30 DIY Mattress Ideas - No. 6 Sleeping Bag + Outdoor Cushion Mattress

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Important note: We are not advocating that you actually make these mattresses. They have not been tested and are not approved mattress kits. This is an exercise of the imagination for entertainment purposes only. Think of this as our private design notebook, now opened for everyone to see!

6 Sleeping Bag + Outdoor Cushion Mattress  

outdoor cushion DIY make your own mattress

(some links will take you to a product on Amazon.com) 

The key word here is OUTDOOR. Did you know that outdoor cushions are not required to add toxic flame retardants? The reason being, they are not required to pass the strict flame testing that indoor cushions do. That is why we feel this mattress idea may be a way to avoid bringing toxic chemicals into your home, and eventually into your body but you have to weigh this against the potential of added stain guard chemicals and the highly synthetic materials. You can always remove the covers if you do not trust what they contain.

Inspiration for this DIY Mattress Idea:

We happened to be lucky to score some high quality outdoor cushions on Facebook Marketplace for free. A local upholsterer was given the job of remaking a client's outdoor furniture cushions, using the "last season's" cushions for her template.  Since those cushions were practically brand new, with just a little sun fading on the covers, she thought they should be re-homed rather than go to a landfill and we were so grateful.

 

sleeping bag diy mattress idea
Three of the cushions were a perfect fit for an old sleeping bag we already had so this project cost us nothing, not even our time as it was assembled in just a few minutes!
This was also a no-sew project as the sleeping bag had a draw string so all we had to do was to cinch and tie it closed.  If the sleeping bag used does not have a draw string, it could simply be stitched closed by hand OR one could buy 2 sleeping bags and put on on then the other over it in the opposite direction making it easier to disassemble for cleaning.
For a larger mattress, here is a sleeping bag we thought would work well

Our sample:  We used 3 cushions: 2 measured 24" X 19" X 6 " thick and one measured 24" X 27" X 6 " thick, which were inserted into a standard adult single sized sleeping bag.  The finished sample mattress measured  "65 X 24" and 6 " thick. 

Hints: The cushions could also be wrapped in blankets or wool batting if the sizing is not a perfect fit for the sleeping bag.  Remember, the sleeping bag has to be wider than the outdoor sofa cushions as the thickness of the cushions needs to be considered.

How did our sample feel?  It felt great, very supportive and really just like a conventional foam mattress you would buy in a store. 

What we like about this mattress idea:  Better than an air mattress for sure!  We like that you can loosen the spacing of the cushions and use it as a foldable floor lounge as well. Great for kids who like to have sleepovers with a movie and popcorn. We liked that the sleeping bag could be easily zipped off for cleaning.

Negatives:  Not many negatives, this seems to be a great solution even if it is for an everyday mattress. It does make a shorter than normal mattress so that is a negative for a tall person but also you may be challenged to make everything fit on standard sized bed frames.  Our DIY bed frame kit enables you to adjust the length and width, so it would be great match for this sleeping bag mattress!

Future possibilities:  This idea made us think of a camping mattress solution where the outdoor cushions could be vacuum packed down into these mattress packing bags for easier packing.  

If you do not have luck like we did in finding free, good quality outdoor cushions, you can use our natural shredded latex inside the water resistant packing bags as well.

 

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