The Boxing Panel

The measurement of the boxing panel of a seat or back cushion is crucial in determining the thickness of foam that we will use.  Our approach is to use a thickness of foam that is the same dimension as the height of the boxing, i.e. 3" boxing on the cover gets a 3" thick foam core.  The foam is the firmest part of the cushion and we want the edge of the foam to line up with the seams of the cover and hold them straight.  The material that is wrapped around the foam, whether it be polyester, down/feather or wool, just adds to the total thickness of the cushion, which we call the "crown".

Poly / Down Seat Cushion

By Poly / Down we mean a seat cushion with a foam core that is inside a down/feather filled envelope (or jacket).  Old timers refer to polyurethane foam as "poly" and "down" refers to a down and feather blend.  Some common blends for cushions are 10% down/90% feather, 25% down/75% feather (pictured below) and 50% down/50% feather.

We used the original cover (at the top left) as a pattern for cutting the foam.
The finished boxing on the cover is 4" so we used a 4" thick High Resiliency
foam core.  The thickness of the foam is the same as the finished boxing
so that the edges of the foam to line up with the seams of
the cover to hold them straight and tight.

Our down & feather filled jacket is cut a little larger than the finished size
of the cover.  It also includes a crown allowance which allows finished
cushion to be very full and round.  We also sew partitions into the ticking.
This keeps the down/feather in separate channels which helps
the customer to maintain the cushion.  It also allows for the high
crown that is indicative of this type of construction.

A zipper at the back of the cushion makes it easy to access the foam core
for maintenance.

The foam core is inserted into the envelope.

Zipped up.

This cushion has a crown of about 8".  The foam is 4" thick.

The finished cushion ready to be covered.

Toss Pillows - Three Different Seams

A toss pillow can be cut and sewn a couple of different ways.

A Knife Edge (left) is just two pieces of fabric that are sewn together.  

A Boxed pillow (center) has a band of fabric sewn between the front and back panels which allows for more fullness.  

A pillow with Cut-Outs (right) is similar in fullness to the boxed pillow, but still has a single seam around the perimeter like a Knife Edge pillow.  The third dimension is achieved by the perpendicular cut-outs at each corner.

Left - Boxed Pillow
Right - Cut-Out Pillow

Knife Edge Pillows - Crown Allowance vs Straight Cut

Before you order your pillow forms, check your cover or with your sewing workroom to see if you covers are cut with a Crown Allowance or are Straight Cut. We make our pillows to order and can accommodate either approach.  Unless we are told otherwise, all of our pillows are cut with a crown allowance (or bow).

Crown Allowance: When a pillow is cut this way is filled, the sides tend to be straighter. 

Straight Cut: When a pillow is cut this way the sides pull in when filled and
the corners become sharper, what we call "dog ears".  

Foam Puzzle Back Cushion

A stack of random foam?

Sort by shape.

Assemble

Glue pieces together

Wrap with polyester, line with muslin.

This project required a profile with a curve on the top front of the cushion with 90 degree angles on the back and bottom.  We broke down the finished shape into easy to cut pieces that we later assembled.

The Making of a Bench Cushion

This bench cushion has a long cut out in the middle.  We first mark the foam and then cut with the foam saw.

 All foam is cut with perfectly flat sides.  It is difficult to get a cover to be tight on a flat surface, so we wrap the foam with either a polyester or a down/feather envelope to help tighten the top and bottom panels of the cover.  For this cushion we are gluing the bonded polyester to the foam.

The polyester is cut to the same shape as the foam.  On this cushion, it sits on the  top and bottom of the foam core only.  We left the edges free of polyester because we want the cover to have a flat front. 

The foam in these photos is 2 1/2" thick and will be covered with a cover that has a finished boxing panel of 2 1/2" too.  The edges of the foam will hold the piping on the cover straight while the polyester will push up against the top and bottom panels, creating a crown and making the cover look tight and fit.

Recipe for Wedge Shaped Foam

Start with 1 block of foam.

Slice at desired angle.

Separate!

The angled cut always yields 2 wedges.

Note: If you need only 1 wedge shape, we cut the wedge from a block that is half as wide as your finished product. Then we glue the cut pieces side to side to create a shape that is the full width. For example, if we need one wedge that is 36" wide, we cut the shapes from a block that is 18" wide and then glue the two 18" pieces together to make 36".