Feather cushioned sofas are oh so soft and comfy — for awhile anyway. Like anything else they can get a little squished and flat. Foam can easily be replaced, but feathers... well that's a whole different story. So we're turning to our favorite upholstery pro Shelly Leer.
Do you have a feather sofa? Does it need a little love? The good news is there's something you can do and then there's what will work in the end. Shelly has been going through rounds of diy and tlc with her brother's down sofa cushions for several years.
When they first went flat she pulled all the feathers out, fluffed them, separated them, added a bit more and then shoved it all back in. Down the line it fell flat once more so she busted out the big guns. And by guns we mean foam. Although it would be nice if there was a magical cure for the feathers themselves, there really isn't.
Shelly custom ordered to size foam for the inserts, wrapped them with a little batting and then placed them back in the slip cover instead of the feathers. She has tips and tons of advice if this sounds like a sofa project you need to handle, so check out all the details over at Mod Home Ec.
(Image: Mod Home Ec)
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That's one reason furniture manufacturers offer down-wrapped cushions.
I have machine washed second hand down pillows and dried them (no dryer sheet or fabric softeners) in the dryer. Make sure the cases are not split to avoid disaster! The feathers smell a little drying, but they fluff up good as new! (For upholstery uses, I'd sew the feathers into an old pillowcase or something similar first, then take them back our afterwards.) There is probably a limit to the number of times you can get away with this, but it has worked for me. (Don't overload -- just one pillow at a time, maybe two if they are kind of lightly stuffed or you have a large capacity machine.)
I stuffed a bunch of batting in the covers with the feather-filled inserts. Not a great solution. The seat cushions still look droopy. Might try the machine wash idea. A new sofa would be even better, but that's not in the budget.
i've been thinking about doing the opposite with a chair cushion. i thought maybe getting some ikea gosa throws and shoving the down in on top of the foam cushion would make it more comfy.
thoughts?
My Solution for a flat Cushion fix:
A Foam Dacron Down Feather wrapped Cushion
it consists of
Soft density foam core
is wrapped on top, front edge, and bottom with polyester fiber
Unit is inserted in channeled down proof muslin casing
Each section of top and bottom is filled with a feather/down mix
The cushion will not look flat and has the luxury look and comfy feel of a feather/down Cushion.
We do this in our shop all the time.
There are other ways to solve the problem too, but it mostly depends on the personal preference of the home owner and budget..
Hi, I know this is an older thread, but where did you end up buying your foam? I have a couch with foam core and down. Where would I purchase the new foam and down.
Thanks so much!