Felts & Wadding for upholstery, cushion wrapping, platform padding and furniture repair work.
Felts & Wadding for Upholstery, Cushions and Furniture
Felts and wadding are essential upholstery materials used to add comfort, shape, protection and a smoother finish to furniture, cushions and soft furnishing projects. Whether you are wrapping new foam cushions, building up a seat platform, protecting springs, softening hard edges or adding a padded layer beneath fabric, this category brings together practical upholstery padding materials for trade and domestic use.
This section sits within the wider Foams & Fillings range and is the best place to start when you need cushion wrap, polyester wadding, upholstery felt, needled felt, platform padding or spring insulation materials.
Shop Felts and Polyester Wadding
The Felts & Wadding category is split into two main sections: Polyester Wadding and Felts. Polyester Wadding is mainly used as a soft wrapping and padding layer, especially over foam cushions. Felts are usually firmer and more structured, making them useful for platform work, seat build-ups, spring insulation and traditional upholstery repairs.
Both materials do important jobs. Foam gives support, but wadding and felt help finish the job properly. Ignore them and the cushion may still work, but it probably won’t look or feel as good. That’s the upholstery version of wearing a good suit with cheap shoes — technically dressed, but not quite right.
Polyester Wadding and Fibre Cushion Wrap
Polyester wadding is commonly used as a cushion wrap over upholstery foam. It softens the edges of the foam, gives cushions a fuller appearance, helps reduce sharp corners showing through the cover and creates a smoother finish beneath fabric.
It is widely used on sofa cushions, chair cushions, window seats, bench pads, caravan cushions, campervan cushions, headboards, arms, backs and general upholstery panels. It is also useful for soft furnishing work where a light padded layer is needed.
Cushion Wrap for Foam Cushions
When foam is cut to size, it often benefits from a layer of polyester wadding before being fitted into the cover. This helps the cushion look plumper and less square-edged, especially on sofa seats and chair pads.
For replacement cushions, pair polyester wadding with Foam Cut to Size or Foam Cushions to create a more professional finish.
Choosing Wadding Weight
Lighter wadding is useful where you only need a thin softening layer. Heavier wadding gives more loft and a fuller cushion finish. The live Polyester Wadding category includes fibre cushion wrap rolls in different widths and weights, including 2½oz, 4½oz, 8oz, 10½oz and 14oz options.
As a general guide:
Light wadding
Use for thin padding, light cushion wrap, small panels and softer edge finishing.
Medium wadding
Use for general cushion wrapping, chair pads, sofa cushions and furniture panels.
Heavy wadding
Use where you want a fuller, softer, more padded finish over foam or upholstery layers.
Upholstery Felts and Needled Felt
Upholstery felt is used where a firmer, more structured padding layer is needed. It is commonly used in traditional upholstery, furniture restoration, platform padding, spring insulation, seat build-ups and protective layers beneath fabric or foam.
The live Felts section includes needled felt platform padding, Feltex, firm needled felt, rag flock, skin wadding, soft layered felt and white cotton/wool felt products.
Needled Felt for Platform Padding
Needled felt is a practical material for seat platforms, spring cover layers, chair repairs and furniture restoration. It helps spread pressure, protect fabric layers and create a more even base for further upholstery work.
Use needled felt where the job needs structure rather than softness alone.
Felt for Traditional Upholstery
Felt is a useful material in traditional upholstery because it helps build shape, protect springs and create firm padding layers. It can be used alongside materials from the Fillings section, including Hair & Coir, where a more traditional build-up is required.
Felt for Furniture Repairs
For repair work, felt can be used to replace worn padding, improve comfort, protect the top cover and restore a cleaner shape to older furniture. It is especially useful on seats, arms, backs, footstools and sprung platforms.
When to Use Wadding Instead of Felt
Use polyester wadding when the job needs softness, loft and a smooth outer finish. It is ideal for wrapping foam cushions and softening the feel beneath fabric.
Use felt when the job needs firmer padding, protection, structure or traditional upholstery build-up. Felt is better suited to platforms, spring protection and furniture restoration.
Choose Polyester Wadding for:
Cushion wrap, foam wrapping, soft padding, smoother fabric finish, fuller cushion appearance and light upholstery layers.
Choose Felts for:
Platform padding, spring insulation, traditional upholstery, firm padding layers, furniture restoration and protective build-ups.
Related Foams and Fillings
Felts and wadding often work best when used alongside other upholstery materials. For a complete cushion or furniture repair job, you may also need Foam, Stockinette, Fillings or Fibre & Feather Cushions.
Foam gives the cushion its main support. Polyester wadding softens and rounds the foam. Stockinette helps the wrapped cushion slide into the cover. Fibre and feather cushions are better suited to soft backs, scatter cushions and comfort interiors. Traditional fillings such as hair and coir are better for restoration and classic upholstery methods.
Felts & Wadding for Trade and Domestic Upholstery
Livedale supplies felts and wadding for upholsterers, furniture repairers, soft furnishing makers, caravan and campervan seating projects, domestic cushion repairs and professional workrooms.
Whether you are replacing tired cushion wrap, rebuilding a chair seat, padding a headboard, restoring a footstool or adding a protective layer over springs, this category gives you the materials needed to build the job properly from the inside out.
Browse Polyester Wadding for cushion wrap and soft padding rolls, or choose Felts for needled felt, platform padding and traditional upholstery layers