Rocking Chair Cushions

“What do I know about rocking chair cushions?” I remember stating to my mum. She’d just chuckled and left me sitting dejectedly in my grandmother’s old rocking chair. It was quite cushion-less. My grandmother seems to think that I eat my furniture or something cos it seems that every birthday I get more furniture. For my 16th Birthday I got a newly restored double bed and a matching dresser. For my 18th I got an ancient writing desk over 100 years old and also fully restored. I’m not quite sure where she finds these treasures, however for my 20th birthday I got the old rocking chair that had sat dormant up in the garage gathering dust.

It’s absolutely stunning. It has a tall intricately carved back, smooth arm rests and it still rocks like a charm despite its age and neglect. Yet when I say neglect, I mean neglect from humans. A family of mice had decided that the cushion on said rocking chair would make a nice home. You can imagine all our surprise when we’d dragged the long lost chair out of the dark corner it had resided in for almost a half century.

So this leaves me with a beautiful old rocking chair lacking a cushion and quite uncomfortable to say the least. I borrowed the lounge cushions but to my dismay found that they slid off quite fantastically, dumping the sitter (also known as me) spectacularly on their rear end. That’s when mum said, “Buy a rocking chair cushion.”

Well I hopped on the internet (what would we do without it?) and typed in “rocking chair cushions.” After a few hours trawling the net, I was surprised to learn that there is more to a rocking chair cushion than meets the eye. I’ve listed what I found to make it easier for other rocking chair cushion enthusiasts to discover what makes the perfect rocking chair cushion.

• get cushions that tie onto the chair. There are cushions that are made to fit exactly without ties, however unless they’re being custom made you can run the risk of them not fitting snugly. Tie on cushions mean they stay on the chair and thus yourself and also makes it easy to take them off and wash them.
• there are cushions made specifically for rocking chairs which mean they have a back as well and all you have to do is, again, tie them on to the backing rails. Having that extra back support makes the rocking chair that much more inviting however you can get cushions that just tie to the seat of the chair.
• You can get cushions in all types of designs. Frilly, plain, colourful, flowery, stripes, polka dots, the sky is the limit. I eventually chose a plain white one with a little frill along the edges. It’s plain but not to plain. It’s pretty but doesn’t completely overwhelm you. I know some people buy a few different types to change with their moods or the seasons.
• Some cushions come with removable covers which means you don’t need to worry about warping the pillows when you wash them but I didn’t find that a problem with my cushion. However if you’re good at sowing (which I’m not) once you have the cushion you can make other covers out of your own fabrics. These cushions should have zippers to allow easy removal of the cover.
• The most important factor of a cushion though is the padding! Check that the cushions are resilient and will last through a single wash. Latex foam or plush latex foam cushion fillings are great and can be as thick as you want. Some cushions even come with arms rests but I found that it began to take over the chair. My rocking chair is a work of art and covering it in to much material would have been a real shame.
• The fabric is also important. Velvet can give a more sophisticated or formal feel, tufted cotton is breathable and gives a patterned texture and corduroy is very durable. In the end its up to you.
• Now before you buy anything, especially over the internet, make sure the cushion will fit! If it’s too small it will leave you unsatisfied, too big and it might slide off or make it uncomfortable. Double and triple check!

When my rocking chair cushion arrived in the mail, I was surprisingly excited and was pleased with how it fitted and how comfy it was. A rocking chair is bliss after studying madly at Uni and Mum reminds me that it will be perfect for when I have kids. I just ignored that comment but she is right about one thing, a good rocking chair cushion makes the rocking chair.

Whether you’re replacing grandma’s old mouse infested rocking chair cushion or just brightening up a well used piece of furniture, I wish you happy hunting from the gentle, mind soothing rocking of my grandmother’s old rocking chair.

Yours sincerely,

Ferne