Bouclé and teddy for cushions: the loop, the weight, the wash
Bouclé is yarn with small loops, woven into a soft, pebbled face. Teddy is its deeper, plusher cousin. Both photograph beautifully. Both should be touched before you choose.
SaveThe angled end of this rose bouclé cushion follows the bay wall exactly, and taupe piping keeps the custom cut easy to read.
Swatch stripmeasured from the photographs on this page
chestnut#8b6b4d
deep rust#593e26
camel#ad8f70
sand#cfb390
oatmeal#a9a5a1
taupe#7b736d
mist#c5c5c4
deep terracotta#351d10
The quick answer
Bouclé is a cushion fabric woven from looped yarn, and teddy is its plusher bouclé-style cousin; both are indoor fabrics for window seats, benches and floor seating. Bouclé comes in many weights and loop sizes, so order a sample of the exact code before a large piece. Covers unzip and machine wash at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle, then air dry.
Swatch book · 1 card
The swatch book
Swatch cards photographed in daylight. Open any card to zoom into the weave. Screens shift color, so a sample in your own light is the final word.
SaveThirty-two curly teddy bouclés, from snow white and mocha to rust, forest green and burgundy, with a few patterned bouclés mixed in.
Counted from the readings the masters have published in this family. Open a cushion type for its sizes and measuring.
A surface made of small loops
Bouclé starts in the yarn. The thread is curled into loops before it is woven, and the loops sit on the face of the cloth like small pebbles. Teddy takes the same idea further. Softer. Deeper. Closer to a blanket than a path.
In the photographs here the texture does quiet work. A dusty rose bouclé follows a trapezoid bay under three arched windows. A rust one traces a five-sided bay. A caramel pad lies under tall arches with nothing on it at all.
A looped face holds small shadows. That is why a plain color in bouclé never looks flat.
Seats that are looked at as much as sat on
Bouclé suits a window seat, a bay window with an odd angle, or a long pad on a concrete or painted bench, where a soft face answers a hard base. It suits calm rooms. One texture, one color, space around it.
On the floor, teddy comes as a quilted sofa topper for a floor sofa, alongside velvet and the performance weave. Leave a hand's width of floor around it.
A pad cut exactly to a narrow seat has nothing to grip. Ask for ties or a non-slip base when you order, in writing.
It is an indoor fabric. For rain and damp, look at outdoor acrylic.
Weight and loop decide how it wears
The word bouclé promises less than it seems to. It is sold in many weights and many loop sizes, so two fabrics with the same name can feel and wear quite differently. Order a sample of any textured fabric before a large piece. The bouclé care pattern goes further.
For the hardest jobs, children, rentals, a cushion slept on every night, the workshop recommends the performance weave instead. It is thinner than velvet, wipeable and machine washable. A tight, washable weave in a mid-tone is the calm choice for a family room.
Washing a bouclé or teddy cover
Unzip the cover from the underside. Every cover comes off the foam completely.
Turn it inside out.
Machine wash at 86°F (30°C) at most, gentle or delicate cycle, mild detergent, no bleach.
Air dry. No tumble dryer.
If it needs pressing, use low heat through a cloth, tested first on a hidden seam allowance.
Button-tufted covers are sewn through and stay on. Spot-clean those.
Color on a looped surface
The bouclé card on this page holds twelve colors: snow white, gray, camel, mocha, rust, mustard, mint, blush, forest green, navy, burgundy and black. Each one is softened by the loops.
Piping gives bouclé a line. One gray bench pad here wears burnt orange piping. Piping can come from any chart, matching or contrast, and it is included.
One naming trap. The floor sofa sold as the teddy sofa is usually corduroy; the name is the model, not the fabric. Read the fabric type in the listing title and the chart, not only the thumbnail. Screen versus daylight covers the rest.
Touch first. Then color. Then size.
Bouclé next to corduroy, velvet and the performance weave
Neighbors in the Swatch Library: corduroy, velvet, and performance and pet-friendly fabrics.
In real rooms
Open any photograph large; each one has its own link and a Save button.
SaveA thin line of burnt orange piping lifts the dove-gray cushion off the dark walnut and echoes the candlelight.SaveFive cushions in caramel, sage, cream and two woven stripes, piled on a plaster alcove seat in late sun.SaveMustard reads like late sunlight on plaster, so this alcove cushion looks warm even on a gray day.SaveCharcoal piping gives a long powder blue window seat a crisp edge against cream cabinetry.SaveA slim charcoal boucle pad softens a poured-concrete ledge. Three pillows in three textures step from mustard to graphic to taupe.SaveOne long cream pad for sitting, three square bouclé pads for color: a flexible set for a Scandinavian window.SaveA rust bouclé cushion wraps every facet of a five-sided bay, with cream and sage pillows set on the central panels.SaveA dusty rose cushion with cream piping turns a plaster niche into a sunlit reading seat.SaveCaramel bouclé on a white plinth bench under arched windows, with an olive tree and terracotta art repeating its warmth.
A real project
When the loop was not the one imagined
Some orders begin the same way. A buyer orders a large textured piece from a thumbnail, and the cover that arrives has a different hand, a heavier loop or a flatter one than the picture in their mind. The seams are fine. The word simply covered more than they expected.
The workshop's answer has been steady. Send samples. Let the buyer touch them in their own room. Remake the covers in the fabric they choose. Where a buyer wanted natural fiber instead, it offered cotton and other natural alternatives.
What it taught
Sample the exact code before any large textured piece; the fabric name alone tells you little.
Two fabrics can both be sold as bouclé and feel nothing alike. Bouclé comes in many weights and loop sizes, so sample the exact code before a large piece.
Which fabrics can I choose for a custom cushion, and where does teddy fit in?
The workshop's answer
Three main indoor families, linen, velvet and the smooth easy-clean performance weave, each with a numbered chart of about 40 colors. Teddy, a bouclé-style fabric, sits alongside corduroy, 100% cotton, 100% linen, chenille and faux leather, with a separate outdoor range. Teddy costs more than velvet or the performance weave, and more than 10,000 other fabrics can be sourced on request.
A common question
Do the covers come off, and can they really go in the washing machine?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Every cover has a zipper on the underside and comes off the foam completely, and every fabric in the range machine washes at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle, for a full cushion and a cover-only order alike. Air dry, and iron on low only if needed. Button-tufted covers are the exception.
A common question
Can each piece of my modular floor sofa be a different color?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Choose the mix-color option, then write in the order note which piece gets which color, the ottoman and smaller loveseat included. You aren't limited to the colors in the photos, and some buyers order a spare cover set in a second color to swap between.
A common question
What is the 'soft fabric' you keep suggesting instead?
The workshop's answer
It is the workshop's best-selling upholstery weave, codes 901 to 946: a thick, durable performance cloth with a soft hand, described as a poly-cotton blend and earlier as 100% polyester. It isn't chenille or 100% cotton. It wipes clean and machine washes at 86°F (30°C). For natural fiber, choose cotton-linen.
Have it made
Have it made in bouclé or teddy — ask Hana’s workshop
Measure once, slowly. Write the numbers here. The workshop will go over them with you. — Hana
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.
Asked about bouclé
What is the difference between bouclé and teddy?
Both are built on looped yarn. Teddy is the plusher, softer bouclé-style fabric, and it costs more than velvet or the performance weave. Because both come in many weights and loop sizes, the name alone won't tell you the hand; a sample will.
Is the teddy sofa made of teddy fabric?
Usually not. The floor sofa sold as the teddy sofa is made in plush corduroy, in about ten colors; the name belongs to the model. It isn't offered in stripes or with tufting, and it can be made in other fabrics from the charts.
Is bouclé a good choice for a child's floor cushion?
For children, rentals and a cushion slept on every night, the workshop recommends the performance weave: soft, wipeable, thinner than velvet and machine washable. Choose a tight, washable weave in a mid-tone with zip-off covers, and keep bouclé for calmer seats.
How do I choose a bouclé color from a phone screen?
Not from the screen alone. Send a photo of the room and the workshop names the closest codes, then order swatches of the shortlist and look at them in daylight. Texture changes how a color reads, and a phone flattens it.
Is bouclé more durable than velvet?
In different ways. Velvet's short, dense synthetic pile has nothing loose to catch, so it copes with daily sitting and brushes back up when crushed. Bouclé's open loops hide crumbs and wear but snag easily on claws, rings and zippers, and they trap pet hair. For a pet household or a busy bench, velvet or a tight weave is the safer pick.
— Hana
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Readings
Cushions made in bouclé & teddy
Real pieces in real rooms, read by the masters for color, light and wear.
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