How To Line A Seat Cushion Pad With Scrap Fabric

Scrap fabric lining is the perfect way to protect your expensive cushion padding for free. This is an easy guide where we show you a fun way to use dress and decor fabric remnants.

Seat Cushion Pads

The polyurethane foam seat cushion pads, had been well protected since the last seat update. I decided to simply re-wrap each foam section with fresh layers of dacron, cotton and wool, to provide 'new and improved' buoyancy, comfort and support.

Shaping Seat Cushion Pads

The Window Box Seat (white storage box along one wall), has an unsymmetrical shape. It is broad at one end and tapers along the length into a narrower shape on the opposite side.

Sizing Options

When I bought the polyurethane foam for the first window box seat project, I had some very important choices to make.

Option 1

Make all of the seat cushions the same shape, with the same dimensions.

Method: Measure the length of the white storage box. Divide the length measurement by five (or as many as I choose). Use a single template to cut out all five sections of foam. They will be of the same height, width, and depth and I'd wrap each section with equal amouts of padding.
Uniform cushions of the same dimensions are much easier to work with, because one template will work for ALL of the cushions.

Result:

It would be similar to buying furnishings from the shop. We know the designers have never seen our space, so they've created a generic item to fit into most spaces. We buy it anyway, bring it home and proceed to shove into our space at awkward angles, just to make it fit. It isn't elegant, but it serves the purpose.

Option 2

Make Custom cushions to fit the actual space on the white box.

Method: Measure length and depth along the white box, divide the space into five sections, using custom height, width and depth dimensions for each cushion, based on the specific space it will occupy on the box.

Result:

The beauty of custom made, bespoke furnishings, is that they are made to fit the space you have. They belong there and it shows. I knew there would be no awkward gaps or untidy overlaps, so this was the option I chose. I will mention though, that with these cushions, there was lot more measuring by eye and also trial and error. For example, the cotton and Dacron I'd placed on the polyurethane foam, needed to be evened out on some of the seat cushion pads, but more on that later.

Stockinette

When you purchase polyurethane foam from an upholstery supply shop, you'll probably be asked if you'd like to buy some 'stockinette' for the foam. Stockinette is a very thin web-like material. It can be used to line seat cushion pads and usually comes in a tubular form (much like stockings), that can be slipped over the polyurethane foam.

If for example, the seat cushion foam has been wrapped with cotton or dacron, you can use the tubular stockinette to hold everything in place. After you slip the stockinette over the cushion seat pad, you can sew either end of the 'tube' closed.

Stockinettes also helps the seat cushion pad to glid easily into the fabric cushion cover, as it reduces friction. I had no idea just how difficult that task would be without the stockinette.

Stockinette Alternative: Using Fabric Scraps as Lining Fabric.

You don't need to buy stockinette straight away. As a beginner, I discovered the beauty of DIY lining for your seat cushion pads - this method works just as well, perhaps even better than stockinette.

Scrap Fabric

I had heaps of scrap fabric: there was a mix of thin dress fabrics like viscose, some dress lining, leotard fabric and muslin.

After I had padded the polyurethane seat cushion pads with cotton and dacron, I pieced together the fabric scraps and created basic lining for each seat cushion pad. It was fairly easy to cut and pin the scraps together.

I created a patchwork with the pieces, aiming for full coverage of each cushion. I wanted to easily slid the cushion pads into their new seat cushion covers, without stressing the new seams.

I disobeyed my own rule though, I didn't fit closures on any of the seat cushion pad liners. I intend to remedy that as soon as I have finished with the current projects.

pieces of sunflower yellow lycra and natural coloured muslin pinned together

pieces of sunflower yellow lycra and natural coloured muslin pinned together (1)

pieces of sunflower yellow lycra stitched together (2)

I was reasonably pleased with the end result. I'd made fresh new seat pads, that felt medium to firm, boyount, supportive and cosy. But, after a few double takes, I noticed an uneveness in the shape of some of the cushions.

I had to decide wether to redo just one cushion, to make it level with the others or to undo all the other cushions, to be level with the 'uneven one'. So obviously, I undid all the other cushions to match the uneven one...

Why?

I really don't know, it just happened.

Moving On..

This part of the project took the longest. To achieve a linear look, I would have needed two pairs of eyes (or two spirit levels) to check the smoothness of the padding, from different angles. I was alone that afternoon, so I had to get creative.

I used a spirit level to ensure the seats were the same level horizontally and vertically, then suspended a long piece of string from edge to edge, to ensure the cushions extended out an equal distance.

After restitching the lining on each seat cushion pad, I wrapped them all up in a cloth to avoid getting dust and grit on them - there was alot of sanding and painting going on too.

(You can see the rest of the sofa seat transformation here.)

How do you use your scraps of fabric?

What uses have you found for your scrap fabric? Let us know in the comments section!