Water-repellent membrane fabrics for porch, patio and pool cushions
Rain beads up on this cloth and rolls off the edge. It will not keep a week of storms out of a badly built cushion, and nobody should tell you otherwise. Here's where the family earns its keep.
SaveWrought-iron chairs on a Haussmann balcony get square striped pads in clay salmon, tied on with bows.
Swatch stripmeasured from the photographs on this page
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dark walnut#4e4538
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The quick answer
Water-repellent membrane fabric sheds rain and wipes clean, but it is water-resistant, not waterproof, so it suits patios, porches, balconies and pool loungers when the cushion is built plainly and stored dry. Order outdoor cushions without tufting, since tufted cushions let water in. Covers unzip and wash at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle, and a fabric protectant spray is recommended.
Swatch book · 2 cards
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.
SaveThe full outdoor range on one card: awning stripes, pinstripes, micro checks and solids, all water-repellent.SaveThirty-nine water-repellent outdoor fabrics, from aqua awning stripes to coral and green block checks and small houndstooth.
Counted from the readings the masters have published in this family. Open a cushion type for its sizes and measuring.
The look and the feel: stripes that shed a shower
Water sits up in beads on a membrane fabric before it runs off. That's the whole trick, and it's a good one on a patio bench after a summer shower.
To the eye, this family is the striped end of the wall. The HM chart runs 39 codes of stripes, checks and solids, houndstooth included, and the photographs add awning stripes, pinstripes and a small aqua microcheck. Most of our indoor charts are plain colors, so this is where people come when they want a porch to look like a porch.
The face is smooth and close. The sage box cushion in the close-up wears self piping, so the stripe runs right to the edge and the welt disappears into it.
Where it works best: patios, balconies, pool decks and chair pads
The photographs tell you where this cloth lives. Salmon-striped tie-on pads on black iron bistro chairs, knotted in bows. A white box cushion with black pinstripes on an oak bench against painted brick. A sage seat and two back cushions on a teak two-seater. Dusty rose and white on a pool lounger.
That's the job list: patio and porch cushions, chaise and sunbed pads, outdoor benches and small chair pads with ties. The same stripes come indoors, too. One photo shows powder blue and white on a window seat in a white paneled alcove, and a sunroom can take the same idea.
For a seat that bakes in full sun every day, compare outdoor acrylic before you decide.
Durability in weather: repellent is not waterproof
Water-repellent is a promise; waterproof is a contract. This family makes the promise. A spray rating of ISO 3 means water-resistant, not waterproof, and that's the honest word for it. Leave a cushion under steady rain for days and the water will find a way in.
So build around that, friend. Outdoors, order a plain foam cushion with no tufting. Tufted cushions let water in even when they're sewn in outdoor fabric. Outdoor quotes assume 4 in (10 cm) of thickness, and thicker costs more.
The fabric is one layer of the answer. The foam, the build and where the cushion spends a wet night are the rest, and water-repellent vs waterproof cushions walks the whole system. If yours will sit out uncovered, read up on dry-fast foam before you order.
Care and washing, and where the cushions spend winter
Unzip the cover from the underside and take it off the foam completely.
Machine wash at 86°F (30°C) at most, on a gentle or delicate cycle. The 30 on the care note is Celsius, not Fahrenheit.
Use a mild detergent and no bleach, and turn the cover inside out if you can.
Air dry it. The tumble dryer stays off.
Keep a can of fabric protectant spray with the patio things; the workshop recommends one for outdoor cushions.
Store the cushions indoors for the off-season. The winter storage notes cover the rest.
Color notes: stripes in daylight and on a screen
Across the two swatch cards the palette runs gray, sand, taupe, sage, forest green, aqua, powder blue, navy and coral. Stripes and checks are harder to judge than a solid, because two colors mix in the eye from across the yard.
Sunlight and camera angle can make one tone look a shade off between photos. It's the same fabric. If a cushion in one of our pictures is the one you want, send a screenshot of that exact photo and the workshop names the fabric and piping codes. Then order swatches first and look at them outside, at noon and again at dusk.
One question to settle before you order: which way should the stripes run on your bench, front to back or end to end? Most rolls are about 55 in (140 cm) wide, which sets how large one piece can be, and stripe direction explains the trade.
Standard means the shared price of the linen-look, velvet and performance charts; outdoor fabrics cost more.
In real rooms
Open any photograph large; each one has its own link and a Save button.
SaveA crisp pinstripe cushion on a slim oak bench stands out against a courtyard wall painted charcoal.SaveA crisp pinstripe pad on a weathered bench at the end of a jetty, with a knit throw and a thermos for the morning.SaveThe same aqua stripe as a box seat, this time with soft knife-edge seafoam pillows leaning on a limestone wall behind a silvered teak bench.SaveA classic blue awning stripe fills a white paneled alcove; the outdoor-grade weave copes with sun from the window beside it.SaveFrom above, the seat and both back cushions line up stripe for stripe across the teak bench.SaveA soft pink stripe and a graphic black stripe share one pool edge, tied together by matching gray frames and white walls.SaveClose in, the woven texture of the sage stripe and the matching piping show how the stripes carry over the box edge.SaveA low camera makes the teak bench and its striped cushions feel generous against a tall timber fence.SaveA long oak café bench outside a gray-green shopfront gets one continuous pad in a fine aqua microcheck.
A real project
The ties that got lost in the size box
Here's a mistake that keeps repeating. A buyer orders chair pads or a bench cushion for outside and types 'with ties' into the box meant for dimensions. The size gets read. The note doesn't. The cushions arrive bare, and they don't stay where they're put.
Ties and straps aren't standard. They're added when asked for, clearly. When a request slipped through, the workshop refunded the add-on, sent matching fabric and thread so ties could be sewn on, or paid part of a local tailor's bill.
A slick teak or iron seat makes it worse, since a cushion with nothing to grip will travel. Ties or a non-slip base settle it. Write the ties into the order note with position, length and color, then look for them in the photo the workshop sends before dispatch. Tie placement shows the positions that hold on chairs and swings.
What it taught
Ask for ties in writing, with position, length and color, and check for them in the pre-dispatch photo.
A spray rating of ISO 3 means a cushion fabric is water-resistant, not waterproof. Build the patio cushion plainly and bring the cushion indoors when the season ends.
How do I wash an outdoor cushion cover, and is the 30 degrees on the label Fahrenheit?
The workshop's answer
Celsius. Unzip the cover, take it off the foam and turn it inside out if you can. Machine wash at 86°F (30°C) at most on a gentle, delicate or cold cycle with a mild detergent and no bleach. Air dry it instead of tumble drying, and iron on low only if needed.
A common question
Do you have striped or checked fabrics, or only plain colors?
The workshop's answer
The core range is mostly plain, solid colors, but stripes (beige and white, black and white), plaid and tartan in brown, green, blue and red tones, oriental designs and patterned velvets sit on extra charts the workshop shares on request. A print you found elsewhere can sometimes be sourced from a photo, at a higher price than standard fabrics.
A common question
Which fabric and piping are on the striped cushion in your photo?
The workshop's answer
Send a screenshot of that exact photo, since listings show several cushions, and the workshop names both codes. You can also ask for your order to copy the photo's colorway. If an older photo uses codes that have since been renumbered, write 'same as the first picture'. Sunlight and camera angle can shift a tone slightly, but it is the same fabric.
A common question
Can I buy extra fabric by the yard to match my patio cushions?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Samples and cut lengths are sold through the fabric listing, and larger pieces through a custom order link: send the fabric code and the length you need for a quote, and the fabric can ship with your cushions. Most rolls are about 55 in (140 cm) wide and some 79 in (200 cm), which sets the largest single piece.
A common question
Do the covers come off completely, or is anything sewn shut?
The workshop's answer
Every cover has a zipper on the underside, where it stays hidden, and comes off the foam completely, whether you bought a full cushion or a cover only. The fabrics machine wash at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle; air dry them. Button-tufted cushions are the one exception: their covers are sewn through and don't come off.
Have it made
Have it made in a water-repellent fabric — ask Callum’s workshop
Sun, rain, salt. Say which of them your cushion will meet, and the workshop will plan around it. — 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.
Weather questions, asked next
Can water-repellent cushions stay outside all season?
Through the season, yes, as long as you treat water-repellent as water-resistant rather than waterproof. Choose plain cushions without tufting, use a fabric protectant spray, and store them indoors when the season ends. A cushion left under days of steady rain will take water in.
Why won't the workshop tuft an outdoor cushion?
Because tufted cushions let water in even when they are made in outdoor fabric. The buttons are sewn straight through the cushion, and every one is a way in for rain. Outdoors, a plain zippered cushion is the build to order.
How thick should a patio seat cushion be?
Outdoor quotes assume 4 in (10 cm) of thickness. Other thicknesses can be quoted, and thicker costs more. Before going deeper, check the seat height so knees, table and armrests still line up with the cushion in place.
Can I use an outdoor stripe on an indoor window seat or sunroom bench?
Yes. Stripes and checks from the outdoor charts work indoors too; the gallery here includes a powder blue and white striped window seat in a white paneled alcove. Outdoor fabrics cost more than the standard indoor charts, so choose them indoors when the look or the light calls for it.
Fair winds — Callum
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Readings
Cushions made in water-repellent membrane fabrics
Real pieces in real rooms, read by the masters for color, light and wear.
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