--- title: "Sunbed Cushions: Chaise Lounge Sizes, Outdoor Fabric, Foam" url: "https://cushionguide.com/cushions/chaise-and-sunbed-cushions/" section: "The Cushion Atlas" author: "Callum Reid, The Weather Man of Casco Bay" author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/callum/" published: "2026-01-28" updated: "2026-09-24" keywords: "sunbed cushion, chaise lounge cushion, sun lounger cushion, pool lounger cushion, outdoor chaise cushion, custom sunbed cushion" --- # Sunbed and chaise lounge cushions for a long season in the sun *A lounger cushion lies flat under open sky from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Build it for the worst afternoon in July, and the rest of the summer takes care of itself.* > **The quick answer:** A sunbed cushion is made to the lounger's own seat and back, either as one cushion or as a seat with a separate backrest, with 4 in (10 cm) foam as the standard. By a pool or on an open deck, use woven outdoor fabric that resists water, UV and fading, ask for ties where wind reaches, and label each piece's thickness. ![Coral and white wide-striped sunbed cushion with ties on a rattan pool lounger beside a pool with a blue cover reel](https://cushionguide.com/media/chaise-and-sunbed-cushions/coral-cabana-stripe-sunbed-cushion-rattan-lounger-pool-1600.webp "A coral cabana-stripe cushion on a rattan lounger, tied at the hinge and the foot. The warm stripe stands out against the blue pool.") ## What a lounger cushion has to survive A sunbed cushion spends its life flat on its back in full sun. It gets sunscreen, pool water, wet towels and the odd thunderstorm nobody saw coming. Chaise lounges on a patio, rattan loungers by the pool, a timber lounger on a lake deck: the cushion is the part that wears. So start with exposure. How many hours of sun does your lounger see on a July afternoon? Is there a roof, or only sky? Write it down. It decides the fabric before you ever look at color. For benches and sofas outside, see [outdoor cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/outdoor-cushions/). For the whole porch and patio picture, see [patio and porch cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/patio-and-porch-cushions/). ## Measuring a lounger at the hinge | | | |---|---| | Seat | From the hinge line to the foot end, and across the frame inside the rails | | Back | From the hinge line to the top of the backrest, measured separately | | Standard thickness | 4 in (10 cm), the size most buyers keep | | Thinnest | 2 in (5 cm) standard foam; anything thinner only without piping | | Seat and back | Each is its own item at its own size; write 'backrest' on the back piece | | Near-twin pieces | Label each piece and give each its own thickness. One daybed had an 88 5/8 x 25 5/8 in (225 x 65 cm) seat and an 88 5/8 x 25 1/4 in (225 x 64 cm) back. | | Rounded head or foot | Trace a paper template, cut it out, photograph it flat beside a tape measure | | Ties | On request, at the corners or the back, in any position; put position and length in the order note | | Stripes | The roll is about 55 in (140 cm) wide; stripes running across a piece longer than about 54 in need a seam | ## Edges, curves and the fold Most lounger cushions are plain rectangles with a box edge and piping in any color from the outdoor range. Piping earns its keep here. It holds a crisp line on a cushion that gets sat on, lain on and dragged across a deck. Curves need a drawing, not a guess. The workshop will not read a curve from numbers alone: mark where each curve starts and ends and how deep it runs, or trace the seat onto paper and photograph the cut-out. Every cushion gets its own drawing. [Measuring a curved cushion](https://cushionguide.com/guides/curved-cushion-chord-rise-radius/) walks through it. With a separate back, the back can be softer or firmer than the seat, and a different fabric. That is where the fun starts. ## Outdoor fabric that still feels like cloth The outdoor range runs close to 200 fabrics on four or five charts. Every one is water-resistant, UV-resistant and fade-resistant, and meant to stay outside all summer. They are woven cloth, not vinyl and not a plastic finish. All come from the same factory at the same quality; the charts differ only in texture, color tone and pattern. - [Outdoor acrylic fabrics](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/outdoor-acrylic/) for full sun at the pool. - [Water-repellent membrane fabrics](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/water-repellent-membrane/) where wet swimsuits and spills are the bigger worry. Outdoor fabrics cost more than the standard indoor charts. Close-up photos are available for any code, so ask before you choose. An indoor chaise, away from rain and direct sun, can go in regular fabric; one lounger went in indigo linen. ## Foam, firmness and a flat arrival The standard is 4 in (10 cm) of high-density foam, medium-firm, which gives a flat, structured top. Backrests come a little softer by default. They can be made as firm as the seat if you like to sit up and read. Many cushions travel vacuum-compressed and roll-packed. They arrive flat, folded and smaller than the photographs. That is normal. Unwrap every piece. The workshop's numbers for roll-packed foam: most pieces fill out in 24 to 36 hours, reach their photographed shape in about 36 to 48, and are fully firm after 3 to 5 days. A good shake speeds it along. See [the first 72 hours](https://cushionguide.com/guides/vacuum-packed-cushion-first-72-hours/). ## The lounger that arrived flat, and the daybed with twins One buyer wrote in about a chaise-longue style floor lounger in indigo linen, 43 x 35 x 12 in, with its backrest on the 35 in side. It arrived vacuum-packed, and the buyer asked, fairly, how it was ever going to look like the photo. The answer was plain: open every package, give it time, and pull and shake the cushions to help the foam find its shape. Another buyer ordered an outdoor daybed whose seat and back were both 88 5/8 in (225 cm) long and only 3/8 in (1 cm) apart in depth. Before cutting, the workshop asked for a separate thickness for each piece, so the seat could not end up where the back belonged. ## Mistakes the pool deck will find - ✗ Settling a change in chat and never adding it to the order. Production sews to the order note, so every spec belongs there. - ✗ Typing a request for ties into the size box. Write ties, their position, length and color in the note, and look for them in the pre-dispatch photo. - ✗ Two near-identical pieces with no labels. Say which is the seat and give each its own thickness. - ✗ Indoor fabric on an open pool deck. Tell the maker indoor or outdoor first, so the search starts in the right chart. - ✗ Judging a stripe or a coral from a screen. Ask for close-ups of the code first. - ✗ Opening a vacuum-packed cushion and calling it wrong on the spot. Give it 48 hours and a shake. > A sunbed cushion lies in full sun for months. Choose woven outdoor fabric that resists UV and fading, and add ties wherever wind reaches the deck. > > — Callum ## Styling the lounger, and what to read next The photographs here keep making the same good choice: pattern on the back, solid on the seat. A mustard kilim back over a plain waffle seat. A chevron band over teal. A leaf print over a quiet sage. The seat takes the wear and the sun, and a solid hides both. The back is what people see from the house. Stripes belong on loungers. A wide coral cabana stripe on rattan reads like a beach towel you never have to fold. Say which way the stripes run, for every piece. Bring them in before the first frost and they'll forgive you everything. Read [chaise lounge and sunbed sizes](https://cushionguide.com/guides/chaise-lounge-sunbed-cushion-size/), [acrylic, olefin or polyester](https://cushionguide.com/guides/outdoor-cushion-fabric-acrylic-olefin-polyester/) and [outdoor cushion care and winter storage](https://cushionguide.com/guides/outdoor-cushion-care-winter-storage/). Set thickness and piping in the [bench cushion builder](https://cushionguide.com/studio/bench-cushion-builder/), and test the feel in the [foam firmness finder](https://cushionguide.com/studio/foam-firmness-finder/). Pool country has its own notes in [Florida and Gulf Coast cushions](https://cushionguide.com/places/florida-gulf-coast-cushions/). > **Tailor's margin:** When a sunbed seat and back are nearly the same size, label each piece in the order note and give each its own thickness. ## Buyer questions **A common question:** Which outdoor fabrics can a lounger cushion be made in, and why are there several charts? **The workshop's answer:** There is a separate outdoor range of close to 200 fabrics on four or five charts. All are water-, UV- and fade-resistant and meant to stay outside all summer, and they are soft woven fabrics, not vinyl. They come from the same factory at the same quality, so the charts differ only in texture, color tone and pattern. An outdoor order can include the foam, an anti-slip underside and piping in any color from the range, and close-up photos are available for any code. **A common question:** My chaise has a rounded head. How do I measure the curve? **The workshop's answer:** Curves are made, but never guessed from numbers alone. Either sketch the cushion with its total width and depth, the straight length of each edge before the curve begins, where each curve starts and ends, and its depth or radius; or lay wrapping paper on the seat, trace it, cut it out and photograph it flat beside a tape measure. The template method is best for tricky curves, with a separate drawing for each cushion. **A common question:** The cushions came vacuum-packed and look flat and small. Is that right? **The workshop's answer:** Yes, that is expected, not a wrong product. Unwrap every piece. Most fill out in 24-36 hours and reach the photographed shape in about 36-48 hours, with full firmness after 3-5 days and occasionally a week. Shaking them by hand helps the foam recover, and you can use them while they expand. If a piece is still flat after another 4-5 days, photograph it and send the photo to the workshop with your order details. **A common question:** Can you hold my order so the cushions arrive after I move in? **The workshop's answer:** Often, yes: order whenever you like and write 'please deliver on or after [date]' in the personalization box or order note, or send a message. Past orders were held, or production timed, to arrive as close to that date as possible, and some went straight to the new address. Transit times vary, so an exact day can't be promised. With UPS you can also reschedule or hold the delivery yourself, for example with Hold for Pickup. **A common question:** One cushion arrived shorter than I ordered. Will you remake it? **The workshop's answer:** Photograph it with a tape measure along the full side, the day it arrives, and send that to the workshop. In past cases where the error was the workshop's, only the parts that didn't fit were remade, the piping color could change on the new piece, and a partial refund was offered to buyers who kept it. **A common question:** I ordered a lounger cushion by mistake. Can it be canceled? **The workshop's answer:** Usually, yes, if you ask before production starts: accidental orders have been canceled and refunded, and the refund took a few days to show. The workshop usually asks why first, and if size or color is the problem it offers a custom size or color instead, or a later ship date. ## Lounger questions, asked next ### Should a chaise cushion be one piece, or a seat with a separate back? Either can be made. A separate backrest is ordered as its own item at its own size, with 'backrest' written in the note. Two pieces let the back be softer or firmer than the seat, and let you put a pattern on the back and a solid on the seat. ### How thick should a sunbed cushion be? 4 in (10 cm) is the standard for outdoor cushions and the thickness most buyers keep. 2 in (5 cm) is the thinnest standard foam; anything thinner can only be made without piping. ### Can a lounger cushion stay outside all summer? The outdoor range is made for it: water-, UV- and fade-resistant, and meant to stay out through the season. Water-resistant is not sealed, though. After a storm, stand the cushion on its edge to drain, and bring it in for the winter. ### Will ties keep a sunbed cushion on the frame in wind? Ties are sewn into the seams on request, at the corners or the back, in any position, to fix a cushion to its frame. They are never added unless you ask, so write how many, where and how long in the order note. ### Can the backrest be as firm as the seat? Yes. By default backrests are a little softer than seats, which suits lounging. If you sit up to read or eat on the lounger, ask for the back to be made as firm as the seat. ### Do outdoor fabrics cost more than indoor ones? Yes. The standard indoor charts share one price, while outdoor fabrics cost more. The difference buys a fabric that stands up to a summer of sun and showers. ## Related at the atelier - [Sunbed Cushion in Turquoise: Styling a Bare Pool Deck](https://cushionguide.com/readings/turquoise-sun-lounger-cushion-fenced-backyard-pool/): A solid turquoise sunbed cushion needs almost no props on a plain concrete pool deck. - [Sunbed Cushion Makeover: Chevron Back, Teal Seat on a Beach Deck](https://cushionguide.com/readings/teal-chevron-band-lounger-cushion-beach-house-deck/): A two-fabric sunbed cushion can remake a plain deck: put the lighter pattern on the backrest and a darker solid on the seat, where wet, sandy legs land. - [Can you make custom cushions for an outdoor daybed or double chaise lounge?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/custom-outdoor-daybed-chaise-lounge-cushions/): Yes, seat and back cushions for outdoor daybeds and double chaise lounges are made to your exact sizes in weather-resistant outdoor fabric. - [Measuring a chaise lounge or sunbed cushion, hinge point included](https://cushionguide.com/guides/chaise-lounge-sunbed-cushion-size/): Measure a chaise lounge cushion by its overall length and width, then foot to hinge, so the cushion bends with the frame. - [Swing beds and daybed swings: the four-piece set](https://cushionguide.com/concepts/swing-bed-cushions/): A swing bed cushion is usually a four-piece set: a mattress cut to the platform, a back cushion and two cylinder bolsters, ordered together so all four come from one fabric batch. - [Custom cushions for Icelandic homes, summer houses and hot tub decks](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-iceland/): Custom cushions in Iceland have to handle wind first, then wet: on decks and beside a hot tub, use water-repellent outdoor fabric, quick-drying construction, ties at the back corners and cushions… *Fair winds — Callum* --- Written by Callum Reid (https://cushionguide.com/masters/callum/) 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/cushions/chaise-and-sunbed-cushions/