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May 26, 2012 15:50:49 GMT
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I have no idea of how to go about learning. Anyone done it, do it, etc? Point me in the right direction. Cheers. sorry for the crappy quality post, hopefully the WIN will be in the replies...
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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May 26, 2012 16:46:30 GMT
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Learn by doing? Volksangyl has got some trimming stuff in his readers' rides thread. If you give it a crack you can only improve with practice.
Personally, I'd probably start by making a pair of flat door trims for my bug, because they're really easy. In terms of doing sewing, I guess the thing to do would be to practice doing straight lines and corners on bits of scrap fabric. Maybe try making a bean bag. Then practice on a spare car seat before moving on to the good car interior. Actually, I would practice on my scruffy computer chair.
I've never done any car interior trimming before, but I have done a bit of sewing before as a young lad. Using a machine is easy, the key thing is to mark out and cut out all of your pieces right, then take your time with it.
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May 26, 2012 17:42:34 GMT
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Try asking SOC as i know he has done this in the past, don't know if he still does?
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1993 Fiat Panda Selecta 2003 Vauxhall Combo 1.7DI van 2006 Mercedes Kompressor Evolution-S AMG SportCoupé
"You think you hate it now, wait til you drive it"
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rysz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,558
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May 26, 2012 19:18:20 GMT
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Get a sewing machine from Freecycle and just practice mate.
As long as you are patient and sew straight, it does not look too tricky. Just time consuming.
Rysz.
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stefan
Posted a lot
If it isn't broken fix it till it is
Posts: 1,598
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May 26, 2012 19:29:19 GMT
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I have always wanted to learn how to do this as I think it would be fun but never had the time
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POWER IS EVERYTHING WITHOUT CONTROL
1985 Honda jazz 1997 Saab 93 convertible 2010 transit 280
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May 26, 2012 19:51:34 GMT
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if you take the old stuff out (covers off the seats etc) you can use it all as patterns, its not that hard as long as the base foam is ok.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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May 27, 2012 13:43:32 GMT
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I have access to a sewing machine. I know you need a special type for upholstery. Not sure "how special" although someone has contacted me about a machine which he is getting which will do seats etc...
watch This Space
Any more info welcomed
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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rysz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,558
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May 27, 2012 13:53:24 GMT
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Surely, they are much of a muchness? Merely the thickness of the needle and thread that they will cope with? Or is it more the torque that the machine can produce to punch the needle through the thicker material? There were two on Freecycle earlier and I thought that you might be interested.
Regards,
Rysz.
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May 27, 2012 18:35:21 GMT
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different types of head, some articulate in some way, and some don't. Some do different types of stitching. Then there's power, stuff like that too. I don't know much but I know theres loads of differences
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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May 27, 2012 21:29:10 GMT
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A standard sewing machine is okay for the majority of jobs, but car interiors, particularly seats, have lots of fiddly bits that are very difficult to do on a standard machine. You can get special industrial machines, and ones designed specifically with upholstery in mind that are, as Akku points out, different to the bog standard home sewer. I started out learning from making clothing and just expanded out into trimming my own car. I wouldn't offer to do trimming for someone else, I don't think my work is a good enough standard for that, but it is time consuming, and hard, and you have to be careful what fabrics and threads you use. The easiest way is always to take the old material and use that as a pattern where possible. Best bet, from my experience, is to start with something simple like a headlining or a door card and work from there. Take your time and practice a lot and eventually you'll get to a pretty high standard. I would advise that if you do go for a standard home sewing machine, get a vintage metal bodied one rather than a newer plastic bodied one. On the whole you only need a straight stitch for most elements so you won't need anything fancy, and the old machines - 1960s-70s - are perfect for this and really tough as a rule. If you can find a course at a local college that teaches you the basics of sewing it could be worth it if you're an absolute novice and have never touched a machine before, but I think you'll be okay just jumping straight in and checking the internet for advice from what I've seen you do about the place. This machine cost me nothing, and it has never let me down. Sometimes, you have to go through a fair thickness of materials. This machine will cope with the foam and fabric of the Polo seats which is likely to be the thickest you'll have to go through, but my ex's plastic bodied machine couldn't.
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pavel
Part of things
Posts: 211
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May 27, 2012 22:54:01 GMT
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I got a 50's electric (external motor) Singer for £3 - aside from looking fabulous, and being quite rewarding to service (it even came with some special grease, from the 1950's!), it's a brilliant piece of kit, and will go through anything without ever giving the hint that it might break.
I haven't tried a car interior - the only bit of leather I put through the machine I did it manually (i.e. by turning the machine over by hand) as it was only a couple of stitches to set up the spacing and check whether it can handle leather thickness.
My biggest question about upholstering a car is - what thread do people use, and where can I buy some, as when I went to the sewing shop (btw fab gig going into the haberdashery section of John Lewis in mechanic's overalls), they only had what seemed to me like fairly light duty stuff.
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May 27, 2012 23:30:29 GMT
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I use Moon brand polyester thread for most things, but if you can afford Guterman (there's an umlaut in that name somewhere) it's even better still. I think there are upholstery specific threads and a decent individual haberdasher will be able to advise you on what's suitable for doing things like sofas and armchairs. For leather and some high quality vinyls you can get specific waxed threads which sew easier, but some machines don't like it and won't work with it, something to do with there not being enough friction for the tensioners on the machine to work properly, I can't remember the specifics. The thing that does the most damage to car interiors is UV and, if you're unlucky, mould. The first retrim I did on the Polo went from looking really smart to just falling apart, UV light having rotted the fabric, turning it literally to dust in places. The seats went from this - cheap curtain fabric for the red, suit fabric for the black pinstripe... not ideal, but looked great and was easy to work with. To this: The new fabrics I've used are upholstery grade corduroy and jacquard and should last much better. So far, so good, I've not noticed any fading or damage and the car has been parked in much stronger sun than when at my parents' place.
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scruff
Part of things
Posts: 621
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Problem I found when having a play in a seat base is accuracy I used the old vinyl as a pattern but it was ripped. I did my best but it ended up a bit baggy and looked curse word. If I'd thought about it then I'd have made it slightly smaller and allowed the foam to take it up.
Need to repair the Porkers seats so I'll have another go.
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1994 Lotus Esprit - Fragile red turbo with pop up lights. 1980 Porsche 924 - Fragile red turbo with pop up lights.
I spy a trend...
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cheers chaps Food for thought
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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May 28, 2012 13:46:32 GMT
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scruff: you reminded me of an important tip I learned along the way. If you're working from damaged 'patterns' get some cheap fabric to sew up first to check for fit before chopping up your expensive stuff. Yes, it costs a few extra quid to invest in the extra fabric - just shirt type polycotton will do - but it'll save you a fortune later as you won't cock up with your nice fabric.
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The Doctor
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 3,441
Club RR Member Number: 48
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May 28, 2012 14:09:03 GMT
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overhere you can get courses (is that the right word for it?) for car upholstery. They even offer it for clubs as a day out to learn something which can be very handy in car restoring. There must be some of those around in the UK, right?
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May 28, 2012 19:33:43 GMT
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I just bought this After watching videos from these guys www.younggunsdesigns.comI plan on making seats for my boat first, before I upholster the inside of my Gilbern Genie. Something I always wanted to learn. I've got google, how hard can it be ;D
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May 28, 2012 23:21:06 GMT
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I just picked up this. Off the local fleamarket for £7 then £5 for a couple of the needed bobbins of a UK online seller of vintage machine equipment. I'm going to use it to stitch rubber and fleece/felt.
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May 29, 2012 19:35:35 GMT
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spectre how much did you pay for that machine. I got one exactly the same from my mom at the weekend. She used to be a very good curtain maker. That machine has a 1/2 horsepower clutch motor. It will be perfect for doing upholstery. Just make sure the oil bath has clean new oil in. i asked my mom and she said as long as you have the right needles, foot and thread they will sew anything. She said just practice till i am confident. Luckily she said she will show me how to use it properly. Free advice from an expert is always good.
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1999 micra. Puch bike and nirve chopper.
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May 29, 2012 23:49:37 GMT
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I bought it for AU$100. It's a Brother DB2-714-3 absolutely mint, oh what a bargain.
I'll have to get some photos up when I do the Gilbern ;D
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