If you’re purchasing foam sheets for the first time, you may be wondering how to cut upholstery foam. We have a mix of advanced machinery to cut our foam for us, however, these industrial giants aren’t exactly fit for home use. Luckily, with a bit of patience, know-how and the right equipment you can easily learn how to cut upholstery foam at home.
What You Need to Cut Upholstery Foam
There are various tools available online for cutting upholstery foam. These range from regular household tools to advanced professional cutting equipment.
By far the most common household tool is a serrated knife. This is the same type of knife that you would use to cut bread so many of us will have one of these at home. If you happen to have an electric serrated knife, this will allow you to cut upholstery foam more easily.
Serrated blades are designed to saw materials as opposed to slicing them. The serrated edge helps to prevent the blade from slipping and is the best type of blade to cut upholstery foam with. With that said, as with handling any knife, you should always be mindful and take extra caution. Accidentally cutting yourself with a serrated edge can be particularly nasty so be wary of those fingers.
If you’re cutting upholstery foam to a template, you should have something to plot out the shape with; a marker pen will do fine. If you intended to work with very light fabrics to cover your foam, be sure to not make your pen lines too bold.
As well as a marker pen, you’ll also need a ruler to take measurements and draw straight lines across your upholstery foam.
Time to Cut Upholstery Foam
Place your foam on a flat surface and use the marker pen and ruler to plot out where you’ll be cutting. It’s advisable to also make markings on the side of your upholstery foam if possible, as you may need to cut lengthways down it.
Take your serrated blade and place your upholstery foam upright. Work the blade along the tracing as accurately as possible, cutting from top to bottom. Once again this will be much quicker and likely more accurate using an electric knife.
After you’ve cut out your template, you can use your knife to go back over certain edges to properly shape the upholstery foam. An electric knife will allow you to sculpt foam more easily and create features such as rounded edges for cushion foam.
How to Cut Upholstery Foam - Various Foam Grades
We stock a wide variety of foam grades here at upholstery foam sheets. Due to the unique structure of each, some may feel different and be easier to cut than others. We stock everything from luxury high-density foam for seating to acoustic foam for sound treatment purposes. In fact, we currently stock 16 unique types of foam. Take a look at the variety we have on our upholstery foam sheets page.