Upholstery Sewing

[RedRangerVIP]

I am in the process of reupholstering my bowriders interior. I have had great luck so far with my sewing of the material.<br /> Now , however I am at a spot where I need to sew in the welting or piping in between two pieces of material.<br /> My ? is how the heck do I keep the two pieces of material together plus keep the welting in the middle of the two while I sew them together! I tried to pin together , but that don't work for you know what!<br /> Anybody had this problem before or got any ideas? <br /><br />Thanks for any help!

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

I had a heck of a time with that part of it. I just ran the machine really slow and held it all together with my hands while guiding it through. Its slow and frustrating, but it worked for me. I am no pro, I am sure the pros can bust it out in no time. Good luck...

 

[RedRangerVIP]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

I thought about sewing the welting to one side first , then sewing the other material to the two.<br /> Ya think that would weaken the seam to much?<br /> Thanks for the luck , I need it. I have to work slow with this type of thing. My patience is not the best with tedious things.

 

[BillP]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Use basting tape to make jobs like this easy...it is just a double sided tape that comes in thin widths...for sewing. 3M makes the best.

 

[NBE]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

When sewing clothes, etc., some use needles to hold the cloth together. If material too think to use needles then you could try using a regular desk stapler and staples. <br /><br />Place them in a few places along the seam, over to the side a little, out of the way of the path of the needle. <br /><br />Don't think that they would do any harm being sewn in and sealed on the inside once the seam is sown but they could be removed easily enough if desired.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

when making you welting, use material wider than needed. sew your rope in first, leaving excess seam allowance. there is a special foot for this. then place one piece of cover finished side up, then made welt, then other cover finish down.the excess seam allowance lets you control the welt an little better. the staples are not a bad idea, after you finished trim the seam allowance. learn to sew watching my granny pump the singer with her feet.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

I started my seats with time but little knowledge. I had similar problems and finally came up with something that worked for me.<br /><br />I had purchased pre-made welt. I measured and cut the fabric with a 1/2 inch past where the seam was to be. This combination made it so the edge of the fabric and welt matched.<br /><br />I fed the combination through the sewing machine lining up the edges of the materials (fabric, welt, fabric) for a preliminary stitch. This left the materials fastened so they would not move, but sloppy if you looked at it from the finished side.<br /><br />Then I removed the foot and did a final stitch as close as possible to the welt. This tightened up the seam nicely, and I did not have to worry about anything shifting.<br /><br />Hope this helps

 

[E. E.]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

I'm fortunate enough to have a mother in law who likes to go fishing, likes crafting sewing, etc and also works at one of those fabric stores that has all the marine vinyl, foam and all the other necessities.<br /><br />I Love My Mother-In Law.

 

[tr918]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Guys, What kind of sewing machine are you using? I am planning on doing my own interior also. I was wondering if you bought a special heavy duty machine or if a regular sewing machine can handle it?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Ranger, I cut strips of exactly 2" wide to use for the cording. I folded around some nylon twint and stapled the sides together to hold it. Now you can stich it using a "cording foot" on the sewing machine. Now cut all your fabric larger than necessary by the width of the cording, not including the "hump". If you then flush up the two pieces of the fabric with the cording sandwiched inbetween, and use a few staples to hold it, it will be easy to stich. BTW, the finished sides of the viny need to touch each other to be correct.<br /><br />I used a 70 year-old Singer factory machine my Grandmother used to make samples in a dress factory, when she was young. it can sew 5 layers of marine vinyl.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

i use a 1953 Singer straight stitch. bought it at a garage sale, in a mahogany cabinet, great gold lettering on the machine, bought it as a decorative piece. boy does it sew good. it was in mint condition stole it for $40.00.

 

[RedRangerVIP]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Thanks guys! Lots of good ideas. I just bought a Euro Pro machine designed to sew leather , vinyl , and denim materials. It's got a really neat option that does a staight stich except it sews 2 stitches forward and one back for a stronger stitch. <br /> Getting educated fast on the seat redo.<br />

 

[BillP]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Originally posted by TR918:<br /> Guys, What kind of sewing machine are you using? I am planning on doing my own interior also. I was wondering if you bought a special heavy duty machine or if a regular sewing machine can handle it?

TR918,<br />I have two industrial and two home type machines. For simple home projects a home machine from the 1950s-1960s work fine for boat stuff. The best were made in Japan and came under different labels and all metal. Sears, Domestic, White etc. They can be had for $50 in perfect condition and are light years ahead of modern home machines for heavy fabrics. They will handle thread size up to V92 and 20 size needles. Around the 1970s home machines started using nylon gears and plastics that don't hold up for use on heavy fabrics so stay away from them.

 

[tr918]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Thanks

 

[RedRangerVIP]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

The Euro Pro I bought handles the 20 needle , is all metal frame , and has metal gears. It also is setup for dual needles.<br /> Works just fine for me.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

I've made several of my own boat covers, slip covers for the seats to keep them dry overnight and various gadget bags using an old Sears Kenmore sewing machine. Use a needle for leather and if you are sewing in piping, there is a special presser foot used for that. Any sewing machine repair shop would likely have one for your machine. When sewing vinyl, I spray the deck of the machine with a light coat of silicone spray to make the material slide easier.

 

[BillP]

Re: Upholstery Sewing

Here's a pic of the old type home machines that are heavy duty and do boat canvas easily. Ebay has them cheap. This one was purchased at Sears in the mid 1950s. I use V92 thread with size 20 needles on this and it punches just about everything my mini walking foot industrial machine does. <br /><br />