Let’s look at some options for saggy seat cushions and uncomfortable sofas that were fine when you first had them. You probably didn’t even notice to start with, then realised saggy cushions are now a thing in your living room as they won’t ‘fluff up’ anymore. You have probably tried swapping the bases around, moving the one used most often maybe, or turning them around back to front, or downside to upside, until they all end up the same, all saggy and uncomfortable. Or the backs have become slouchy and don’t support you anymore, and you end up sliding down with your legs out - which is less than ideal for your back or for your posture. Worse still, the back cushions might be fixed to the back of the sofa, and no matter how often you plump them up, they end up out of shape.


Cushion Support

The first option is a cushion support insert. This is a rigid heavy-duty engineered wood board to go under the seat, to extend the life of your sofa – you just need to place it under the seat cushion to get instant firmness and support. You will have to measure your sofa seat to get the correct size of insert.


Sliding and Slumping


If you find that your cushions are sliding, an easy fix is by putting an anti-slip pad between your couch and the cushion. It has a strong grip without the use of glue or velcro to keep your cushion in place, and won’t bunch up because it has the support of felt in the middle. You can trim them with scissors to ensure the grip pad won’t be visible. If the back cushion is the problem, add strips of heavy-duty Velcro to both the back of the sofa and the back of the cushions. A good deal of measuring and gluing and/or stitching is required to ensure both sides of the Velcro match up and will take the strain, and is a bit trickier.

More often the cushion is attached to the back, and when you try to push it up, it seems like it stays put until you look away, then it reverts back to slumpiness!

But there is a fix to all that slumping – a hidden zipper. Not all sofas, I admit, but have a look - there might be a hidden zipper at the bottom of the cushion that has been escaping your notice for years, and it’s tucked way back inside and you have to awkwardly lift up the cushion to find it, but it might be there. Unzip it, remove the foam and if the foam is wrapped in batting or wadding of some sort, remove this and the netting as well. Replace the foam with a high-density foam and re-wrap if needed.

Credits: PA; Author: PA;

Saggy Bottoms

And more often than not, the bottoms also have a zip hidden along the edge somewhere, and you can just insert more foam, spreading it around to make it smooth and even, or totally replace the existing foam. Dense foam wrapped with batting is one of the most popular couch stuffing to use. (Batting is a pliable layered material made from cotton, polyester or wool, great for softening edges of cushions and for adding extra padding). Other popular materials include feathers, batting without foam and polyester stuffing. If you have a detached cushion, you can remove them, unzip the cushions and remove the old stuffing. Cut a piece of foam to size and wrap it with batting to soften the edges. Place the foam and the batting back inside the cushion, zip the edges and place it back on the couch.

If the foam filling is badly damaged, you may need to totally replace it. If your cushions are filled with loose stuffing, replace it with polyester fiberfill. The best couch cushion stuffing is polyurethane foam, and is an affordable option, providing a sturdy base for the cushion.

Basic sizes of foam can be purchased through a craft store or online, and most can be cut to fit with scissors or a craft knife.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan