--- title: "3D Chair Cushion Builder: Seat Pads With Ties and Piping" url: "https://cushionguide.com/studio/chair-cushion-builder/" --- *Design dining and rocking chair seat pads in 3D: square, tapered, horseshoe or round, with ties, piping and tufts, plus a cutting ticket in inches and cm.* The Studio · 3D builder # Chair cushion builder: seat pads that tie on and stay put Right, then. Tell me the shape of your chair seat and I’ll show you the pad on a proper ladder-back — ties bowed, piping straight, and every measurement in both inches and centimeters. ## The quick answer Pick the seat shape — square, tapered (wider at the front), horseshoe with an arched back, or round — then width, depth and a thickness of about 2 in (5 cm). Add ties at the back posts, piping and up to five tufts. The builder shows the pad on a dining or rocking chair and writes a ticket with every edge, the fabric and the foam for the whole set. The 3D view could not start on this device (WebGL is switched off or blocked). Every control still updates the plan drawing and the cutting ticket below, and the PNG button saves the plan. Threading the needle — loading the 3D workbench… Still loading on a slow connection. The plan and the cutting ticket already work. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom. With the preview focused: arrow keys turn it, + and − zoom, Home resets. Cutting ticket No. 0000 ## Your cushion cutting ticket checked Maggie ± ¼ in The plan drawing appears here once the builder loads. Plan view: every edge lettered and measured, the zipper side marked with a zigzag. ### Pieces & measurements ### Fabric, foam & trim estimate ### Specification ### Check before you order ### Workshop notes ### What to send the workshop - This ticket, with the number of chairs. - A photo of one chair seat taken from directly above, tape measure in view. - For curved seats: a paper tracing of the seat, photographed flat. - Where the ties should sit, measured from the back corners. ## Buyer questions Every control in this builder answers a question buyers commonly ask. Here are some of them, with the workshop’s answers. ## How to use the builder ## Eight chairs, and why the notches became an arch A buyer had eight wooden chairs whose back supports cut deep into the seat. Notches like that cannot be cut reliably from a photograph, so we agreed an arched back instead. The workshop checked the drawing, caught a 1 in slip in the depth, and confirmed the diagram: 20 in wide, 18¼ in deep, 13½ in straight sides, a 5 in arc, 1 in rounded front corners, the zipper along the arc, ties inset 4½ in and a non-slip base. That is the Horseshoe setting in this builder, dear — put in 20 in, 18¼ in and a 5 in arc and you are looking at it. Measure the depth to the very front edge, not to where the old cushion stopped. ## Made from tickets like this one Terracotta flecked with cream gives an old chair a warm, earthy update without hiding its dark wood. A terracotta chair pad with fabric ties softens a rush-seat kitchen chair. The kitten proves it is the comfiest seat at the table. ## Questions about the builder ### Why offer ties at every leg as well as at the back? Two ties at the back posts suit most dining chairs. A stool or a chair without back posts needs one at each leg so the pad cannot slide forward. The builder counts every tie into the fabric estimate. ### How thick should a dining chair pad be? Around 2 in (5 cm) keeps a dining chair at the height the table was made for; 3 in (7.5 cm) feels softer on a kitchen chair you sit on for long. The foam is firm, about 2.0 lb/ft³, so a thin pad does not bottom out. ### Can a chair pad be washed? Untufted pads have a zipper along the back edge or the back curve, and the cover washes at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle. Tufted pads keep their cover on because the buttons go through the foam, so they are spot-cleaned. ### Does the rocking chair change the cushion? The pad is the same; the rocking chair is there so you can judge proportions against spindles and arms. On a curved seat, a traced paper template beats a tape measure. ## Keep measuring - [The Pattern RoomHow to measure a window seat cushion when the walls aren't square](https://cushionguide.com/guides/how-to-measure-window-seat-cushion/) - [The Pattern RoomDown-wrapped or all-foam? Choosing the top of a seat cushion](https://cushionguide.com/guides/down-wrapped-vs-foam-seat-cushions/) - [The Pattern RoomAccent chair and sofa chair seat cushions, replaced to the old shape](https://cushionguide.com/guides/accent-chair-seat-cushions/) - [The Pattern RoomReplacement cushions for a nursery glider, piece by piece](https://cushionguide.com/guides/glider-rocker-replacement-cushions/) - [The Pattern RoomReplacement covers for a floor sofa: fit, color change and single pieces](https://cushionguide.com/guides/floor-sofa-replacement-covers/) - [The Pattern RoomMatching throw pillows and lumbars to a seat cushion, color by color](https://cushionguide.com/guides/matching-throw-pillows-lumbar-pillows/) Margaret Holloway The Piping Queen of Newport, Rhode Island Started out stitching costumes for a summer theater on the Rhode Island coast, then spent twenty years re-covering window seats in drafty Colonial and Victorian houses. Stitch straight — Maggie