt in a matching or contrasting color. Leave the piping code out if you want the new cover plain.

Is a shaped cover quoted the same way as a full cushion?

Covers are quoted per piece from the sizes you send and the fabric you choose. A tapered cover-only quote has come already discounted against a full cushion, since the foam isn't part of the job.