SaveA Reading by MaggieBench Cushions
The pinstripe bench cushion: finishing details you only see up close
A stripe a quarter inch wide, a welt you can barely find, and no handle on the front. Quiet work, and the hardest kind to get right.
Swatch strip measured from the photograph
- camel#9b877329%
- sand#c5b9aa23%
- chestnut#5e483420%
- oatmeal#dad2c716%
- cream#f5f3ef11%
The quick answer
A fine pinstripe custom bench cushion looks hand-finished when three details line up: the stripe stays straight across the top and down the boxing, the self piping sits flush and nearly invisible, and the cushion stops exactly at the bench edge. On a bench that is on show, ask the workshop to leave off handles and labels as well.
Swatch strip: six beiges and one bare branch
- Greige pinstripe#B9AF9FWhat the stripe becomes from a step back: one warm, even tone.
- Taupe line#8A7C6AThe 1/4 in (0.7 cm) stripe itself, visible only up close.
- Cream ground#EEE7DAClose to the wall color, so the cushion sits in the room, not on it.
- Limewash#E3DCCFChalky walls that bounce bleached daylight around the alcove.
- Pale oak#D5BE98The floating platform, left visible at its thin front edge.
- Flax linen#C9BCA3The crumpled throw: same family, looser texture.
Why a quarter-inch stripe reads as plain linen
Right, then. From the doorway this custom bench cushion looks like plain greige linen. Walk up to it and a fine taupe pinstripe appears, each line only about 1/4 in (0.7 cm) wide. That is the whole trick of a stripe this small: it blends into one warm color at a distance and shows its line only up close.
The limewashed alcove is why it works. Bleached daylight comes off the deep window reveal, and the stripe's cream ground sits close to the wall color, so the cushion belongs to the room instead of perching on it.
Now the craft, which is where a quiet cushion passes or fails. A plain stripe hides nothing. Here is what I check:
- The stripe stays straight from one end to the other, with no drift.
- It carries down the boxed front without a jog at the corners.
- The self piping is cut from the same cloth and sits flush, so it nearly vanishes.
- The cushion stops exactly at the oak's edge, keeping the floating platform's thin profile.
I once let a pinstripe run a hair off true on a window seat in an old Colonial. Nobody noticed for a week. Then the owner noticed, and so did I, every day after.
The props are pared back to two. A stoneware vase with one bare branch sits in the same beige family, and a crumpled flax throw adds a looser texture beside the tight weave. Three textures, one color. For a Japandi room, pick the finest stripe you can find and match its light ground to your wall. The striped cotton and ticking shelf has the fine ones, and which way stripes should run covers direction on a long bench.
Pinned by Maggie: four marks on the oak platform
Four pins, from the vase that sets the palette to the edge where the cushion stops.
- stoneware vase
One vase with a bare branch is the whole styling, in the same beige family as the stripe.
- crumpled linen throw
A creased flax throw adds a softer texture next to the tight woven stripe.
- fine ¼ in (0.7 cm) stripe
A stripe this fine blends into warm greige from a step away and only shows up close.
- oak platform edge
The cushion stops exactly at the oak's edge, keeping the platform's thin profile intact.
- stoneware vaseOne vase with a bare branch is the whole styling, in the same beige family as the stripe.
- crumpled linen throwA creased flax throw adds a softer texture next to the tight woven stripe.
- fine ¼ in (0.7 cm) stripeA stripe this fine blends into warm greige from a step away and only shows up close.
- oak platform edgeThe cushion stops exactly at the oak's edge, keeping the platform's thin profile intact.
A second striped cushion, and no handle on the front
A buyer who already owned one of the shop's striped cushions came back for a second, this time for a new built-in dining bench that comes off the wall at an angle. The shop sent a measuring diagram, and the measurements came back filled in.
Then the detail I love: the buyer asked for no handle and no logo, because the bench is on show. Later came an extra cushion of about 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in (80 x 60 cm), and a switch on the bench cushion from beige-and-white stripe to black-and-white, made before production started. Both shipped together, neither with a handle.
Write this one on the order form, dear: on a visible bench, decide about handles and labels before cutting. A handle earns its keep on a cushion you haul in and out. On a built-in it is a price tag left on a tailored jacket. Angled benches follow the same drawing rules as angled breakfast nooks.
Buyer questions: long, thin and oddly shaped benches
- A common question
Can you make long, thin cushions, say 58 x 16 x 3 in, or a small block that's very firm?
The workshop's answerYes. In tufted linen, 58 x 16 x 3 in (147 x 41 x 7.5 cm) and 110.5 x 20 x 3 in (281 x 51 x 7.5 cm) were both quoted, and so was a very firm block of 29 x 6.5 x 6.5 in (74 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm). Each piece was priced from its own dimensions, so send the exact numbers.
- A common question
I want one very long tufted velvet seat, about 33 x 132 in (84 x 335 cm), with a 30 in (76 cm) back cushion. Can it be done?
The workshop's answerThe shop suggested two pieces of 33 x 66 in (84 x 168 cm) instead of one long cushion. Each piece can take armrests at both ends, four in all, and the pair is ordered by choosing the 33 x 66 in size option twice in the same color.
- A common question
Can you make a cushion for a nook where one end is cut off at an angle?
The workshop's answerYes. Send a drawing with every side measured; for a trapezoid that means all four. A closet-nook cushion 79 in (201 cm) on the long side, 59 in (150 cm) on the short side and 24 in (61 cm) deep was quoted from exactly that kind of drawing, as was a three-section shaped set. You can also supply your own fabric.
On the cutting table: the alcove platform
| Product | Bench cushion for a floating oak platform |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Fine taupe-and-cream pinstripe, stripe about 1/4 in (0.7 cm) |
| Edge | Box edge |
| Piping | Self piping, cut from the stripe |
| Fit | Ends exactly at the platform edge |
| Handles and labels | Left off on request for show benches |
| Odd shapes | Made from a drawing with every side measured |
| Best for | Japandi and minimal living rooms, window alcoves |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Maggie’s workshop
Have the tape measure handy when they call. Old cushions shrink and sag; the seat underneath does not. — Maggie
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.
A pinstripe about 1/4 in wide blends into warm greige from a step away, so a striped bench cushion can pass for plain linen until someone sits beside it.
Maggie
Questions buyers ask next
Will a pinstripe cushion look busy in a minimal Japandi room?
Not if the stripe is fine. A line about 1/4 in (0.7 cm) wide blends into one soft color from a few feet away. Choose a stripe whose light ground matches your wall and it reads almost like plain linen.
Why leave the carrying handle off a built-in bench cushion?
A handle helps when you carry a cushion in and out, but on a built-in or show bench it breaks the clean front. The shop can leave handles and labels off when you ask before production starts.
Should a cushion hang past the edge of a floating oak platform?
On a thin floating platform, stopping exactly at the edge keeps the wood's slim profile in view. A cushion that hangs past it hides that line and makes the platform look heavier than it is.
Stitch straight — Maggie
