Tartan Interiors - The Cushion Guide

Cushions can completely change the look and atmosphere of any room in your house, so while they may seem a little frivolous or an unnecessary accessory they can actually be the perfect centre piece or finishing touch.

There are a few key factors to consider when choosing your cushions: Style, Colour, Size, Shape and Texture. Read on to delve deeper into the mysterious world of the cushion.

Oxford cushions, Piped edges, Boxed edges, Bolster cushions, Squab cushions, Frilled cushions.....the list is endless and we have no doubt missed a few. We have tried to keep it simple on the website and only offer 2 styles of cushion cover however we can make anything on request.

Our most popular cushion is pictured above and what we call the Essential Tartan Cushion, an Oxford style cushion cover (sometimes called Bordered or Flanged), which quite simply has an additional 1-1.5 inches of border stitched round the inner cushion pad. The border can be narrower or wider depending on personal taste and can even be padded to add texture. Piping or ribbon on the border adds to the effect.

If you are a seamstress you will either love or hate making piped edged cushions. Piping is the raised edge used to finish off each side of the cushion. It is sometimes also called Corded and this is because the piping is literally fabric rolled around a length of cord and stitched into place. Hence why it is a bit fiddly and not always a favourite job! Piping can be done in matching or contrasting fabric and can really make a simple cushion look quite special. When we pipe with tartan we have it on the bias so it shows off as many of the colours as possible. This uses more fabric but gives a much nicer finish. A contrasting plain colour looks lovely with tartan as you can be bold and pick out a red or yellow stripe, or be really subtle and use one of the base colours for a more sophisticated look.

The name Squab Cushion sounds very intriguing but is actually simply a thin cushion used to soften hard kitchen chairs and they usually come with ties or ribbon to stop them slipping off the chair. We don't include these in our main range but they can easily be made in any tartan and to any size and recently we even made a long version for a window seat. Boxed Edge Cushions are similar in design but have a deeper gusset and are often found on sofas and filled with foam rather than feathers.

Frilled cushions sound a bit 1980's but made in the right fabric add nice effect when mixed up with plain edged cushion covers particularly in bedrooms. The frill is gathered (a little or a lot depending on your taste) and provides a fancy edge to a simple cushion shape. Light, floaty fabrics such as chiffon or lace work well and can be combined with floral or patterned fabrics for a feminine finish.

Finally you can just have a Simple Cushion cover. A square with no fancy edges or embellishments, nice and easy to make if you are doing it yourself and actually very effective if you choose an interesting fabric. Close it up with a zip or make it envelope style so you don't even need to stitch in the zip.

Pastels, Brights, Plains and Patterns. Which colours and prints will you choose? Are you creating a statement piece or a co-ordinated, subtle look? Bright or printed cushions can transform a white bedroom with white bedlinen and this season orange and bold exotic colours are of the moment. If brights are not your thing then the trend for pastel blues and pinks will suit you better.

Do remember if you are buying patterned fabrics to make your own cushion covers to allow a bit more cloth to match up the tartan, check, spots or flowers. Finishes such as piping also require quite a bit of extra cloth too. Call us if you are unsure and we can give you the pattern repeat of your favourite tartan and help work out what you need.

Square, Rectangular, Round, Bolster....are these cushions to be useful or just to look pretty? Bolster cushions are more popular in Europe but so lovely to pop under your knees or the small of your back when you have the whole sofa to yourself. Mixing up your shapes and sizes gives depth and character to the room and just makes life more interesting. We have even made a heart shape for the romantics among you.

Silky sheen, chunky knitted, luxury faux fur or heritage tweed we do love a bit of texture and since working with Scottish textiles we have all become a bit particular about the quality of our fabrics. Silks and satins, frills and sleeker textures suit bedrooms and work well combined with the more rustic texture of wool. Downstairs anything goes and you also need to consider if your cushions need to be hard wearing, easy to clean or simply decorative. If you are put off by the Dry clean only label on wool remember wool is actually naturally water resistant and most things come off with blotting or gentle brushing so unless you soak the cushion in red wine for an hour you will find wool cushion covers to be remarkably easy care. We usually use a 10oz lightweight wool for our cushions as it has a nice soft finish however if you want more texture and a chunkier feel then we can make them up in a kilt weight 16oz fabric. The 16oz fabric is virtually indestructible and cushions made up in this will last forever.