Technical Mexican Blankets for Seat Covers...I know...

Hey guys I’m a newbie. I know this is a question that has probably been posted about 100 times. But here it is anyway, I Have a 55’ Packard Panama using this as a father/ son and grandson project. We want to use Mexican Blankets as seat cover.

Whats the best way to install them? I don’t just want to lay them down and definitely don’t have the talent needed to sew them.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Here’s the car and the material!

Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

idk how youre going to use them without laying them down or sewing them... rear seat is easier i suppose, you can renove the seat and tie it behind and reinstall, no idea on the front

 

I can remove the front seat (4 bolts) and tie them or any glue them on the underside? Again I’m just not sure.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

That car deserves more Respect than that.

 

glue wont hold up, gotta remember you butt is bouncing up and down on every bump, you slide in and out, it has to be really well secured, i would google local seamstresses, there are some that are reasonably priced, if you do your own measurements theyll stitch em up cheap

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/47-coupe-build.1133545/

 

The other answer would be, Got to a Fabric store and buy some Elastic and have Grandma sew it in proper places to get it to anchor to the seat springs and make slips for the Front seat seat backs.

 

there are videos on youtube too if you build the courage to give it a try yourself

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/47-coupe-build.1133545/

 

I have a lot of respect for my Packards.... this car was purchased as a project that we could do all the fun stuff with its is full of terrible body work and zero interior. We have two other that are very well taken care of including full restorations.









55 Clipper
55 Patrican
55 Panama
(Packard)

 

Look at how new seat covers are held in place

Those cheapy nylon/polyester bungee cords
And Velcro

Don’t glue, staple or sew on the original fabric . Just in case you change your mind.

It should hold them in place pretty good and if you ever change your mind or need to clean them....... “ cough, cough, back seat..... teenager...... girls..... cough,cough” easy to remove and burn.... I mean wash !

 

Btw, great looking cars !!

 

Haha, thank you for the suggestions. The front and back seats are trashed. All the original fabric is ripped and covered in oil/grease.

Have you ever used hog rings?


55 Clipper
55 Patrican
55 Panama
(Packard)

 

Welcome! Looks like a fun project with the kids. VANDENPLAS has the plan. Look at some other seat covers. Think I'd stitch on some velcro with a speedy stitcher and you're good to go.

 

Hog rings will tear through the fabric when the material is stretched. Grab some canvas strap, and sew it to a few places on the edge of the blankey, thread around and over the seat, and tie up underneath it. Then get a length of plastic tube, (like 1/4" or 3/8"), which is the width of the seat, thread through some stout cord, then use it to keep the top and bottom sections from pulling out by tucking it inbetween where the base and seat meet (behind your arse).
Tie this cord around the back and under the seat.

 

How about lay the blanket on the front seat so it hangs over the back a few inches and fasten with safety pins, tuck it into the crack between the seat and back and stick a few short pieces of 1" diameter plastic pipe, or dowels in to hold them and pin the bottoms in place.

For the back you could do the same or for a neater job remove the cushions, wrap them and put them back in with the ends of the blankets neatly tucked under.

 

No!

 

Where are you located ? Not that you asked, but there are a set of seats listed on that auction site for an incredibly long time, that would look great in there, on a best offer situation. Also, one NOS front driver's Packard cover in a tasty red combination, of course you'd have to find the others ....

Yeah so ..... I've got nothing on Mexican blanket stuff, but good luck, in whatever ticks your bell.

 

i like the blanket, but cant you still buy cowboy type seat covers made of the same material but already have sewn corners and sewn on straps to attach them in place? like most every pickup i've ever owned?

 

Located in Indiana...


55 Clipper
55 Patrican
55 Panama
(Packard)

 

Maybe try these twisty upholstery pins? If you've got enough existing material to tack to.

https://www.amazon.com/Twisty-Pins-...ocphy=9032265&hvtargid=pla-301731635749&psc=1

We used them on a couch cover with decent results.

 

yep! Same as my 72 Ford Camper Special

 

I like that idea!


55 Clipper
55 Patrican
55 Panama
(Packard)

 

A buddy's wife sewed material into sort of a rectangle bag with a flap... [flap lays on the base]
she sewed the corners to make both top and base fit my narrowed 6" baby ranger bench seat...
she sewed in some paracord to tie it off to the back and the under side of the base...
to install, I lowered it down over the top, tied down the back, and the seat base section to the seat framework …
thanks weezie !

 

I’ve used hog rings in the past replacing seat covers at jag when I worked there

They are easy to use if you have the correct hog ring pliers ( just a plier with a groove the hog ring fits in so it squishes round)

I don’t remember if the area that got the rings was reinforced or not.

Cheap enough to buy I see kits at princess auto ( like a Canadian version of harbour freight)
$15 bucks for something like 1500 hog rings and a plier.
Worth a shot !

 

Take the seats out of the car and do the blankets like they were upholstery material, cut them or pull them for the best fit and then use upholstery hog rings to keep them in place.

This is the only shot I have that you can see some of the Tijuana blankets in my olds sedan, I recently removed them after many years and am in the process of installing a real interior. HRP

 

I had blankets in my Caddy. They were folded over the corners neatly with huge safety pins holding then together and the hard back trim covers installed on the back of the seats.

 

I like the blanket to be removable, you never know when you're gonna need it. That's the only reason I had one in my A pickup, and we did use it a few times. With no heater, hell, no windows, it can get mighty cold in there.

 

No and no,not one of the things I think is good too do. It's like buying fake Tiger skin slipover covers from Western Auto,but they don't have flea.

 

I did the same thing as HRP in my 61 Brookwood but put vinyl around the bottom and on the back. Drivers side of the front seat started showing wear after a few years. Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

What’s the best place to purchase blankets that have good quality???


55 Clipper
55 Patrican
55 Panama
(Packard)

 

In Mexico, they just call them blankets...