Keyair

Thanks Peeps. I'm not an attention seeker, I was just seeking comment and constructive criticism. Over on the Garage Journal, someone comments that I should tighten up the stitch for the panel joins, as it will pull less and tighten the joint. Valid point that I will take onboard.

No comments? Ok, well I found some thread that matches the leather better for the joint stitch.. will press on.

For the record... This is the OEM, soggy, saggy, velour monster that was in the Airstream from new, and the Black RR seat as I got it from the Junkyard!

I am a happy boy! I learned a lot, and made some mistakes, but here is my first EVER attempt at a seat cover! Copied the shapes of individual pieces onto the leather, cut them out and glued to the foam. After doing the final cutting to size, which was kinda tricky as the original pieces were stretched and distorted somewhat, I joined the main panels. Then I added the side panels, and did a test fit on the foam. Added the rear panel, which was tricky due to the fact the leather and foam was much thicker than the original velour part, but its ok. I then decide to add a reinforcing stitch to the seam... Not perfect, but I am happy. Sewed on the listings, and J clips, then test fitted it. Here it is as it sits tonight, warts and all. Needs a little steam, and to have the loose ends stretched and clipped still. Plan to steam it a little tomorrow to ease some of the wrinkles out... Here is the mistakes I made and what I learned: 1/ I used 1/2" scrim for the face and bolster, and 1/4" for the sides and front. Original panels were 3/8 on leather and less on fabric and vinyl. Should have used 1/4" for it all, as the thicker foam was less manageable. 2/ Copied the original panels exactly, including the original selvage, which was 3/8" on the leather, 1/4" on the other materials. It was tough with the leather and foam I used to hold the lines. I should have, and will allow 1/2 next time. 3/ Should have used a dark brown thread to join panels together. The joint thread is visible in some areas. 4/ #1 and #2 contributed to a less than perfect seam, which made following the joint tricky and I wander a little on the contrast stitch. Man, its hard work... my hand and forearms are tired tonight, but I am pretty pleased. The Backrest is next!

Went to my local Upholstery place on Friday, A1 Foam and Fabric is Santa Ana. Got zips, scrim foam(1/4" and 1/2"), Hi Temp Glue. J clips, roll of listing and a roll of basting material. Feeling confident, I moved forward... I marked joints and seams, took notes and got out the unpicker! I guess there is no turning back now...

Quick update with my progress. Bought the tandy leather markers, but got silver instead of white by mistake, but they work! Not managed to get to the local upholstery store this week as I planned, but the list gets longer for when I do! So, I removed the backrest from the Range Rover seat, and stripped the seat base cover, and what I found was interesting. The front and sides are vinyl, and the very back of the base is a velour material. Both are backed with foam scrim, which is disintegrating to dust. The seat top is leather, but is pleated, and has a thicker foam scrim attached. There are listings, with a steel insert on the center cross seat, and around the pull down, and the listing was weak/rotted, and the seat cover came off without the metal. I. The cover was secured to the steel seat frame by plastic J strips, that were brittle and or broken and will need to be replaced. A/ looks like I have to have a seam across the seat to have the listing pull down.. B/ I was toying with the idea of doing diamond stitched seat panels, but am concerned about it looking "Too Busy", or wear/dirt on the stitching... Thoughts? So, I will need to buy some materials to move this forward. 1/ Some foam scrim to glue to the leather ... what type and thickness, and should I do thicker for the center panel? 2/ I need some "Listing material" and also something to bridge/reinforce the french seams... what should I get? 3/ New J strip to attach the new cover to the seat fame.

Thanks Tholek! My, you are up late! This has been my study course few the last few months...

Thanks for the advice, and I understand why you said this, but I am going to do it myself. To clarify, I am not your average Joe, have a solid background, and have been making stuff and prototyping for decades. This is the type of thing I did every day as an Automotive Industrial Sculptor, in multiple Companies, and Countries across the world, before I retired... http://www.carbodydesign.com/gallery/2016/04/interior-design-process-at-buick-the-role-of-clay-sculpting/2/ The clay interiors were often covered with simulated leather grain material which I/we applied and glued in place, with simulated stitching if needed. Like this one... Under the various surface finishes, is clay, just like the first link, and it was part of my job to achieve the deception... http://www.auto-types.com/news-gallery-3/the-clay-model-of-the-jaguar-cx-16-8714.html I can do woodwork, veneer work, plastic, fiberglass, sheet metal, fabrication, welding, paint, polish, and powdercoat. I have been around trimmers and seen and admired their work. So far I have done several roof liners(admittedly strip, copy, and recover), several sets of sunvisors, a steering wheel, shift, and gear gaiters... This retrim project is just a natural progression...

Sizes: I could unpick the original cushions, of coarse, but as they are loose, ie, not fixed to the base structure, I don't think the actual finished size is critical if I am 1/2" or 10mm oversize! I think I will just take the measurements off these cushions and leave them intact. Not sure if what I wrote was clear... The sliding about I am talking about is the cushion on its structure... remember this is a motorhome, and people maybe sitting on these as its going down the road, or sleeping on them when they are in bed position. I don't want the base cushion slipping out of position, or the backrests falling over. The original cushions had hook Velcro on the base and backrest, so I am wondering if I add some "Tongues" or flap tabs with Velcro to keep them in place... Pic of original setup below. As far as the foam goes, I am not sure what "Upholstery Foam" is over here in the USA... maybe someone can chime in with advice of weight or firmness... remember the base is wood and these cushions are either seating or a bed... Having looked at the original cushions today, I note there are no zips or openings in them. I assume I should plan a zip into one of the depth panels? What type of zip is suitable?? So much to learn!!!!

I think I will remake these cushions completely.... the foam feels too soft. It is about 4 or 5" thick. So, here are my newbie questions... 1/ What foam would you all advise to use or a 2 layer combo of foams? 2/ As I plan to remake these with new foam, and leather, should I use leather for the underside, or something else... If I use leather I am worried they will slide around!

I spent some time photographing the Sofa and Dinette in the Motorhome, to get some feedback on construction. This is the sofa... The backrest flips to make a bed like this... The underside of the sofa looks like this... Looks to have springing, foam and a steel frame. The backside of the backrest is just folded together and tack-stripped onto the wooden backrest. I am unsure how to do this so, I think I will tackle the Dinette cushions first! The dinette is simple... two facing couches with a a pair of simple cushions each side. The base cushion has a curved face. For some reason the pic I took of it assembled didnt make it! Here are the cushions..

Any comment on my question above? Also, what do you all use to mark the faces of leather that will come off?

Good info, so at least I know it not just me, or a my machine! I did get it to sew the 210 reasonably consistently, but getting the tension right is tricky! If I reverse to lock the stitch, its a mess.

Question: Is the any reason why I can't use 207/210 thickness thread on this machine? I like the way the thicker thread looks, and it seems to work ok sometimes, as long as I dont reverse!

Thanks Lois! Also, is there advice for leather direction? I know and feel leather has different stretch, and dont know if that is a factor for this type of work...