Why a real kilim cushion cover costs more

A handwoven kilim cushion can be had for around £20 on the high street, and it’s worth knowing exactly what the difference is.

Those are woven as cushion fabric — made on a handloom, by the metre, in a kilim pattern, then cut and sewn into covers. Usually a wool-cotton blend, often around 85/15 or 45/55, with a polyester insert included.

Ours are cut from actual kilims. The face is pure wool, flatwoven by hand, roughly 20mm thick and around 0.5kg per cover — noticeably heavier and denser than a standard scatter cushion. The back is cotton-jute, chosen because it’s tough enough to match the front rather than just cheap enough to hide. Inside, the seams are reinforced with interlocking stitching so the cover holds its shape under the weight of a wool face.

The practical difference is lifespan and feel. A blended handloom cushion is a soft furnishing. A kilim cover is a piece of woven rug you can sit against, and it wears the way a rug wears — slowly.

The other difference is that there is exactly one of each. Every cover on this page is cut from its own kilim, so the pattern, the colour balance and the way the motifs fall are particular to that piece. When it sells, it’s gone.

What size do you need?

Allow a little variation on any dimension. Each cover is cut and sewn by hand from a woven piece, so sizes run close rather than exact.

What cushion insert do I need?

These are covers only — the filling isn’t included, which means you get to choose it. The sizing is where most people go wrong.

Buy an insert one size up from the cover. A 45×45 cover fitted with a 45×45 pad looks flat and creased at the corners. Fit it with a 50×50 and it fills out properly.

Feather or hollowfibre? Feather gives a soft, sink-in shape that you plump and re-shape — the look you see in interiors photography. Hollowfibre holds a firmer, squarer shape, needs no maintenance, and suits anyone with allergies. Wool faces are heavy, so a firmer insert helps a 50×50 keep its structure.

 What is a kilim?

A kilim is a flatweave. There’s no pile and no knots — the pattern is made by the weft threads themselves passing over and under the warp, which is why a kilim is thinner than a knotted rug and why the pattern reads on both sides.

The geometry comes from the technique. To make a clean edge between two colours, the weaver turns each coloured thread back around the same warp, which leaves a small vertical slit. That constraint is what produces the stepped diamonds, zigzags, hooks and banded motifs that kilim is known for. Curves are hard; angles are natural.

Our covers are made in the Turkish kilim tradition — the technique, the flatweave structure and the design vocabulary — and are handwoven in Pakistan by weavers working in that tradition.

 Where to use them

Sofas and armchairs. 45×45 is the workhorse. Mix two or three patterns from the same colour family rather than matching exactly.

Beds. 50×50 at the back, 45×45 in front, a 30×50 lumbar at the centre.

Floor cushions. A 50×50 wool cover over a firm insert makes a genuine floor cushion. The wool face takes the wear that a cotton cover wouldn’t.

Window seats and benches. The 30×50 is the right shape, and the weight of the wool keeps it in place.

Outdoors. Kilim is a tough, weather-tolerant weave, which is why these work on garden furniture and in conservatories. Bring them in overnight and in wet weather — wool sheds a light shower but shouldn’t be left soaking.

Pair them with a matching kilim rug

Our cushion covers and our kilim rugs come from the same weaving tradition and the same palette, so they sit together without looking like a set bought off one shelf.

The easy approach: pick the rug first, then choose two or three cushions that pull out its secondary colours rather than its dominant one. If the rug is largely terracotta with blue detailing, take the blue into the cushions.

Looking after them

Spot clean with a damp cloth and a little mild wool detergent, working with the weave rather than against it. Don’t machine wash — wool felts and shrinks, and the cotton-jute back shrinks at a different rate.

Air them outdoors in the shade every few months rather than washing. Vacuum on low suction with the brush head if dust settles in the weave. Keep them out of constant direct sunlight, which will soften the colours over a few years.

For anything substantial, a specialist rug or textile cleaner will handle a kilim cover properly.

Free UK delivery and returns

Delivery is free anywhere in the UK, and returns are free too. We’re based in London and send to your door.

Because each cover is cut from its own kilim, what you see is what there is — once a piece sells it isn’t restocked. If you’re choosing between two, that’s worth bearing in mind.

EU delivery is available, with postage and any customs duties shown at checkout.

Find your kilim cushion cover before it’s gone

Every kilim cushion cover here is cut from its own handwoven kilim — pure wool, in 45x45cm, 50x50cm and 30x50cm, and only one of each. Nothing is restocked, so the cover you’re looking at now is the only one of that pattern we’ll ever have.

• One of a kind — a single piece of every design, never repeated
• A real kilim, not a kilim print — pure wool face, cut from a handwoven rug
• Three sizes — sofa, bed and lumbar
• Free UK delivery and free returns — sent from London
• Secure checkout and independently verified customer reviews

Styling a whole room? Choose your kilim rug first, then pick cushion covers that echo its secondary colours.