Upholstery, a beginners journy

That candy striped seat looked the same. I've got lots of foam scraps and carved wedges out of scraps to rough fill the divets. Then 1/2" sew foam on the fabric should hide it all.

 

Man everything always shows up at once.
Sewing machine parts and the rest of my materials all showed up today
I've been playing with the sewing machine and I've decided that its to fast for me.

So I ordered parts and put another jack shaft in it to slow it down
Before and after pics

 

OK, I'm dumber than I look. You fellas are starting to lose me with this scrim foam/pleat talk. Pics please, when you can. Thanks.
Cool move on the machine Thommy, love it.

 

Scrim foam is 1/2 or 1/4 inch foam with a backing fabric already attached as a backing on one side used for sewing pleated (quilted) panels.

 

Brer,
Ask and ye shall receive!
I "cheated" and bought pre-pleated material. They used 1/2 sew foam and ran it through a sewing machine to make the pleats, see the green material pic.

The next one is 1/4" sew foam, just thinner.

I'm doing computer maintanence tonight, so I might as well add some pics.

 

Thommy have you ever been to Colorado auto trim? i believe its on Meade street in denver. I will have to look for the exact address. they have lots of old stock materials and so on. Also i have used B&D on broadway in denver also.

 

Nope Binger,
Materials are already here. No turning back now

I'm really liking the gear reduction on the machine. very controllable and plenty of power.

Victory is mine (for now)

I got my first real piece finished and installed. The passengers kick panel.

I tried a 3/8" binding on the carpet piece, but it was tough to fold the material and hit both pieces.
1/2" aint to bad, and I actually got it straight LOL

 

Wow! Looking good!

 

Looking great! I am an amateur at best with upholstery and am glad to have found this thread. Its nice to see some of the "old school" that are willing to help out with years of experience. I am about ready to start an OT '68 chev truck and this gives me inspiration! I only hope I can do as well as you have so far.

 

Thanks guys for the lesson. Looking good!

 

Thanks guys

the door panels are coming along! I just finished the passengers side.

 

Looking good Thommy. Simple & clean. Keep going. Jack

 

looking good thommy,

 

Thanks for the encouragement! :beer:

I got a bench seat rebuild kit, so I've started working on that.

Question: would you use the dacron batting on top of the foam, even with the pleated (1/2" sew foam) material?
Is there even such a thing as to much padding? LOL

The bottom of the seat is pictured first. I think I can do this one no problem.

The backrest is the next picture. I will probably have to get more batting to smooth/fill the top of the backrest.

 

I personally would not use it. But there are many that do. It can help a novice to fill voids etc. It tends to ball up due to the way its made. Thick and thin ,I don't like the looks esp. under plain parts. Cotton was a better product in my opinion. I still use cotton on some , will not use Dacron ..Jack

 

Dacron is used a lot in furniture uph. Not much in automotive. It won't hurt to use it though. Put it on top of the foam. Lightly glued down to the foam would be a good idea so it can't shift around with use. Never know how that rear seat will get used when it's all pretty!

 

I have a clean up question.What would you use on black naugahide to clean up what might be traces of glue? Its in the left shoulder area of my model A. I've tried wd40 and goof-off with little results.

Pearl

 

Mineral spirits.

 

Cool, thanks guys. I think I'll try to use it.

DOH! best laid plans......

It looks like my material is not wide enough to cover the back seat in 1 piece.
I can stretch it out a bit wider, but the pleats go kinda flat.

hmmm, would I better off with a piece sewn in the middle, or 2 smaller ones on the sides to make it wider?

I was originally thinking of having the entire seating area green, to better match Jake's simplified candy stripe example.

Also, when making the pattern, where would you plan for the skirts to meet the face (how "tight" would the face be) on the foam.

Thanks for all the help.

 

I'm about to start on the back seat.
I think I've figured out what I want to do to make the green material wider.
I'm going to add a strip of unpleated green to the outside. It would blend better into the side panels IMHO



I do have a few questions for the experts

1) how "tight" do you make the pattern? Like how much smaller would you make the face compared to the foam on the frame, 1/4" or 1/2" per side?

2) Can I hog ring the cover directly to the frame, or should I try to put listing wires along the bottom? I've seen both. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

Oh, and here are the door panels installed. They actually line up!

 

the panels are lookin good

 

Looks good. BeachbumJim told me to make the seat tops the same size as the foam then sew the facings to that so you will lose 1/2" for seam allowance and that should make them pretty tight.

 

Panels look nice. K13 is correct with allowances. I would use listings and wire on the bottom edges. Looks professional and keeps every thing even.

 

When you first ask about extending the cover I wrote a pretty detailed summary, then punched post and it disappeared I just didn't have the umph to write it again. Think you got it figured tho. Jack

 

Don't you hate that Jack?

I think I've got it, thanks for the clarification guys!


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Keep up the good work Thommy!!!! Looking Great!

 

Thanks,

But I've run into a bit of a problem.
When I cut the pre pleated material, the stitching comes apart.
How can I secure the seams?


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Maybe mark your edges and sew across the end of the threads. Hope they aren't chain stitch or you might end up with plain material! I have used a tiny touch of super glue on problem stitches , but test it on a scrap, Some cloths smoke like crazy. Or a dab of contact cement or tie the thread ends or? Having fun yet Thommy? Problems arise no matter how much experience you have.. Jack

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Trimming!!!