Modern Upholstery Paddings

Cotton

Upholstery cotton comes in rolls of about 27" wide, about 1" thick, about 1 yard per pound, 18 to 22 pounds per roll.

Upholstery cotton is generally available in three grades:

*Blend and description information taken from the Hoch & Selby supply catalog. Blends and descriptions from other sources may vary.

Polyester

Polyfoam

Latex Foam

Feathers/Down

Wool

We have worked in the following types of wool padding. Generally, when a client wants wool padding, they want natural upholstery paddings (otherwise known as green upholstery paddings). If this is the case, if you are using wool to pad the furniture, then you would use the wool pad as the under (base) padding, with the wool roll as the top padding.

Wool Pad

This wool pad is very dense, well suited for the base padding of the furniture frame, with the wool roll padding (see below) used over this.

Wool in the Roll

This wool roll padding is very light and fluffy. It needs an under (base) padding, such as the above wool pad. When we used this padding, after putting the wool pad down, we then put about 6 to 8 layers of this padding over the top. This needs a lot of layers to give it some bulk.

Loose Wool

This loose wool padding is suited for filling pillows and other uses that need an adjustable filling. This has a similar feel to "chopped-cotton". It is much denser than the wool in the roll. This needs no other filler because it has sufficient bulk by itself.

Paddings Used in Antiques and Older Furniture

Kapok

Tree Moss

Dried Grass

Hair

Straw

Tow

Tow (made from flax straw) has been used as padding in upholstery. The flax fibers are separated during processing so that the fibers are finer than hair.

Wood Wool (Excelsior)

Wood wool (wood shavings) has many uses, including the stuffing for teady bears. In the upholstery trade wood wool is called excelsior and was used as padding in many types of upholstered antiques.

Excelsior is also used wherever the padding needs fill bulk and yet be firm, such as filling leather ottomans (that have no wood frames, but rely entirely upon the filling for support. In this case, the excelsior fills most of the interior, but an inch or two at the top, which is usually cotton or foam.)