Prices checked August 2026.
Most cushions with a dog on them are photo prints: your picture pressed onto polyester, sharp for a few months, cracked and faded after a year of sofa life. This guide covers the other kind, where your pet's portrait is designed from your photo and embroidered into the fabric, and how to choose between our velvet and canvas versions, including when a cushion is the right memorial keepsake.
A personalised pet cushion from Lucy & Lola carries your own dog or cat, designed from your photo and embroidered, not printed. The velvet cushion is £45, the tailored canvas piped cover is £40 (insert £5 extra) with space for a name underneath, and both are stitched in our Cambridge studio within 2 to 3 weeks. You approve the portrait with unlimited revisions before anything is made.
Key takeaways
- Embroidered cushions outlast photo printed ones, because thread cannot crack or peel.
- Velvet (£45) is the soft, warm classic; canvas piped (£40 cover) is crisper and more tailored.
- The canvas cover has space for a name or year under the portrait.
- Every portrait is designed from your photo and approved with unlimited revisions.
- Multi pet designs put up to four pets on one cushion.
- As a memorial keepsake, old photos work fine, and we handle these orders with care.
- Made to order in 2 to 3 weeks, shown at checkout, shipped worldwide.
What makes an embroidered cushion different from a photo cushion?
A photo printed cushion reproduces your picture exactly, background and all, for £15 to £20. If that is what you want, buy one honestly; it is the right product for reproducing a specific photograph. The trade offs are how it ages and how it reads: print on fabric cracks and fades with sofa friction and washing, and a photo cushion always looks like merchandise.
An embroidered cushion is a different object. Our designers take your photo and create a portrait from it, then the design is digitised into a thread pattern with colours matched shade by shade to the coat. The result is stitched into the fabric, so there is no printed layer to fail, and it reads as a made thing rather than a printed one. People who see one in a living room tend to ask where it came from, which is most of the fun of owning it. The full comparison is in embroidered vs printed pet portraits.
Velvet or canvas: which cushion should I choose?
| Velvet cushion, £45 | Canvas piped cushion, £40 cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Feel | Soft, warm, sinks into the sofa | Crisp, tailored, holds its shape |
| Look | Cosy classic with pom pom corners | Clean piped edges, more formal |
| Personalisation | The portrait | The portrait plus space for a name or year underneath |
| Best for | Living rooms, snugs, gifts that should feel like a hug | Names and dates, memorial keepsakes, smarter interiors |
| Note | Insert is £5 extra if you need one |
Both carry the same portrait quality and both are made to order in our Cambridge studio. If you are choosing for someone else and genuinely cannot decide, the velvet is the safer gift; the canvas is the one to pick when the name or a year matters, which is why it is our most chosen memorial cushion. Prices and what they include are broken down in our cost guide.
Yes, on the canvas piped cushion, which has space for a name or a year stitched under the portrait. Most people add just the name; for memorial cushions, many add the years. The velvet cushion carries the portrait alone.
How does my pet get onto the cushion?
You send your favourite photo when you order. We review every photo before design work starts, and we will tell you honestly if it will not produce a good portrait; only about 1 in 25 need a retake. Our designers create the portrait, you approve it by email with unlimited revisions (around 7 in 10 designs are approved with no changes), and then it is stitched onto the cushion with thread colours matched to the coat. The whole thing takes 2 to 3 weeks, with the current lead time always shown at checkout.
The best photos are taken in natural light, at your pet's eye level, from about 60cm away, with the face sharp and the character showing. Our guides to photographing your dog and taking the perfect photo of your cat make it easy.
A real customer photo and the portrait designed from it. You approve the design before anything is stitched.
Is a cushion a good pet memorial gift?
Often it is the right one, and it is worth saying why. A memorial garment is worn out into the world; a cushion stays home, on the sofa where the pet used to be, and it is something to actually hold. For a lot of grieving owners that physicality matters more than anything we could say about thread. Old photos work fine, including phone pictures of a pet who died years ago, and our designers treat these orders with particular care.
The canvas piped cushion with the name and years underneath is the most chosen memorial option. If you are buying for someone else who is grieving, go gently and read our pet memorial keepsakes page first; there is no deadline on a gift like this, and later is often kinder than sooner.
What about a cushion as a Christmas or birthday gift?
Cushions are the gift for the person whose pet already runs the household: the dog with the spot on the sofa, the cat who owns the good armchair. It makes the arrangement official. It also suits the person who would not wear a portrait garment but will happily style one into a room. For gift buyers, everything is orderable as a surprise: use your own photo of their pet, the proof comes to your email, and it ships to your address.
Made to order takes 2 to 3 weeks, so for Christmas the safe window closes in late November, with the exact cutoff shown at checkout and the full timeline in our Christmas order deadlines guide. Left it too late? A gift card arrives instantly by email. More gift thinking in thoughtful gifts for pet lovers.
Before you order any personalised cushion, check:
- Is the design stitched or printed? Sofa friction destroys print; thread shrugs it off.
- Will you approve the portrait before it is made, with revisions if needed?
- Is it their actual pet designed from a photo, or a generic breed graphic?
- If it is a memorial, can a name and years be added? (Ours can, on the canvas.)
- Does the lead time fit? Ours is 2 to 3 weeks, shown at checkout.
Two pets on one cushion? Multi pet designs fit up to four pets, so the dog and the cat can share the sofa on fabric the way they refuse to in life. Send the best individual photo of each pet.
Their spot on the sofa, made official
Send us your favourite photo, approve the portrait with unlimited revisions, and we will stitch it onto a velvet or canvas cushion in our Cambridge studio.
Shop personalised pet cushionsFrequently asked questions
How much does a personalised pet cushion cost?
The velvet cushion is £45 and the canvas piped cushion is £40 for the cover, with the insert £5 extra. Both include the portrait designed from your photo, unlimited revisions and the stitching, with no separate design fee.
Is the cushion printed or embroidered?
Embroidered. The portrait is designed from your photo, digitised into a thread pattern and stitched into the fabric, so it cannot crack, fade or peel the way photo printed cushions do with sofa use.
Can I add my pet's name to the cushion?
Yes, the canvas piped cushion has space for a name or a year stitched under the portrait. For memorial cushions, many customers add the years. The velvet cushion carries the portrait alone.
Do pet memorial cushions work from old photos?
Yes. Old photos work fine, including phone pictures of a pet who died years ago. We review every photo before design work starts and will say honestly if it will not produce a good portrait, and we treat memorial orders with particular care.
Can two pets go on one cushion?
Yes, multi pet designs fit up to four pets on one cushion. Send the best individual photo of each pet rather than a group shot, so every face comes out right.
How long does a personalised cushion take?
Usually 2 to 3 weeks from order to delivery, depending on studio capacity, with the current lead time shown at checkout. You approve the portrait proof by email before anything is stitched.
Can I order one as a surprise gift?
Yes. Use your own photo of their pet, approve the design proof from your email with unlimited revisions, and it ships to your address. About half of gift orders work exactly this way.
Cat cushions too, or just dogs?
Cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, hamsters, birds and reptiles. If you can photograph the animal clearly, our designers can create the portrait, whiskers and attitude included.
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