He learned canvas on lobster boats and schooners. He still tests an outdoor fabric the way the weather will.
At the bench since 1984 (42 years)
Portland, Maine
186 readings on the site
95 answers on the site
17 patterns on the site
Reads and makes
outdoor & water-repellent cushions
sunbeds and loungers
boat and RV cushions
porch and patio benches
dry-fast foam
UV-resistant fabrics
Who is Callum?
Callum Reid is CushionGuide's outdoor and marine cushion master, reading cushions from Portland, Maine since 1984. He covers patio and porch benches, chaise and sunbed cushions, boat and RV seating and storage benches, and answers buyers about custom sizes, size corrections, remakes and outdoor fabric codes. His rule: measure every surface separately, because vans, boats and porches are rarely square.
Canvas first, then cushions
I cut my first piece of canvas in 1984, for a lobster boat working out of Casco Bay. The captain wanted a cover for his wheelhouse bench that would outlast a Maine February. I sewed it three times before he was happy. He was right all three times. He was a quiet man who never said thank you. The next spring he sent me his brother's boat. That was thank you enough.
The next years went to a sail loft. Mainsails, dodgers, schooner covers, whatever came through the door. Canvas teaches respect. Sew a seam the wrong way and water finds it by morning. Rain doesn't negotiate.
A few winters I went south to the Florida Keys and fixed boat cushions that had been cooked by sun and soaked by spray. Faded tops. Foam that held water. Snaps rusted solid. That is where cushions got into my blood. A sail has one job. A boat cushion has four: be comfortable, shed water, dry fast, and stay put when the deck tilts.
Now I read the outdoor cushions, porch benches, sunbed pads and boat and RV cushions for the atelier. The questions change with the season. In April it is fabric codes and sizes. In July it is sun. In October it is storage, and whether a cushion can stay out on a covered porch.
Most of what I tell people comes down to measuring. On land, a bench is a rectangle if you are lucky. In a van, a boat or a converted bus, nothing is. A seat back is rarely as wide as the base. A hinged lid has hardware right where you want a tie. Measure each surface on its own, write the numbers from a named end, and put the exact size in the order note.
I test fabric the way weather does. Salt, sun, rain and forgetfulness. The last one is the hardest test. People leave cushions out. They forget a storm is coming. So I pick for the worst day of the season, and the difference between water-repellent and waterproof is the first thing I explain.
What is the worst weather your cushions have had to sit through, friend?
Have it made
Have Callum’s workshop make yours
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.
Tools on my bench
A sailmaker's palm, worn to the shape of my hand.
A hot knife for sealing the cut edge of synthetic canvas.
A 25-foot steel tape. Cloth tapes lie inside a boat hull.
A roll of clear plastic sheeting for tracing V-berths and bus benches.
A spray bottle of water, to watch how a fabric sheds a shower.
A notebook of hinge positions, tie spacings and the end I measured from.
What I always check
01Back and seat widths, measured separately, in any van, bus or boat.
02Which end the measurements start from, especially on a hinged lid.
03The exact size, fabric code and piping code in the personalization box, not only the dropdown.
04Where the cushion livesin the rain, under a roof or indoors. That picks the fabric.
05That a bench cushion is never cut longer than the bench.
Storage bench cushion ties need hinge positions measured from one named end. On a 77 in quilt box that meant four numbers: 8 5/8, 29, 48 and 68 1/4 in.
A converted school bus and a back 1.5 inches narrower
A buyer was finishing a loveseat inside a converted school bus. The seat base measured 48 inches wide and 16.5 inches deep. The back measured 46.5 inches wide and 17.5 inches tall. Close, but not the same, and in a bus close is where the trouble starts.
The workshop did not round anything to match. It subtracted the backrest thickness from the back height and made the back cushion narrower than the seat, both in linen color 8. Two pieces, two sizes, cut to the bus and not to a catalog.
I like that one because nobody assumed. Vans, buses and boats are built from compromises. Measure each surface on its own and the cushions sit like they grew there, whether the bus is parked by a bay or in a driveway.
Measured
Back 46.5 x 17.5 in (118 x 44 cm); seat 48 x 16.5 in (122 x 42 cm)
What it taught
In vans and RVs, measure back and seat separately; they are rarely the same width.
In a van or RV, the seat back is rarely as wide as the seat. One converted school bus bench measured 46.5 in across the back and 48 in across the base.
My size isn't one of the options in the dropdown. How do I order it?
The workshop's answer
Pick the size range your measurements fall into, or the closest one (usually the next size up); the dropdown only sets the price. Then type your exact size, thickness, fabric code and piping code in the Add Personalization box, for example '36 x 11.5 x 2 in, Main: 111, Piping: 133'. The workshop cuts to that note, not to the dropdown, and fractions like 57 5/8 x 15 3/8 in are fine. Add each cushion as its own cart item, and message after checkout if you want the size double-checked.
A common question
I typed the wrong size and the right one is bigger. Do I pay the difference or start over?
The workshop's answer
Only the difference, and no need to cancel. Before production the workshop makes the order at the corrected size, sends a payment link for the extra and confirms the final sizes in writing; past examples include 28 x 56 in to 28 x 60 in, and a 62 in typo corrected to 82 in. If the new size is smaller, the difference is refunded, and small corrections inside what you paid are simply updated. For benches, the cushion is kept no longer than the bench.
A common question
My cushion arrived 3 inches short. Will you remake it?
The workshop's answer
Send a photo with a tape measure along the full length first; one past case was 54 in delivered instead of 57 in. When the error was the workshop's, only the parts that didn't fit were remade, the wrong one stayed put, the piping color could change, and a partial refund was the other option. Remakes shipped with tracking.
Asking Callum
Is standard indoor cushion fabric waterproof?
No. The standard indoor fabric is durable and easy to clean but not waterproof. For real liquid protection there is a water-repellent option, B19, plus water-resistant, wipe-clean premium charts, and any cushion can be made in any of the workshop's fabrics.
Can I see close-ups of outdoor fabric codes before ordering?
Yes, free, usually right in the message thread. Name the codes, for example outdoor S-09 and T-02, and the workshop sends unedited close-ups, often a studio shot beside a real-light shot, sometimes a short video. Once production starts, you also get a photo of the actual fabric your cushion will be made in.
What happens if the body and piping colors come swapped?
Treat it like a size error. Photograph the affected piece in daylight and message the workshop with the photo. In past cases it remade just that piece without asking for the wrong one back. For a stain rather than a mistake, it suggests washing the cover at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle first.
Heard at Callum’s bench
Rain doesn't negotiate.
Water-repellent is a promise; waterproof is a contract.
Bring them in before the first frost and they'll forgive you everything.
Sun is slower than rain, but it never takes a day off.
Measure from a named end, or you've measured nothing.
A boat cushion has four jobs, and comfort is only one of them.
A covered porch isn't indoors. Ask the humidity.
Build it for February, and July will thank you.
Fair winds — Callum
The rest of the bench
Six more masters read the cushions they know best. Pick the one who works on your kind of seat.
Harlan PruittThe Elder of High PointHigh Point, North Carolina · since 1968“A cushion should outlive the chair it sits on.”
Margaret HollowayThe Piping Queen of NewportNewport, Rhode Island · since 1981“Straight lines, honest seams, and a cushion that looks tailored rather than bought.”
Élodie MarchandThe Colorist of New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana · since 1991“Color is the first comfort; the eye sits down before the body does.”
Hana LindqvistThe Quiet Geometer of SeattleSeattle, Washington · since 1996“Less furniture, better sitting.”
Rosa DelgadoThe Porch Keeper of SavannahSavannah, Georgia · since 1985“The best cushion is the one everybody fights over.”
Nate KowalskiThe Pattern Engineer of DetroitDetroit, Michigan · since 1994“Every odd shape is just a list of honest measurements.”