If you are thinking of making your own cushions, you will concern about finding the right cushion fillings.
There are all kinds of materials available to stuff into your cushions. They all have different features and feel. We will
see some of them about their characteristic, quality and comfort.
Down
This is a filling to use if you are thinking in superlatives. It is soft and fluffy and very light
in weight; it keeps its buoyancy better than any other filling, therefore a little goes a very long way and it lasts almost
a lifetime. It is also very expensive and not easy to get from shops. If you have an old down quilt that you no longer need,
then lucky you, because you can make a super exclusive cushions that would cost a fortune to buy.
Feather and down mixture
This is less expensive but still in the luxury class. It is only a little heavier than Down. The more feathers there are
in the mixture, the heavier the cushion will be. Also expensive to buy and not always available, but if you have an old feather
pillow to spare you can make a fairly sizeable luxury type of cushion.
Kapok
This is a vegetable down and reasonably priced compared to the first two. It is soft, lightweight, resilient
and highly moisture-proof. Although it tends to lose its body and turns to powder eventually, and sometimes goes lumpy, it
is still considered as a very good filling material because of all its other good qualities. In spite of its eventual loss
of body, it will probably outlast the life of the cushion cover.
Man-made fiber filling
This category includes Terylene, Nylon or Dacron and is much cheaper then Kapok and quite inexpensive.
These fillings are non-absorbent, therefore are practical to use because you can wash the whole cushion without removing the
cover if you wished.
Poly-form filling
This is a 50/50 mixture of latex and plastic foam crumbs. It is fairly lightweight, resilient, and
inexpensive and goes a long way. It makes a firm, light and comfortable cushion but not a smooth one because the crumbs show
up occasionally in little lumps under the cover. The best way to stop this happening is to make an inner case of fine plastic
sheeting, and then fills it with the poly-foam filling.
Polystyrene beads
They are great for floor cushions. They are light, resilient and firm in use. The more you use in the
cushion the firmer it becomes but the less you use the more comfortable it is to sit on. Don’t tempt to use too little
or you will defeat the purpose of a floor cushion.
Shaped foam forms
They come in many shapes and sizes, or they can be cut to any size and shape that you wish. These forms come in a variety
of thick nesses. You can choose from Latex or plastic foam. Although an inner case for foam forms is optional, it is better
to have one, because the outer cover slips on more easily and once on will not slip out of place
