---
title: "Chair Cushion With Ties for an Adirondack, in Rainbow Herringbone"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/readings/rainbow-herringbone-adirondack-chair-cushion-lawn/"
section: "Readings"
author: "Margaret Holloway, The Piping Queen of Newport"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/maggie/"
published: "2026-05-15"
updated: "2026-09-24"
keywords: "chair cushion with ties, chair cushion, outdoor cushions, custom size cushion, made to measure cushion, lumbar pillow"
---

# A rainbow herringbone chair cushion with ties that turns one Adirondack into a whole porch

*Maggie writes to the owner of one weathered Adirondack chair and a thin strip of lawn between the lavender and the roses. Her advice: make the single seat generous, and tie it down properly.*

> **The quick answer:** An Adirondack chair cushion with ties should run as one long piece from the front of the seat to the top slat, with a matching roll pillow in the crease. Ties at the top and near the seat stop it creeping down the steep recline. Measure seat depth and back height separately and note the angle so the fold lands right.

![Multicolored herringbone striped high-back cushion with roll pillow and rope ties on an Adirondack chair on a lawn](https://cushionguide.com/media/dining-chair-cushions/rainbow-herringbone-adirondack-chair-cushion-lawn-1600.webp "A high-back cushion in a bright herringbone stripe follows the steep recline of a weathered Adirondack chair.")

## A letter about one chair and a narrow strip of lawn

Dear owner of one good chair,

You have a weathered Adirondack, a border of lavender and roses, and not much lawn between them. Good. A narrow spot does not need more furniture. It needs one seat that looks as if it was always meant to be there.

Look at how this chair manages it. The cushion runs as **one long piece** from the front edge of the seat to the top slat, so the whole chair reads as upholstered rather than dressed. One continuous line looks bigger than two separate pads. That is the entire trick of small spaces, and I will charge you nothing for it.

The herringbone stripe helps. Tangerine, teal, navy and rose run lengthwise up the back, and a lengthwise stripe makes a squat chair look taller. It also hides grass clippings and pollen, which on a lawn is no small mercy.

Then the roll pillow. An Adirondack tips you back hard, and the crease where seat meets back is exactly where you feel the slats. A matching roll pillow, a lumbar pillow if you shop that way, fills the hollow and lets the chair sit like an armchair.

And the ties. One pair at the top slat, one pair near the seat. The top ties keep the back from sliding down; the lower ties stop the cushion creeping forward every time someone stands. I once spent an August re-tying a porch cushion that had only the top pair. Learn from my summer. The [tie placement Pattern](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-tie-placement-chairs-swings/) shows where each pair belongs.

Right, then. Measure the seat depth and the back height separately, write down that the back leans steeply, and let the workshop place the fold. You can sketch it first in the [chair cushion builder](https://cushionguide.com/studio/chair-cushion-builder/). What does your chair measure from the front of the seat to the top slat?

## Pinned by Maggie: five marks on one lawn chair

Start at the top rope tie, follow the cushion down to the roll pillow, then look at the border that repeats the stripe's colors.

1. **One-piece high-back cushion**: One long cushion covers seat and back, following the Adirondack's steep recline.
2. **Matching roll pillow**: A roll pillow in the same stripe fills the crease where seat meets back.
3. **Top rope tie**: Ties at the top hold the back to the slats so it cannot slide down.
4. **Lower rope tie**: A second tie near the seat stops the cushion creeping forward.
5. **Lavender and rose border**: Lavender and roses repeat the violet and rose threads in the stripe.

## Eleven chairs, one terrace, and piping on both edges

A buyer wrote to the workshop with the opposite problem: not one chair but eleven, all around a terrace. The order was eleven seat pads at 15¾ x 18 in (40 x 46 cm), somewhere between 1¼ and 2 in (3 to 5 cm) thick, plain white, with lavender piping on both edges and lavender ties, needed by mid-July.

The workshop quoted the 2 in (5 cm) version, took something off for the bulk order, and then asked the two questions every set of [chair cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/dining-chair-cushions/) needs answered. Which side should the zipper sit on? What are the exact color codes for the white and the lavender? Lavender on a screen can be three different colors on a spool.

The buyer also asked for large matching tablecloths. The workshop said no: its fabric comes at most 55 in (140 cm) wide, too narrow for a big table without seams. An honest no beats a seamed tablecloth.

My lesson from it: when you order a set, name the [double piping](https://cushionguide.com/glossary/#double-piping), the tie color and the zipper side by code, in writing. Eleven pads multiply every small vagueness by eleven.

## On the cutting table: the lawn chair set

|   |   |
|---|---|
| Piece | One-piece seat-and-back chair cushion with a matching roll pillow |
| Fabric | Outdoor acrylic in a tangerine, teal, navy, rose and cream herringbone stripe |
| Edge | Knife edge, so the cushion folds cleanly at the crease |
| Piping | Self piping in the same stripe |
| Ties | Rope ties at the top slat and near the seat |
| Stripe direction | Lengthwise, from seat front to top slat |
| Measure | Seat depth and back height separately, plus a note on the recline |
| Best for | Adirondack and other steep-back lawn chairs |

## Buyer questions: stools, ottomans and soft pads

**A common question:** Do you make seat cushions for bar stools and chairs, or throw pillows, in custom sizes?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes, all three are made to order. Send the sizes and the workshop quotes them; one buyer's pair of chair cushions at about 19¼ x 18½ in (49 x 47 cm) was made to that size.

**A common question:** Can you make a new cover for my ottoman cushion? It is about 25½ x 25½ in and 12¼ in tall (65 x 65 x 31 cm).

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. A cover that tall falls outside the standard sizes, which go up to 6 in (15 cm) high, so it is made as a custom order and quoted on its own. The same footprint at 6 in (15 cm) or less would be a standard size.

**A common question:** Could you make soft, draped seat pads like the ones in a photo I found?

**The workshop's answer:** Not in that style. Draped pads use a different, looser filling, and the workshop builds only with firm, long-life foam at about 2 lb/ft³ (32 kg/m³), which will not drape. It said so before production rather than promise a look it could not deliver.

> An Adirondack chair cushion needs ties in two places: at the top slat so the back cannot slide, and near the seat so the cushion cannot creep forward.
>
> — Maggie

> **Tailor's margin:** Order a set of chair pads by code: name the piping edges, the tie color and the zipper side in writing before anything is cut.

## Questions buyers ask next

### Should an Adirondack chair cushion be one piece or a separate seat and back?

One piece suits an Adirondack best. The steep recline leaves a deep crease, and a single cushion running from seat front to top slat folds there without a gap. Give seat depth and back height separately so the fold lands in the crease, not above it.

### Why add a roll pillow to an Adirondack chair cushion?

The crease where the slanted seat meets the back is where the slats press hardest. A roll pillow in the same fabric fills that hollow, supports the lower back and lets the chair sit more like an armchair without a thicker cushion.

### Does a lengthwise stripe change how a small lawn chair looks?

Yes. A stripe running from the seat front up to the top slat draws the eye along the chair, so it reads taller and more finished. A busy multicolor stripe also hides grass clippings, pollen and small marks between washes.

### How many ties does a high-back Adirondack cushion need?

Four is the usual answer for a steep chair: a pair at the top slat and a pair near the seat. The top ties hold the back up, and the lower ties stop the cushion sliding forward whenever someone stands up.

## Related at the atelier

- [Round Bistro Chair Pads With Ties: A Stripe and a Leaf](https://cushionguide.com/readings/green-stripe-leaf-round-bistro-chair-pads-courtyard/): Round bistro chair pads stay comfortable through a long sit when each pad is cut to the round iron seat, boxed with self piping and tied down the legs so it cannot slide.
- [Chair Cushion with Ties: Herringbone Stripe, Before and After](https://cushionguide.com/readings/bold-herringbone-stripe-teak-lounge-chair-balcony/): A low, armless teak lounge chair becomes a real lounge chair once it gets a full box seat cushion and a separate tied back cushion.
- [Round Chair Cushions With Ties for Rooftop Bar Stools](https://cushionguide.com/readings/round-striped-bar-stool-cushions-rooftop-bar/): Round chair cushions with ties suit bar and counter stools when each pad is cut to the round seat, kept thin so the counter height still works, and tied at the stool back.
- [Replacing a discontinued cushion by copying the one you have](https://cushionguide.com/guides/copy-existing-or-discontinued-cushion/): To copy an existing or discontinued cushion, measure the old one seam to seam and the frame it sits in, note the edge style, piping, zipper side, ties and true thickness, and photograph it beside a…
- [Rocking chair cushions, traced from the seat itself](https://cushionguide.com/concepts/rocking-chair-cushions/): The recommended way to order a rocking chair cushion is to trace the seat onto paper, cut it out, write the widest width and the front-to-back depth on it, and photograph it flat from above beside a…
- [How do I send my drawing if the order form only takes one photo?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/send-cushion-drawing-photo-upload/): Upload the one image the order form allows, write 'drawings sent via message' in the personalization note, then send the rest in the order conversation; merging several photos into one image also…
- [How to order a custom cushion size that isn't in the size menu](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-size-cushion-not-on-menu/)
- [Adirondack chair cushions that follow the slope of the seat](https://cushionguide.com/guides/adirondack-chair-cushions/)

*Stitch straight — Maggie*

---

Written by Margaret Holloway (https://cushionguide.com/masters/maggie/) 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/readings/rainbow-herringbone-adirondack-chair-cushion-lawn/