Upholstery Education

[dearmosd]

I looked around for some details to the question: Do i need any special sewing machine to try and make my own seat covers?

All my seats are functional but I changed the color or my boats color scheme and now some of the seats could use the change (get rid of teal). So i figured since all seats are functional, i want to take seats apart and use the original covers as templets and make new seat covers with new color scheme.

I asked my mom since she likes to sew and other artsy stuff, but she insisted her machine wasnt strong enough for marine vinyl. But ask i did the search i see simple machine and commercial machine. Now im sure commercial machine would make it easier but what kind of specs should i look for in a machine that would be capable to handle marine vinyl or any special needle/thread to look for in my search for this route.

Time is on my side and if i could save enough $ doing it this way versus paying for it.....i would.

Any advice on machine/needle/thread ect.... i appreciate it iboat forum members

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Upholstery Education

i am currently searching for a machine myself. mom is right, you will need a heavy duty machine for sewing vinyl, leather, canvas. they are not cheap, i may end up just paying to have it done. i don't have more things to sew to make it cost effective DIY

 

[dearmosd]

Re: Upholstery Education

hmmm that sucks. I was hoping if a stable gun could puncture the vinyl then a strong needle could also.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Upholstery Education

I used a standard machine when I made mine.....As long as you use the right settings and go slow no problems.... pics of the work is in my thread below on page 17

 

[tomhath]

Re: Upholstery Education

hmmm that sucks. I was hoping if a stable gun could puncture the vinyl then a strong needle could also.

I'm not so sure you really need a commercial machine. The older metal machines were pretty rugged, people used them to make drapes and sew denim. New machines have plastic gears and probably wouldn't hold up, but a heavy old '60s Singer or Kenmore from a yard sale would probably handle the task. Worth a try if you can find one for $10.

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: Upholstery Education

i started my seats with the cheapests machine that Meijer's sells...did fine...even at one point where it was going through 7 layers of vinyl...again, it did work...may not work for very long...
i ended up getting a nice machine from my grandmother...it does way more than i'll ever use...

you can read up on my "how to" thread for my seats...link is in my signature

 

[dearmosd]

Re: Upholstery Education

well i may try, not so worried about breaking the machine but getting material and not using it. I can buy a couple sample pieces and try it out before ordering a larger roll.

Thanks

 

[dearmosd]

Re: Upholstery Education

I will explore the option of having someone do it. I just ran into a quick fix before i deployed and had a back to back seat fixed and jumper seat. Now the jumper seat was also being used as a step to go from the sundeck to inside the boat were it ripped in the exact some place as i had replaced, now the design could be different so the seam wasnt in the middle and the greatest stress put there, now after it happened i figured i should get a piece of firm foam or something so it still can be used as a step but the pad would spread the load over the whole cushion and hopefully save the seam.

Either was i will explore a whole interior upgrade and see what the damage is before trying to save some $ and try it as a DIY.

Now the boat isnt worth much as resale more worth to me to keep as long as it floats and is functional.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Upholstery Education

I DID use a household sewing machine to re-upholster the back seat of my 24 footer. I used a leather/upholstery needle. It did have a tough time going thru more than 2 layers of vinyl, but otherwise ok.

Here is Before & After photos

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Upholstery Education

Uhmm, Don't let Bubba Scare you. I use a 1970's Morse Heavy duty machine. NO walking foot. Paid $75. goes thru 8 layers of vinyl with no GRUNT. It's an ALL metal machine weighs 100 lbs and will do the job. Stitch length is NOT optimal. The INDUSTRIAL walking foots will cost you form 300 to 1200 bucks but they do use less stitches and will make it a bit easier. When you're done you can try and resell it. But you can do excellent work with the Morse type machine once you get the tension etc set correctly. Sphelps also did some GREAT work with his HouseHold Machine. Lots of great examples here on the forum

I did these.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Upholstery Education

This is the Morse 4300 that I referred to. I use #65 thread and #20 Schmetz Needles. Use silicone spray on the table and the vinyl and it will feet 6 layers of vinyl like it's not there. Having said all this...
I would own a Walking Foot Industrial machine IF I did this for a living. I don't so I Don't. You CAN acheive excellent results with the Morse. Just not PROFESSIONAL looking stitch lengths 6 SPI (Stitches Per Inch) is the best you'll get. Walking foot gives you about 3 SPI

MORSE FOTOMATIC III 4300 SEWING MACHINE IN NEAR MINT CONDITION - YouTube

 

[sphelps]

Re: Upholstery Education

Here is my homemade attempt with an old kenmore .

Definitely not professionally done but ok I guess for a rookie with not the best machine in the world . :facepalm:
Good luck with whatever way you decide to go with it !

 

[davidandnita]

Re: Upholstery Education

Hello I own and operate a small upholstery shop in Washington.
You should look for a Walking foot machine. Some good sewing machine retailers allow you to rent machines by the month.
Take pictures with a camera or video and then draw lines accross the seams Before you cut them apart. Then you can always go back and piece things together when you need to.
Take your time and it will turn out very good..

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: Upholstery Education

get you a yard or 2 of vinyl, and just give it a try. i've seen many sewing rookies on here turn out fabulous work, without going all crazy and wasting money on high dollar machines....you basic good quality machine will turn out some nice seats...maybe not 1000 seats...

 

[JDA1975]

Re: Upholstery Education

I did my own seats using an older singer household machine....

it did ok...not knowing any better, I thought it did great...did a few paid jobs using it as well before I decided that it just was not the right machine, at all

now I have a Consew 206-RB5

and a Singer 20" Long Arm

As an upholsterer, of course my advice is to have it professionally done, look around and get someone reputable, the overall job will be better, as a DIYer turned professional, I say go for it if you think you can do it...I know I sure did, and while I hide my first job under a blanket and cringe at the thought of anyone seeing it...it wasnt that bad...well maybe a little