Cushion Pads Explained

Sink into the chair surrounded by comfort

Cushion pads are an important part of a cushion. These give structure to a cushion and can be regarded as the "skeleton" to support the colourful outer covering. These also are what gives the comfort factor in using a cushion.

Some cushions are bought for their comfortability. These allow the person or pet to sink into their softness to rest their limbs or to give support to injured limbs.

Other cushions need to be a little harder so their pads or inserts will be firmer these would be used for wooden benches and chairs.

With all soft furnishings care must be taken where these are placed as these should not come into direct contact with a heat source.

The synthetic fibres of Acrylic and Polyester are regarded as fire resistant as they ignite at a higher temperature than other fibres.

Chemical sprays can be bought to treat these fillings so that the fire resistant quality can be enhanced.

Different ready made Cushion pads can be bought from shops and online outlets. They come in lots of different sizes and have different fillings inside them.

When purchasing a cushion insert it is best to go for a size bigger than the size of your cushion cover. This way the cushion will look fuller as over time the filling will compact and reduce in volume.

Specialist outlets may be needed if your cushion is not of standard shape or size. These may have to be made to order.

There are lots of cushion inserts of different sizes available at Amazon to help you find what you are looking for.

Types of filling for Cushion Pads

Down and Feathers

Polystyrene Beads

Polyester Fibre

Foam Block

Polyester Wadding

The kind of fillings you use for a cushion pad depends on what degree of support or comfort you are looking for:

• Soft
• Firm

Years ago chair seats were filled with straw or horsehair but now there are softer materials such as down and feathers, polyester fibre or wadding.

Scatter cushions need to be soft and supple to let your body mould around them to make you comfortable and give you support.

Cushions for seat bases need to be firmer and are usually made with foam blocks. This foam cut into bits and pieces can also be used as a cushion filling.

You can also mix and match the different filling to get the degree of comfort that you would like. A feather topping could be added to a sturdier foam base if you would like the seat a bit softer.

Bean bags will have polystyrene beads as a filling. This type of filling will allow your body to mould into the contours of the cushion.

Whatever design or shape you need and how large or small your cushion is, there will be some type of pad to go inside.

Enjoy choosing your cushion pads.