How to Make Salon Cushions

X-HT-200630

When below decks, the salon (or saloon) is the hub of your boat's cabin. It's where you can sit and eat, work and sometimes even where you sleep. So it's important that the settee cushions are comfortable and that they suit your style. In today's video tutorial, we're going to show you how you can re-cover cushions for your boat's salon settees.
Video Chapters:
  • Preparing Foam – 0:25 min.
  • Patterning Top Plate & Boxing – 2:51 min.
  • Patterning Bottom Plate – 16:38 min.
  • Creating Zipper Plaque Boxing – 17:07 min.
  • Sewing Boxing Together – 22:07 min.
  • Sewing Boxing to Top Plate – 23:31 min.
  • Attaching Bottom Plate – 28:41 min.
  • Inserting Foam – 30:49 min.
  • Materials List – 35:02 min.
Materials List:
  • Marine Upholstery Fabric
  • Cushion Underlining Beige 54" Fabric – #103934 (optional)
  • Polyester Batting 55" – #124305
  • 3M™ Super 77™ Spray Adhesive – #636100
  • PremoBond® Tex 70 (V-69) White UV Bonded Polyester Thread 4 oz. – #124738
  • Seamstick 1/4" Basting Tape for Canvas & Upholstery – #104167
  • YKK® #5 White Continuous Molded Tooth Zipper Chain – #28218
  • YKK® #5 White Style A Single Non-Locking Delrin® Zipper Pull (Molded Tooth Chain) – #103178
  • Cushion Wrap Silk Film 54" – #103933 (optional)
Tool List:
  • Sailrite® Edge Hotknife Package – #103800
  • Deluxe 5-1/2" Magnetic Sewing Guide – #103597
  • Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LS Walking Foot Sewing Machine – #311502
  • Scissors, Marker, Pencil, Ruler, Shop Vac
How to Make Salon Cushions Video 2

The existing foam on our Islander 37 was in pretty good condition, so we decided to reuse it with some fresh batting and new covers. If your foam needs replacing, we have full instructions for patterning new cushions in our "How to Make Your Own Cockpit Cushions" video (#200618XHT).

For our settee cushions, we used the same Sunbrella® Upholstery fabric that we used for the v-berth cushions to give our cabin continuity. In the video, we will show you how to line up stripes or a pattern so they flow from the seat backs to the seat bottoms of your settee.

It’s amazing how new cushions can really brighten up a space! Have you ever considered making new cushions for your salon settees? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!