A cushion off the shelf and a made-to-measure cushion often look identical in the product photo. The difference only shows on your own patio: in the edge that overhangs, the gap between two elements, the seam after the second summer. That is why we show the seven reasons for made-to-measure outdoor cushions not as a list but in seven pictures, and explain what you can see in each one. After that, we take you through our workshop: what happens between your order and the parcel at your door, station by station.
The 7 reasons at a glance
- Fits to the centimetre, with no gaps and no overhang
- Sizes and shapes you won't find in the shops
- Seat, back and scatter cushions as one set
- A mattress-grade core, cut to the millimetre
- Seams that still hold after years
- Fabric and colour of your choice, in your hand beforehand
- Your favourite furniture stays
1. Fits to the centimetre, with no gaps and no overhang
What you see in this picture is actually something you don't see: no gap at the corner, no edge hanging over the frame. This is exactly where off-the-shelf cushions fail most often. They come in a handful of sizes, but lounges and benches rarely have exactly those dimensions. The result is either a gap where leaves and water collect, or a cushion that is squashed in and wears out faster at the edge.
We make every measurement you enter in the configurator with a guaranteed tolerance: at most 1 cm up to 100 cm, at most 2 cm up to 2 m and at most 3 cm up to 3 m. For over 99% of our orders, there was no complaint about the fit. How to measure correctly, from the inner edge to the backrest, is shown in the guides Sun lounger cushion: how to measure correctly and Custom bench cushion: length and thickness.
2. Sizes and shapes you won't find in the shops
260 × 200 centimetres: no furniture store has these lounging islands in its range, and no shelf holds a mattress in this size. We made them to exactly this size for Sonnentherme Lutzmannsburg. Orders like this are not the exception for us but everyday business. Special sizes come in so regularly that we no longer treat them as "special": we have no standard sizes, every piece is made to the values you enter.
In the configurator, bench cushions such as the Nizza bench cushion go from 25 to 300 cm in length, and the Marocco outdoor mattress up to 200 × 300 cm. Anything beyond a simple rectangle, such as cut-outs for posts or armrests, or corner elements, we agree with you by email. How hotels and restaurants use this is shown in our article Outdoor cushions for hotels and hospitality.
Made-to-measure garden cushions for unusual furniture
Wall benches, built-in platforms, pallet furniture, boat decks: the more individual the furniture, the less the shops can help. Home-built pallet lounges in particular almost never have a size for which ready-made cushions exist. A few ideas can be found in the article Cushions for pallet furniture.
3. Seat, back and scatter cushions as one set
Anyone who replaces one cushion soon realises how hard it is to get the rest to match. The grey is a slightly different shade, the back cushions are taller than the original, the cushion in the corner comes from another series. In this picture everything comes from the same production: the Nizza seat cushions and the Monaco back cushions, made from the same olefin fabric and matched to the dimensions of the same lounge.
This is the least conspicuous of the seven reasons, but perhaps the one you see for longest: a lounge only looks high-quality when all the parts belong together. How a lounge set of seat, back, fixings and special shapes comes together is explained in the guide Custom lounge cushions.
4. A mattress-grade core, cut to the millimetre
On a hotel roof terrace, a cushion is used all summer long, from morning to night, by changing guests. What keeps it in shape there is something you can't see in the picture: the core. Every one of our cushions contains mattress-grade PU foam. We cut it on our own very large CNC machines so that length, width and thickness match the cover exactly. A core that fits precisely fills the cover right into the corners and doesn't slip.
Off-the-shelf cushions, by contrast, are often filled with polyester wadding or light foam that flattens after one summer. Which thickness suits which piece of furniture is covered in the guide Which foam thickness for outdoor cushions?, and all the details on the material are on our page Our foam.
5. Seams that still hold after years
A cushion almost never tears in the flat surface, but at the seam and the zip, where the most tension builds up when you sit down and when you pull the cover off. That is why only seamstresses with many years of experience sew for us, and we are proud of that. They know from practice how taut an edge must sit and where a seam needs doubling. Our zips are sewn in so firmly that they withstand frequent removal for washing.
How demanding this is shows with the large formats: the cover for an outdoor mattress is as big as a bed sheet. It has to be spread out over a large surface and then sewn evenly along its full length without the fabric distorting. Mass-produced goods skimp at exactly this point, because good seams take time.
6. Fabric and colour of your choice, in your hand beforehand
When we look through our support enquiries, about one in seven is about fabric and colour. The question is understandable: no screen shows a shade the way it looks on your own patio in the evening. That is why we send free fabric samples within 2 to 5 working days. Leave them for a few days where the cushions will eventually sit, next to the frame and in the sun.
All our fabrics are pure olefin, solution-dyed, so the colour sits in the core of the fibre and not on the surface. You can choose from standard olefin, patterned woven fabrics and premium qualities. What distinguishes olefin from acrylic and polyester is covered in the guide Which fabric for outdoor cushions? and on our page Our fabric.
7. Your favourite furniture stays
The most common reason customers come to us is not a new purchase. The frame in rattan, aluminium or teak is still flawless after years, only the cushions have faded or flattened. And the manufacturer no longer supplies replacements in exactly that size. Without made-to-measure, the only option left would be to throw away a good piece of furniture.
With new made-to-measure cushions, the frame stays and the lounge looks like it did on day one. Whether this also pays off financially compared with a cheap off-the-shelf cushion, we have worked out openly in a separate article: Why cheap balcony cushions are a false economy.
From order to front door: how your cushion is made
Seven reasons are quickly written down. They only become credible once you see how the work is done. So here is the path every order takes with us, just as our team walks it every day.
From our workshop: 6 stations in 2 to 3 weeks
Order and measurements. Your order arrives, our team member accepts it, checks the measurements and notes them down for the project. If a measurement looks unusual, she would rather ask once before anything is cut. The project then goes to our sewing team.
Foam cutting. At the same time, the core is cut: mattress-grade PU foam, on our own huge CNC machines, so that every edge sits exactly.
Cutting template. Meanwhile, the seamstresses draw the template for the cover, that is, the shape the fabric is cut to. Every measurement gets its own.
Sewing. The cut fabric is spread out over large surfaces and sewn, including the zip, which is secured with a strong seam. For mattress formats the size of a bed sheet, this is real handwork that takes a lot of experience.
Bringing core and cover together. Once the cover is finished, the cut foam core goes inside. Now it shows whether everything is right: the core has to fill the cover right into the corners.
Pressing, rolling and shipping. Finally, the cushion runs through our mattress roll press, a 12-metre-long machine with 40 tonnes of pressing force. It goes in at the front and is wrapped in film, then compressed and rolled up at the end of the line. That way it fits into the shipping box and travels to you compactly and protected. After unpacking, the foam expands back to its size.
While all of this is happening, our customer service team around Laura Schneider is there for you, whether you want to change a measurement, have a question about the fabric or want to know where your order is right now. Delivery time for made-to-measure orders is about 2 to 3 weeks, for special colours about 3 to 6 weeks. We deliver free of charge to Germany and Austria.
What customers ask most often before ordering
For this article we analysed our support enquiries from the past year and a half. Three topics come up by far the most often, and all three can be settled before you order.
What hardly appears in the analysis: returns and exchanges. They make up only around 2% of enquiries. That speaks for the fit, and for our new 3D configurator. Our customers love it: you see your cushion in the chosen shape and colour before it is made, and all products are configured in the same simple way. We keep investing in exactly this direction, so that at Lulu-Belle you can order the perfect cushion in just a few minutes.
Seat cushion made to measure: what if I got the measurements wrong?
Because every piece is made to your measurements, there is no statutory right of withdrawal for made-to-measure orders. In return, we guarantee production within the stated tolerance. And if you do make a mistake when measuring, get in touch at support@lulu-belle.de: we will help you with the correction and find a fair solution.
Garden furniture cushions made to measure: which model for which furniture
- Bench, lounge element, wall or pallet: Nizza bench cushion, rectangular, 3 to 15 cm thick.
- Lounge backrest: Monaco back cushion, matching Nizza.
- Garden chair or armchair: Ibiza garden chair cushion with connected seat and back section.
- Sun lounger: Miami sun lounger cushion.
- Daybed, lounging island or balcony for lying down: Marocco outdoor mattress up to 200 × 300 cm.
- Loose cushions and floor cushions: Cairo outdoor cushions.
You will find an overview of all models, fabrics, thicknesses and tolerances on our page Custom outdoor cushions.
Frequently asked questions about made-to-measure outdoor cushions
Are made-to-measure outdoor cushions worth it compared with off-the-shelf ones?
Whenever the furniture has no standard size, the cushions should last several summers, or seat, back and scatter cushions need to match. A made-to-measure cushion fits to the centimetre, has a mattress-grade core and a colourfast olefin cover. As a result, it lasts much longer than a cheap off-the-shelf cushion, which usually fades or flattens after one or two seasons.
How exactly are made-to-measure outdoor cushions manufactured?
We guarantee a tolerance of at most 1 cm up to 100 cm, at most 2 cm up to 2 m and at most 3 cm up to 3 m. For over 99% of our orders, there was no complaint about the fit. When measuring, accuracy to the centimetre is therefore enough.
How long does delivery of made-to-measure garden cushions take?
We deliver made-to-measure orders in about 2 to 3 weeks, special colours in about 3 to 6 weeks. Fabric samples reach you in 2 to 5 working days. Shipping to Germany and Austria is free of charge.
Can I return made-to-measure cushions?
There is no statutory right of withdrawal for made-to-measure orders, because every piece is made to your specifications. We guarantee production within the tolerance. If you made a measuring error, we will help you with the correction and find a fair solution, just write to us at support@lulu-belle.de.
Are special shapes also possible, for example with cut-outs or corner elements?
Yes. You enter rectangular dimensions directly in the configurator, for example bench cushions from 25 to 300 cm in length or outdoor mattresses up to 200 × 300 cm. Cut-outs for posts or armrests and corner elements we agree with you by email.
How does such a large cushion arrive rolled up, and does it become flat and keep its shape again?
Every cushion is wrapped in film in our mattress roll press, compressed and rolled up, so that it travels protected and compactly in the box. After unpacking, the PU foam expands back to its size. How completely and how quickly depends on humidity and how long it was packed. The guaranteed tolerance applies to the expanded cushion.
Sarah Engleman
Product development at Lulu-Belle. Since 2020 we've been developing custom-made outdoor cushions and furniture, hand-sewn in our own workshop – over 740 customer reviews speak for themselves.
