---
title: "Custom Cushion Quote: What to Send the Workshop First"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-cushion-quote-what-to-send/"
section: "The Pattern Room"
author: "Harlan Pruitt, The Elder of High Point"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/harlan/"
published: "2026-04-23"
updated: "2026-09-24"
keywords: "custom cushion quote, how much does a custom bench cushion cost, custom cushion price factors, quote for multiple cushions, seat and back cushion price"
---

# Getting a custom cushion quote: what to send so it's right the first time

*Buy the cushion once, cry once. It starts with the quote: honest numbers, a photo, a drawing, and nothing left for the cutting table to guess.*

> **The quick answer:** For a custom cushion quote, send every piece as length x depth x thickness with a quantity, the unit after every number, the fabric and piping you want, and a photo plus a drawing for any shape that isn't a rectangle. The workshop replies with one price for the whole set, covering cover and foam or filling, and confirms shipping cost and timing with it.

![Powder blue textured window seat cushion with charcoal piping on long cream shaker cabinets with a waffle throw and mug](https://cushionguide.com/media/window-seat-cushions/powder-blue-window-seat-charcoal-piping-shaker-1600.webp "Charcoal piping gives a long powder blue window seat a crisp edge against cream cabinetry.")

## One missing word on a good drawing

The drawings were good. Three window seats, every edge measured, neat as a Sunday bulletin. The only thing missing was one word: *inches*.

A custom cushion quote is built from what you send, the way a suit is built from the numbers on the tailor's card. Leave a blank and somebody fills it in, and it may not be you. The quotes that went wrong rarely went wrong at the sewing machine. They went wrong in the message.

Here is the list I'd want on my bench before I cut a thing, whether it's one [window seat cushion](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/window-seat-cushions/) or a long run of [banquette cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/banquette-cushions/).

## What to send, in the order a cutter reads it

1. **List every piece, with a quantity**: Write each cushion as length x depth x thickness, then how many. 'Two chairs' can mean two cushions or four, and the workshop can't see a table it has never sat at. See [length, depth and thickness](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-measurements-length-depth-thickness/).
2. **Say seat only, or seat with back and arms**: A seat alone and a seat with a backrest and arms are very different jobs. Each piece is priced by its own size, and a back cushion is its own item; write 'backrest' beside it. Floor-cushion sets are the exception, with the back and bolsters in the set price.
3. **Put the unit after every number**: Write in, cm or mm after each figure, on the drawing and in the message. Keep the whole order in one system, the one you measured in. Fractions such as 57 5/8 x 15 3/8 in are welcome.
4. **Draw any shape that isn't a rectangle**: Trapezoids, angled ends, notches and curves need a drawing with every edge measured, and a hand sketch is fine. For a trapezoid that means front, back, depth and both angled sides, and production follows the drawing exactly. The method is in [custom shape drawings](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-shape-cushion-drawing/).
5. **Send a photo of the space**: A photo with a tape measure in it lets the workshop check your numbers against the room. For odd shapes it may draw its own sketch and send it back for you to approve before the price comes.
6. **Name the fabric, the piping and the fill**: Give the fabric family and code, the piping code, and whether you want tufting. Say 'with foam' or 'covers only'; a quote for covers when you meant cushions is a quote for the wrong thing. [Order swatches](https://cushionguide.com/guides/fabric-swatches-before-ordering/) if you're torn.
7. **Put the extras in writing**: Ties with their position and length, a non-slip base, the zipper side. Piping and a zippered cover are included; ties and non-slip bases are add-ons that move the price. Extras typed into the size box get overlooked, so say them in a message too.
8. **Ask for one quote for the set, and keep it**: Send every piece together and the workshop quotes the lot as one total, often below the sum of the listings. A whole house of window seats can be quoted at once and ordered one room at a time. Keep the first written quote and refer back to it.

## What moves a cushion price, and what barely does

| What you change | What it does to the quote | What to tell the workshop |
|---|---|---|
| Length and depth | The biggest driver; twice the surface usually costs well under twice as much, since cutting, sewing and the zipper are fixed work | Exact size of each piece, with the unit |
| Thickness | Little within 2 to 5 in (5 to 13 cm); steeply above that, and large 12 in (30.5 cm) floor pieces are among the costliest | The thickness you want, and what it's for |
| Number of pieces | Rarely much; separate pieces add cutting and zippers, yet a window seat split in two has cost the same as one | How you want the run split |
| Shape | Non-rectangles cost more; a notch alone adds nothing on the custom-shape listing; no template charge | A drawing with every edge |
| Fabric | Natural fibers and outdoor fabric cost more; some charts, such as linen-look and velvet, price alike | Fabric family and code |
| Tufting | Adds hand work, and the price follows | Tufted or plain |
| Add-ons | Ties and non-slip bases add; piping and zippers are included | Each extra, named in the note |

## Three trapezoids, read in the wrong unit

A buyer in the US sent drawings for three trapezoid window seats. The measurements were in inches. The unit wasn't written on them.

The workshop read the numbers as centimeters and sent back a quote. Then it realized what it had done. The honest figure was a good deal higher. There was some back and forth, as there ought to be, and the two sides settled on a fair price.

While they were at it, the cushions went from 2.5 in (6.4 cm) to 3 in (7.5 cm) thick, with ivory piping against the body fabric. The buyer later wrote to say how much they loved them. Good ending. Needless middle.

## When a quote answers the wrong question

Most quote trouble is a quote that answered a different question from the one the buyer asked. It turns up often, and it wears a handful of faces: a price built on another listing's default thickness, a size typed with one digit wrong, covers quoted when the buyer wanted cushions.

A good quote carries your limits too. One buyer's reading-nook platform could not take a cushion wider than 43 in (109 cm). A limit like that belongs in the quote, written down, so the piece fits the nook and not just the listing.

And a good quote can talk back. A 106 x 15 in (269 x 38 cm) window ledge sat over a radiator, and the workshop suggested two 53 x 15 in (135 x 38 cm) cushions instead of one, so heat could escape and each piece would lift out. Read the whole reply, not only the number.

## Common mistakes before the number comes back

- ✗ **No quantity.** 'Seat cushions for the chairs' is not a list. Write how many.
- ✗ **No unit.** '80 x 30 x 5' can be read two ways, and a cushion cut in centimeters arrives at a fraction of the size you pictured.
- ✗ **Seat, back and arms left vague.** Say which pieces you want, or you'll get a price for the ones you didn't mean.
- ✗ **Rounding blindly.** Taking 17.75 x 59 x 3 in (45 x 150 x 7.5 cm) up to an 18 x 59 in option saved one buyer a custom step, but only because it still fit. Check before you round.
- ✗ **Dates left unsaid.** If the cushions must arrive before a move or a season, put the earliest delivery date in the note and ask for a dispatch date with the quote.

## Turning the quote into an order

The reply comes back as one price: cover and foam or filling, with any running store sale already taken off. Before you pay, ask the workshop to put the shipping cost and the delivery timing in that same message. Then you pay one of two ways.

Either the workshop names a size option on the listing, you pick it, and you write your exact size, thickness, fabric code and piping code in the personalization box, since the dropdown only sets the price and the cushion is cut to what you write. Or it sends a custom order link, which stays open for a few days and is re-sent if it lapses. The details are in [writing the personalization note](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-cushion-personalization-note/) and [when your size isn't on the menu](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-size-cushion-not-on-menu/).

So, my friend: how many pieces are on your list, and does every one of them carry three numbers and a unit?

> **Tailor's margin:** Write the unit after every number on a cushion drawing: 18 read as centimeters instead of inches makes a cushion 2.54 times too small.

> A custom cushion quote needs three numbers per piece, length, depth and thickness, plus a quantity; leave one out and the workshop is guessing.
>
> — Harlan

## Buyer questions: quotes, sets and sizes

**A common question:** What do you need from me before you can quote a custom cushion?

**The workshop's answer:** The exact length, width and thickness, the product or fabric you like (a listing link or screenshot helps) and, for any shape that isn't a rectangle, a simple drawing with every side written on it. Photos help too, and it can all go in the shop's message thread. The workshop checks the shape, sometimes sketches it back for approval, then replies with one total.

**A common question:** Can you quote several cushions in different sizes all at once?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. Send every size, quantity and fabric and the lot is quoted as one total, often below the sum of the listing prices. You can then add each size to the cart in one order, order under one size option the shop names with the real sizes in Personalization, or pay a custom listing.

**A common question:** How is a seat cushion with a matching back cushion priced?

**The workshop's answer:** Each piece by its own size, so the back isn't a fixed add-on. A back cushion larger than its seat can cost more than the seat, while on long benches the back usually comes in under it. Select the closest sizes on the listing to check both, then order them together.

**A common question:** Will going thicker blow up the price?

**The workshop's answer:** Within the usual 2 to 5 in, thickness moves the price far less than length and width, and a thin cushion isn't much cheaper, because it takes the same fabric and labor. Very tall pieces are different: covers taller than about 6 in (15 cm) are quoted as custom, and oversized, extra-thick cushions cost more to make and ship.

**A common question:** My size isn't in the dropdown. Which option do I pick?

**The workshop's answer:** The range your size falls into, or the next size up, because the dropdown only sets the price. Then write the exact dimensions, thickness, fabric code and piping code in the personalization box, such as '36 x 11.5 x 2 in, Main: 111, Piping: 133'. The cushion is cut to what you write.

**A common question:** Is one long cushion cheaper than two or three shorter ones?

**The workshop's answer:** Rarely by much. Price mainly follows total surface; separate pieces add cutting, sewing and zippers, so results vary, and a window seat split in two cost exactly the same as one piece. Very long cushions, around 108 in (274 cm) and up, are made in two pieces anyway.

## Before you ask for a price

### Are piping and zippers extra on a quote?

No. Piping and a zippered, removable cover are included. What moves a quote is size, thickness, shape, fabric type, tufting and add-ons such as ties or a non-slip base.

### Is there a charge for a template or a drawing?

No template charge. A hand sketch is fine as long as every edge is measured and the unit is written, and the workshop may send its own sketch back for you to approve before production.

### Does the quoted price include delivery?

Check the quote: it covers the cover and the foam or filling, with any running store sale already taken off, and the shipping cost should be stated with it. If it isn't, ask the workshop to add the shipping cost and the delivery timing to that same message.

### How long after the quote is the cushion made?

Production time depends on the order: custom and bespoke work takes longer than a simple piece, and very large sets longest. Ask the workshop for current timing, and if you need a delivery date, put it in your quote request.

## Related at the atelier

- [What a custom cushion costs, explained by what goes into it](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-cushion-cost-price-drivers/): A custom cushion's cost is set mainly by its size, then by thickness above the standard 2 to 5 in (5 to 12.5 cm), a non-rectangular shape, fabric type, hand tufting and add-ons such as a non-slip…
- [That's more than I expected. Can you do a better price?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/negotiate-custom-cushion-quote-price/): Often a little: custom cushion quotes have had some room, usually modest, over a couple of rounds.
- [Custom Bench Cushion in Black and Sand: Ordering It Right](https://cushionguide.com/readings/black-sand-graphic-bench-cushion-parisian-parquet/): To order a custom bench cushion right the first time, send the exact bench-top measurements, one fabric code for the cushion and a separate code for the piping, and say whether it should meet the…
- [How thick should a bench cushion be? Work back from seat height](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-thickness-seat-height-calculator/): Subtract your bench height from the seat height you want, and the difference is your cushion thickness.
- [Online maker, local upholsterer or your own sewing machine?](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-cushions-vs-upholsterer-vs-diy/): Order from an online maker when your seat is a rectangle, trapezoid or L you can measure and draw.
- [Entryway Bench Cushion in Anthracite Corduroy: The Daily Test](https://cushionguide.com/readings/anthracite-corduroy-storage-bench-cream-hallway/): An anthracite corduroy bench cushion ages well in an entryway because a near-black wide wale hides the dust and scuffs of sitting down to pull on shoes.
- [Matching, contrast or no piping: choosing the line around a cushion](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-piping-matching-contrast-none/)

*Sit well. — Harlan*

---

Written by Harlan Pruitt (https://cushionguide.com/masters/harlan/) 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/guides/custom-cushion-quote-what-to-send/