How to Measure for Foam Cushions

Replacing the foam in your couch cushions, seat backs, ottomans and other furniture is a great way to make them comfy and supportive again. However, you must make sure you’re ordering the correct size of cushion foam for your furniture. Replacement foam that is too large or small can cause problems such as inadequate support, bad posture and not fitting either the furniture or the cover.

Use these tips for measuring foam cushions to get accurate dimensions so FoamOrder.com can craft the perfect cushion for you. If you need more information about how to measure foam for cushions, watch the video above or contact us for help. We can make recommendations based on your existing cushions and how to order the correct replacement.

Don’t Do the Following:
  1. Don’t measure the old foam. Old foam is usually deformed or depressed. Some manufacturers use an extra-thick soft piece of foam, which should never be measured for replacement. Others add additional material to make the cushion look fuller, which can lead to inaccurate measurements.
  2. If your foam is rounded on the top or front, don’t measure the curvature. Adding Dacron to your new piece will fill it out nicely and add the same rounding.
  3. If your foam is thinner in the front and thicker in the back, this is usually a result of it being “worn out” and compressed in the front. Don’t take your measurement from the compressed side, as this will result in a new foam cushion that’s too thin.
How to measure example
Do the Following:
  1. When possible, always measure between the seams or between the cording of the case with the foam inside.
  2. Remember to measure the length, width and thickness of square and rectangle cushions. For round and cylinder cushions, you will need the diameter and thickness. Custom shapes may require additional measurements.
  3. If there are no seams and you need to eyeball your measurement, then emulate the photo above as closely as possible. You’ll have to imagine the seam. The rounded sides are caused by the Dacron batting, so you don’t want to measure all the way to the edge. Instead, measure to just before the curvature.
  4. When ordering foam with a number lower than 40 (i.e., EverFlex™ V34 or EconoFlex™ C30), you can add a half-inch (1.3 cm) to the width of your cushion. These foams are medium-soft and the added foam will fill the cushion cover nicely.
  5. When ordering foam with a number lower than 50 (i.e., EverFlex™ V44), you can add a half-inch (1.3 cm) to the thickness of your cushion to make a fuller cushion cover.
  6. When ordering a rigid foam like EverFlex™ Rebond, consider reducing the thickness by a quarter-inch (0.6 cm) and order the Dacron Book Wrap. These foams are firm and difficult to get into a case. The Dacron will fill out the cases nicely.