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The Pattern Room · a measuring pattern

How to order a custom cushion size that isn't in the size menu

The size menu on a cushion listing is a price list, not a cutting list. Once you read it that way, every size that isn't on it (smaller, bigger or in between) has a clean route to the cutting table.

Drafted by

The Pattern Engineer of Detroit · · Updated

  • Steps8
Cream and taupe graphic window seat cushion with taupe piping in a deep plaster recess, with bouclé and shearling pillowsSave
Made to the recess wall to wall, a graphic cushion with taupe piping turns a deep window into a seat above the rooftops.

The quick answer

To order a custom size cushion that isn't on the menu, choose the size option that covers your measurements, or the next larger one if you fall between two, and write the exact length x depth x thickness, fabric code and piping code in the personalization note. The dropdown only sets the price; the cushion is cut to the size you write.

The menu is a price list, not a cutting list

A custom size cushion almost never matches a dropdown exactly, and it doesn't have to. The size menu on a listing does one job: it sets the price bracket. Production cuts whatever size you write in the personalization note, down to fractions like 57 5/8 x 15 3/8 in (146.4 x 39.1 cm).

This is the ordering question we hear most, in more wordings than I can count: my size isn't listed, I'm between two, mine's bigger than your biggest. Underneath, they're one question with three branches, plus a fourth for shapes that aren't rectangles. Tolerance is kindness to your future self, so let's lay the branches out and put numbers on them.

Real sizes, real menu picks

Your cushionPick on the menuWhat gets cut
17 x 52 in (43 x 132 cm)18 x 52 in17 x 52 in, at the 18 x 52 price
22.5 x 36 in (57 x 91 cm)24 x 36 in22.5 x 36 in
Two seats: 17.75 x 59 x 3 in and 17.75 x 35 x 3 in18 x 59 in and 18 x 36 in, one cart line eachBoth at their exact sizes
Two mats at 21 x 52.25 in (53 x 133 cm)20 x 52 in, the nearest option21 x 52.25 in; the small overage was absorbed
A seat 11 in (28 cm) wide on a list starting at 12 inThe smallest option11 in; the price stays at the smallest option
20 x 94 in (51 x 239 cm)20 x 92 in, the largest20 x 94 in, cut to the note
A 154.5 x 22 in (392 x 56 cm) window seatTwo lines at the closest sizeTwo identical 77.25 x 22 in cushions
A bay seat 104 in (264 cm) on its widest sideThe custom-shape routeMade from a lettered drawing through a custom link

Eight steps from tape measure to checkout

  1. Write three numbers, in order

    Length x depth x thickness. Length runs along the wall, depth runs front to back, thickness is how tall the cushion stands. Label them, because buyers use 'depth' for both seat depth and thickness. Inches, centimeters, millimeters and fractions are all accepted. If thickness is a guess, 4 in (10 cm) is the standard for seats and window seats, and 3 in (7.5 cm) gives a lower, neater profile. The measurements guide has the lettered diagram.

  2. Find the bracket that contains you

    Choose the option that contains your longest and your deepest measurement. Between two, take the larger: 23.5 in wide goes under the 24 to 26 in range, and 17 x 36 x 4 in goes under 18 x 36 in. The pick changes the price, never the cut.

  3. Smaller than the smallest? Pick the smallest

    Select the smallest option and write your real size: an 11 in width when the list starts at 12, or 8.5 in under a 10 to 16 in range. If only one side is too small, select the width and length ranges the other way round, 16.5 in as the width range and 50 in as the length, at the same price. The price won't go below the smallest option.

  4. Bigger than the biggest? Three routes

    Pick the largest option and write your real measurements, or message your size and ask for it to be added as a new option (refresh the page to see it) or a private 'Custom for you' listing. A very long cushion can be priced as two range units and still sewn as one piece if you write make as one piece. Or split it into equal pieces, the way a 154.5 in seat became two 77.25 in cushions; the one piece or two guide weighs the join.

  5. Not a rectangle? Take the shape route

    Trapezoids, bays and angled seats go through the custom-shape listing. Enter the longest edge as the length and upload a drawing with every edge lettered and measured, drawn top side up. The trapezoid calculator and bay window calculator help you check the geometry before you send it.

  6. Write the note like a spec sheet

    One line, nothing ambiguous: 36 x 11.5 x 2 in, Main: 111, Piping: 133. Give the main fabric code and the piping code separately, because neighboring numbers on a color chart can differ only in tone. A backrest is its own cart item with its own size and the word backrest in its note. More on wording in the personalization note guide.

  7. One cushion per cart line, then count

    Each cushion gets its own cart line and its own exact size. Check that the quantity matches the number of pieces and that no line carries two sizes. Production cuts the typed size, so a typo is made exactly as written.

  8. Confirm after checkout

    Message the workshop after you pay if you'd like the details double-checked, and put any deadline in the note up front. If the size you wrote sits well outside the bracket you paid for, expect a short pause and a top-up link, not a surprise.

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Measured it? Have Nate’s workshop make it

Precision starts on the phone. Give the workshop your measurements and they will read them back to you, edge by edge. — Nate

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
The cover cloth: weave, color and care 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

Key facts

  • The size dropdown sets the price bracket; production cuts the size written in the personalization note.
  • Between two size options, choose the larger one.
  • Below the smallest option, pick the smallest; the price can't go lower than that option.
  • Above the largest, pick the largest and write your size, or ask for a size added to the listing or a private custom link.
  • Trapezoids and angled shapes go through the custom-shape listing with a drawing, using the longest edge as the length.

What a bracket absorbs, and what it doesn't

Think of each size option as a tolerance band. Inside it, small differences cost nothing: a few inches over the selected option isn't charged. Past it, the difference is settled with a top-up or 'extra fee for customization' link, or with a size added to the listing at the agreed price. Custom links stay active, can be re-sent if they lapse and show sold out once paid; they can't be combined with coupon codes.

Smaller never means cheaper. A custom size is extra work rather than less, and cutting, sewing and the zipper are a fixed part of every cushion, so a smaller custom size costs the same as the option you select. The same arithmetic runs the other way, partner: a cushion with about twice the surface area of another usually costs well under twice as much.

One more trap. A 'Custom for…' option you spot in a size menu was made for a previous buyer. Don't buy it; ask for your own.

A real project

The 104 in bay seat that ran past the menu

A buyer in the US had a bay seat measuring 104 in (264 cm) along its widest side. No dropdown on a window seat listing went that far, and a bay isn't a rectangle anyway, so this was a job for the shape route.

They sent a lettered drawing: A 4, B 4, C 104, D 57, E 31, F 31, G 24.5 in. Seven edges, seven numbers, nothing left to interpret. Their only other question was how the piping color gets chosen. The first attachment didn't come through, so the workshop asked for the drawing again rather than guess, then quoted the cushion in a linen-look fabric and sent a custom link for exactly that shape.

Label every edge with a letter and a length, and the quote can be exact the first time. The large bay window sketches show more seats of this size.

Common mistakes between the menu and the note

  • Paying for one size and typing another far outside it. Production cuts the typed size, and a larger size isn't covered by the price paid.
  • Putting two cushions' sizes on a one-cushion order. One cart line per cushion, each with its own size.
  • Ordering half the pieces you need. Check the quantity against your drawing before you pay.
  • Buying a 'Custom for…' option made for someone else. Ask for your own quote.
  • Resizing through notes when you're far off the menu. Ask for a custom link instead.
  • Cutting a cushion exactly to a shallow window seat and adding nothing. With nothing to grip, it can slide; add a non-slip base or ties, as in stopping a cushion sliding.
  • Leaving the deadline out. Put your earliest delivery date in the order note.
  • Assuming 'linen' means natural fiber. Many linen ranges are a polyester linen-look; ask the fiber content of the exact code.

Size it in the builder before you touch the menu

If you'd rather see the cushion before you commit, rough it out in the bench cushion builder with your length, depth and thickness, then carry those three numbers straight into the note. Weighing 3 in against 4 in? The seat height calculator helps with that choice. For shapes, the custom-shape drawing guide and what to send for a custom quote cover the paperwork, and custom cushion size tolerance covers how close is close enough. Finished shapes live under bench cushions and window seat cushions.

A cushion size menu sets the price bracket, not the cut: a 17 x 52 in seat ordered through the 18 x 52 in option is sewn at 17 x 52 in.

Nate Kowalski
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Buyer questions: sizes the menu forgot

  1. A common question

    My bench is an odd size that isn't in the dropdown. How do I order it?

    The workshop's answer

    Pick the option your measurements fall into, or the closest one (usually the next size up), because the dropdown only sets the price. Then type your exact dimensions, thickness, fabric code and piping code into the personalization box, for example 36 x 11.5 x 2 in, Main: 111, Piping: 133. The workshop cuts to the size written there, and fractions are fine. For several cushions, add each size as its own cart item.

  2. A common question

    Can a cushion be made to my exact measurements, whatever they are?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Every cushion is made to order, so any length, width and thickness can be made, in inches, centimeters or millimeters, including lengths over 79 in (200 cm). Send the length, depth and thickness, plus a drawing for anything that isn't a rectangle, and the workshop replies with a quote. You then order the nearest size with your exact size in the note, or the size is added to the listing or sent as a private custom link.

  3. A common question

    Can you add my size to the listing? And what's the 'Custom for…' option I keep seeing?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Message your exact size and it can be added as a new size option so you check out normally; refresh the page to see it. Sizes added this way include 20 x 38 in, 18.5 x 11.5 in, 36 x 72 in and 40 x 138 in. A 'Custom for…' option already in the menu was made for a previous buyer, so ask for your own quote instead of buying it.

  4. A common question

    The corner floor cushion only comes in set sizes. Can I get one in between?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Order the next standard size up and write your size in the note: a 35 x 35 in, 10 in high corduroy corner, for instance, went under the 39 x 39 in option. Smaller, rectangular and taller versions have all been made. The price stays the same as the size you select, because a custom size is extra work rather than less. Message after ordering so the size can be confirmed.

  5. A common question

    How is the price worked out for a custom-size bench cushion?

    The workshop's answer

    By size. Choose the size range that covers your length and width, plus your thickness, and the exact price appears on the listing; check the shipping line for your address before you pay. The low 'from' price is for the smallest sizes. Price climbs with surface area but not one-for-one, because cutting, sewing and the zipper are a fixed part of the work. For several cushions, a seat plus back, or odd shapes, send the sizes and the workshop replies with one total and a custom payment link.