Technical The upholstery thread to end all threads

The cotton if stuffed correctly will make a very full rounded looking pleat
I always use 1/2” scrim foam and I don’t glue the vinyl to the scrim
I just sew it
Wider pleats come out a little flat though
Here’s some of the tuck pleated panels that are in my coupe

 

im cutting on the black line and sewing the yellow. 2 1/2" wide pleat to start. finishing with 2" wide after sewn back together.

f-head, the material shop i have been visiting said the 1/4" scrim is for the door panels and the 1/2" is for seats. 1/4" so the door handles clear

 

I still use 1/2” scrim on the door panels
Haven’t had any problem on handle clearance
1/4” just looks too flat to me

 

ill give the 1/2" a try for the door panel if the cotton does not work out. im interested to see how the cotton stayes inside the pleats when I cut for the handles to attach

 

why does the thread seem to split as it's going through the needle into the fabric?

 

Needle might be worn out
The thread can wear the hole in the needle causing part of the thread to catch on the needle
Otherwise don’t know

 

I tried to get fancy with a French seam. this is how it turned out.

 

Here’s a thread on tuck and roll by gillgonzalez a few years ago. Outstanding! Beats cutting the strips. It’s the way I’ve done it for many years using 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 inch foam.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tucks-rolls-and-pleats-a-step-by-step.882197/

 

Many of you may not know that there is a social forum on UPHOLSTERY. It hasn’t been active in a long time, but has a wealth of knowledge on it, especially the early posts on pages 14-16. Check it out.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/upholstery.153/?page=1

 

I found some youtube videos by the lucky needle. seems pretty informative. I saw the way he is doing tuck and roll so im going to try it his way. he gives all the measurements to use also

 

I just get an error page..


....

 

Try this, but I get there the original way also…
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...nd-rolls-and-pleats-and-a-small-panel.372599/

 

Wondering if anyone that has switched to a servo motor drive would compare the feel and controllability as compared to a regular clutch. I'm asking because of ankle problems and general loss of feel to "feather" speed.

 

That goes to tucks and rolls thread and the link in that thread for the social media page gives the Error message also. When I search for social media group they list nothing for upholst.ery

 

Upholstery Social Forum is the second to the last under the "art" category.

 

You have to be signed up to a social goup to access it. The links work if you are a member of that group.

 

I put a servo motor on my Consew
I love it
So controllable, and I can drive along in granny gear

 

If you click on the little square thing on the far right by "private" ; it should ask you to join group.

But; yeah, the social groups don't seem to be used much. Lot of good info in the upholstery group.

 

That sounds promising. I noticed the links in social forum to the "good" conversion kits seem to go to out of stock or error pages.

Anyone have any advise on something to purchase.

There is a Consew unit on Amazon; twice as much as the weird Chinese branded things; but looks like a better idea.

 

I think my servo motor and speed control setup was under 200$ on evilbay.

 

When I move the cursor over the little square it reads "RSS" and when I click on it it says
"<errors>
<error>
<![CDATA[ The requested page is unrepresentable as RSS. ]]>
</error>
</errors>"
I give up trying anymore

 

Maybe try this; I just joined several with no problem (other than spending time reading a bunch of interesting posts).

Here is a sample of how one join-up went.

Go to Social Forums.

Click on the main category; like "CUSTOMS"



Click on the group; like like "MOONGLOW"



Click on "social forum tools"



Click on "join social forum"



And you should end up in the posts.

 

I wonder if it's just that particular model no longer made as it was years ago that I bought mine. Reliable still makes servo replacement motors that are inexpensive.
https://reliablecorporation.com/products/sewquiet-6050sm-220v-servomotor?currency=USD&variant=30732326470&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&stkn=d4fbd6cbae1e&cmp_id=210679989

 

I appreciate all that you have posted trying to get me where I can join the group, but it just doesn't work for me and I have given up on making any further attempts.

 

Thanks for the link; it looks like a good machine; but the 110v model is "sold out".

 

I put one on my Consew because the old clutch motor was too fast, it was set up for sewing sails for boats. I had to redrill my table to mount it but otherwise it went on fine, but even at the slowest setting on the dial, I still felt like it was a little fast. So I bought the smallest pulley I could find that would fit the motor, to slow it down even more.

I've seen kits that have like an idler pulley with two different diameters, that slows it even more, and then there's two belts between the motor and machine instead of 1. If a guy had the money to spend, I think that'd be the way to go, along with the servo motor. You can always crank the speed up if it's too slow, but I never felt like it was.

The motor setup I bought was the
Consew CSM550-1 Sewing Machine Servo Motor

Bought it off of eBay new, was about $163 all-in. (looks like they're about $200 now)

More practice is likely needed by me more than an even slower motor setup. But the servo does make it nicer to work with.

 

There are a few ways to do tuck and roll. I am learning the stuffed style and pleated then fold and sow. Here are how different styles I am learning

 

if I could get thise reverse to stop fraying the thread i will be trying the fold and sew method also

 

I had the needle inserted 180° off. I spun it around and rethreaded it and I got reverse again without fraying the thread.

I feel I got to know how the knobs and dials effect the outcome. I think the stitch length is good and bobbin tension as well as the top thread tension is set.

go one way and see the results. go the other way and see what it does. I counted the number of clicks for the stitch length and went for the middle

 

Door panels I just finished for the ‘57 Ford Courier wagon I did the seats for a while back.