Description
Upholstery Stockinette for Foam Cushions and Cushion Cover Fitting
This upholstery stockinette roll is a stretchy poly-cotton netting used to wrap foam cushion interiors before they are fitted into their covers.
Stockinette creates a smooth protective sleeve around the cushion, helping reduce friction between the foam or wadding and the upholstery fabric.
This makes tight cushion covers easier to fit, helps protect the foam during handling and gives the finished cushion interior a cleaner, more professional assembly.
Available in small 2kg and large 5kg rolls, stockinette is a practical workshop material for upholsterers, cushion makers, furniture repairers and customers replacing their own foam cushions.
Product Specification
- Material: Stretchy poly-cotton stockinette
- Small roll: 2kg
- Large roll: 5kg
- Format: Stretchable tubular/netted cushion wrap
- Primary use: Wrapping foam cushion interiors
- Suitable for: Foam alone or foam wrapped with polyester wadding
- Application: Cushion fitting, protection and friction reduction
What Is Upholstery Stockinette Used For?
Stockinette is primarily used as a sleeve around foam cushions before the cushion interior is fitted into its fabric cover.
Foam naturally grips against many upholstery fabrics. This friction can make a close-fitting cushion cover difficult to pull into position and can cause the foam or wadding to catch while the cushion is being fitted.
Stockinette creates a smoother outer layer around the cushion interior.
Typical applications include:
- Sofa seat cushions
- Armchair cushions
- Back cushions
- Bench cushions
- Window seat cushions
- Bay window seating
- Dining chair pads
- Footstool cushions
- Caravan cushions
- Campervan seating
- Boat and cabin cushions
- Replacement foam interiors
- Bespoke upholstered cushions
Why Use Stockinette Around Foam Cushions?
Helps Cushion Covers Slide On More Easily
One of the main reasons upholsterers use stockinette is to reduce friction.
Bare foam can drag heavily against upholstery fabric, particularly where the cover is designed to fit tightly.
Pulling stockinette over the foam creates a smoother outer surface so the cushion can move into the cover more easily.
Helps Protect the Foam
Stockinette places a lightweight barrier between the foam and upholstery fabric.
This reduces direct rubbing against the foam while the cushion is being fitted, removed or repositioned.
Keeps Wrapped Cushion Interiors Neater
Where foam has already been wrapped with polyester wadding, stockinette can help contain the finished assembly.
This makes the wrapped cushion easier to handle and helps prevent loose fibre from catching while the cover is fitted.
Supports a Cleaner Professional Finish
Foam, wadding and stockinette each perform a different role.
Used together, they create a cushion interior that is easier to assemble and gives a smoother finished appearance inside the cover.
Using Stockinette with Polyester Wadding
Stockinette is commonly used together with Polyester Wadding, also known as Dacron or fibre cushion wrap.
Polyester wadding is bonded around the foam to:
- Soften firm foam edges
- Add loft
- Give the cushion a fuller appearance
- Create a smoother transition beneath the upholstery fabric
Stockinette is then fitted over the wrapped cushion.
This helps hold the assembly together and reduces friction when the cushion is pushed into its cover.
A typical cushion construction is:
Foam core → spray adhesive → polyester wadding → stockinette → cushion cover
The foam provides the support, the wadding provides softness and shape, and the stockinette helps with handling and cover fitting.
Bond Polyester Wadding Before Fitting Stockinette
When stockinette is being used over a Dacron-wrapped cushion, the polyester wadding should first be secured to the foam using Livedale Heavy Duty Spray Adhesive.
Bonding the wadding helps:
- Keep the fibre evenly positioned
- Prevent movement while fitting the cover
- Reduce folding or bunching
- Maintain consistent padding
- Keep cushion edges smoothly wrapped
Apply the adhesive lightly and evenly in accordance with the product instructions.
Avoid saturating or flattening the polyester fibre.
Once the wadding is secured, the stockinette can be pulled over the finished cushion interior.
Stockinette for Replacement Sofa Cushions
Stockinette is especially useful when replacing foam inside an existing sofa cushion cover.
A new foam interior can be difficult to insert because fresh upholstery foam has a relatively high-friction surface.
Using stockinette helps the replacement cushion move into position more cleanly.
For foam cut specifically to the size and shape of an existing cover, use Foam Cut to Size.
Livedale can produce:
- Rectangular cushions
- T-shaped cushions
- L-shaped cushions
- Curved cushions
- Window seats
- Bench cushions
- Caravan cushions
- Campervan seating
- Boat cushions
- Bespoke shapes
Stockinette can then be added as part of the finishing process.
Stockinette for Bench and Window Seat Cushions
Long foam cushions can be particularly difficult to fit into tightly made covers.
This is common with:
- Bench seating
- Window seats
- Bay window cushions
- Long sofa cushions
- Banquette seating
The larger surface area means there is more fabric and foam in contact with each other.
A stockinette sleeve reduces this friction and can make it considerably easier to position the foam correctly inside the cover.
Stockinette for Caravan and Campervan Cushions
Caravan and campervan cushions are often relatively close fitting and may include unusual shapes.
Stockinette can help with:
- Caravan seat cushions
- Campervan seats
- Rock-and-roll bed cushions
- Backrests
- Shaped cushions
- Bed conversion cushions
It helps the foam move into the cover more smoothly while also providing a protective layer between the upholstery fabric and cushion interior.
Stockinette for Boat and Cabin Cushions
Interior boat and cabin seating can also benefit from stockinette where conventional upholstery foam is fitted inside removable covers.
Suitable applications include:
- Cabin seating
- Interior berth cushions
- Back cushions
- Boat seat pads
- Removable interior cushions
For bespoke marine or cabin cushion shapes, use Foam Cut to Size to create the foam core before adding the required finishing layers.
Stockinette Directly Over Foam or Over Wadding?
Stockinette can be used in either configuration.
Stockinette Directly Over Foam
Use directly over foam when:
- Additional Dacron padding is not required
- The main objective is easier cover fitting
- The cushion already fits the cover correctly
- Minimal additional bulk is preferred
Stockinette Over Polyester Wadding
Use stockinette over wadding when:
- A softer cushion edge is required
- The foam needs a fuller appearance
- Dacron has been added around the cushion
- The wrapped interior needs to be contained during fitting
For most high-quality replacement cushions, foam, polyester wadding and stockinette can work together as a complete cushion finishing system.
Does Stockinette Add Cushion Softness?
Stockinette is primarily a wrapping and fitting material.
It should not be relied on to add significant cushioning, loft or softness.
For added softness around a foam cushion, use Polyester Wadding.
Stockinette then performs the separate job of containing the cushion and helping it slide into the cover.
Stockinette Is Not a Replacement for a Cushion Cover
Stockinette forms part of the cushion interior.
It is not intended to replace the finished upholstery cover.
The normal arrangement is:
Foam → optional polyester wadding → stockinette → finished fabric or vinyl cover
Each layer performs a different job within the completed cushion.
Small or Large Stockinette Roll?
Livedale supplies two roll sizes.
Small Stockinette Roll – 2kg
The smaller roll is useful for:
- Occasional cushion replacement
- Smaller upholstery workshops
- Individual furniture projects
- Lower-volume cushion work
Large Stockinette Roll – 5kg
The larger roll is better suited to:
- Professional upholstery workshops
- Regular cushion replacement
- Furniture repair businesses
- Cushion manufacturers
- Higher-volume trade use
The material itself performs the same job; the difference is the quantity supplied.
Stockinette for Upholsterers and Trade Workrooms
Stockinette is a straightforward material, but it is extremely useful in regular upholstery work.
Professional users commonly keep it available for:
- Replacement cushion interiors
- Sofa repairs
- Re-covering furniture
- New cushion manufacture
- Foam and Dacron wrapping
- Bench seating
- Caravan and campervan cushions
- Bespoke upholstered seating
The choice between small and large rolls allows occasional users and higher-volume workshops to select a quantity suited to the amount of cushion work they undertake.
Browse Stockinette for the dedicated category.
For cushion cores, use Foam Cut to Size.
For soft foam wrapping, browse Polyester Wadding.
For bonding wadding securely to foam, use Livedale Heavy Duty Spray Adhesive.
Registered trade customers receive preferential pricing. Log in to your account or register for a Livedale trade account.
For help choosing foam, wadding or stockinette for a cushion project, contact Livedale.