Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Upholstery 101: Cushion Fill

Furniture cushions can be stuffed with latex or poly foam, Dacron, cotton, springs, wool, feather/down blends or a combination of any two or more of these products. At Michael's Custom Built Upholstery, we work with each client on an individual basis to determine what type of filling will best suit their needs. Our goal is to individualize our client's level of comfort to ensure that their furniture is as comfortable as possible for them.

THE BEST:
• Poly/Down seats cushions have a foam core with an envelope of 25/75 down. The foam provides the support, the down provides the "awww" when you sit down. At Michael's we custom cut, sew and stuff each envelope for each individual piece of furniture. By using different thicknesses and densities of foam, we can customize the cushion for each client. We can also use a spring insert in place of the foam insert. This produces a cushion with a medium to firm density.
• 25/75 Down backs are a solid down cushion. At Michael's we custom cut, sew and stuff each back cushion for each individual piece of furniture. The cushions fillers are made from 100% cotton down proof ticking and include individually sewn baffles. The baffles keep the down in it's own section of the cushion providing even support throughout. This also helps to keep the cushions from looking soft or lumpy since the down is separated into areas of the cushion so it cannot settle at the bottom.  This enables us to make a cushion that provides the ultimate support and comfort at the same 

THE MIDDLE:
• Foam and Dacron seat cushion are a latex or poly foam with a wrap of Dacron batting. Foam is available in a variety of densities and thicknesses. Foam by itself looks hard and flat. At Michael's we use a wrap of Dacron or wool to take the hard edge off of the foam and to provide a bit of crown or belly to the cushion. The foam products can be expensive but are also easy to work with and do not require as much labor as a down cushion.
• Foam and Dacron back cushions are created in the same manner as a seat cushion using a softer density foam then one used for seat cushions.
• Dacron back cushions are created using a fabric casing that we cut and sew with baffles in the same manner as the down blend cushions. We stuff the casing with a cluster Dacron fiber. The cluster dacron resembles small soft snow balls. Similar to the down, we are able to adjust the density of the cushion by adjusting how much fiber is put into the cover. The cluster Dacron is a good alternative for down to people who have down allergies. The Dacron is also good for outdoor use since it does not mildew if it gets damp or wet.
THE WORST:
At Michael's we never use the worst filling combinations but we do a lot of work with our clients fixing and replacing the fill in the cushions on their furniture. We see cheap foam, Dacron inserts with no separate cover, down blends of 5% feather and 95% down (lots of long quills-not very soft and resilient) and the worst combination of all, a combination of a down blend mixed with Dacron.
This Dacron/Feather blend is commonly sold as a "down upgrade" and what we find most unfortunate, is that the clients don't understand exactly what they've upgraded to, it just sounds good. What happens with this type of filling is that the Dacron clumps up, the feathers stick to the clumps and the whole cushion gets lumpy, bumpy and uncomfortable.

At Michael's you can be sure that we'll figure out what is in your cushions now and then help you decide what filling we should use to replace the old fill. We will work with you and your budget so that you go home with comfortable cushions made with quality products that will last years of regular use.

4 comments:

  1. This is informative post of Cushion Fill.I get some info and tips from this post.Thank you very much for sharing this info.

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  2. Thanks very much for sharing helpful information about furniture care.
    upholstery services near me

    ReplyDelete