How to Make an Adirondack Chair Cushion

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Adirondack chairs have been an outdoor seating staple for over a hundred years. Named after the Adirondack Mountains where the chairs were first designed, this iconic chair had stood the test of time. If you want to spruce up your Adirondack chairs and make them a little more comfy for those long summer days, why not add a cushion? We'll show you how to make a hinged cushion to perfectly fit your Adirondack chair.
Video Chapters:
  • Measuring & Cutting Foam – 0:28 min.
  • Patterning Fabric – 2:34 min.
  • Sewing Plates – 3:56 min.
  • Inserting Foam – 13:09 min.
  • Materials List – 15:58 min.
Materials List:
  • Foam of choice (we recommend CushionRite® Dry Fast or Stanard Antimicrobial)
  • Outdoor Fabric (we used Sunbrella Castanet Beach Fabric #5604-0000)
  • Tex 70 Polyester Thread
  • Sunbrella Soft Braid Acrylic Binding #103057 (optional)
Tools List:
  • Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LS Walking Foot Sewing Machine (110V) #611502
  • Sailrite Edge Hotknife #103800
  • Multiuse Pins #102985
  • Yardstick
  • Pencil
  • Marker
  • Scissors
How to Make an Adirondack Chair Cushion Video 2

In the video, we will demonstrate how to pattern your cushion foam based on measurements from your chair, so no matter what style of Adirondack chair you have, you’ll have a perfectly fitted cushion. For the foam, we used sheets of Fairfield’s Poly-Fil Nu-Foam, which is compressed polyester batting. This foam is a great choice for this project because it’s easy to work with, inexpensive, and mildew resistant. If you prefer more traditional foam, polyurethane foam is also a great choice (CushionRite® Standard or Premium).

Our cushion design features tiebacks on the seat and backrest portion of the cushion so you can tie it to the chair to keep it from sliding around or blowing away. We used pieces of Sunbrella’s Soft Braid Acrylic Binding to create the tiebacks, but you could easily sew ties out of your scrap fabric instead for a perfect match to the cushion.

Watch this video to see how to pattern your fabric, sew the plates, attach ties, and insert the foam for your hinged Adirondack chair cushion.

Do you have Adirondack chairs? Would you use a cushion like this? Share your opinions and ideas with us in the comments!