TOPIC: Do It Yourself Upholstery !

Ok ,The first step is to gather any and all dilapidated supplies you can find out in the barn, beside the driveway and the stuff that's laying under the old camper shell behind the barn. For the authentic antique look , never use new materials.

Tools you will need include scissors pliers knife staple gun a sewing machine and bolt cutters are optional

When deciding what to do with old upholstery in an old boat, take a moment to check everything over. In the case of this project, A 1957 Arkansas Traveler,I decided to remove everything and start from scratch. I have decided to redo the original looking setup,plywood and vinyl material. I have chosen 3/8 " plywood for the under seat frame platform,and the backrest ,the actual seat will be 3/4" plywood .The front seat is a simple bench seat with a thin cushion .It provides little comfort , just enough to be the right height for driving as the older style boats did not always give room for today's body build...
Given the rear seat needs to be large enough to for two adults I have snagged a 3rd row seat from a 1980 Chevy Suburban that is being stripped for scrap metal. The automotive seat, wrapped in plastic from the manufacturing process , appears to be in near new condition, and the one seat provides enough foam for both boat seats in this project.With 5 yards of new MARINE GRADE Vinyl I should have an excess of material. Now that i have all of the needed materials , lets get started with measuring vinyl and forming the pattern pieces to get them sewn together.
When outlining a pattern onto your vinyl remember to leave room for the seam ,as the sewing machine will take away from your available material , making your material smaller.I'm not going to go into the tuck and roll or diamond tucking or turfting processes as that is extremely time consuming.Once the pieces of vinyl / cloth have been cut and the sewing begins. Your project will come together very quickly.Once all of the fabric pieces are assembled ,you may choose to install the fabric and cushions using a header , usually a piece of wire that is sewn to the outside edge of the material , this gives extra strength and support when stapling the cloth to a wooded base or back rest.
Beginning at a chosen corner begin stretching the fabric over your base and staple as you go , a helper will make this much easier . Keep in mind any screw holes that will be needed later , such as hinge bolt settings, covering them makes it difficult to mount your finished seat.
Wash rinse and repeat this process for all of the seats you will be working on and the end result is as nice as you make it . This is how my grandmother taught me many many years ago. Putting this together was a huge task,I feel i pulled it off rather nicely with out going over my $100. budget.

I Truly hope this is helpful to anyone and everyone,that is contemplating new upholstery in their boat ..
Thanks for looking .. David Bradberry .. Gainesville, Mo.

Very nice looking,David. The Tu-tone accents really make that cover POP. jim

Looks great and the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Excellent, it came out Great!

Bob

Hope this thread will help others, when it comes to upholstery in their projects.

I too did my own upholstery. I started by purchasing some Old Bass Boat swivel seats that were Green and White and re-upholstered them using Baby Blue and White. I used a Kenmore Home Machine and the learning curve was pretty steep. I eventually determined the machine was not UP to the task of sewing thru 6 layers of vinyl so I upgraded to an ALL STEEL Morse Heavy Duty Machine from the 60's. Once I got it it was a LOT easier. Here's some pics of the Swivel Seats once they were almost done.

This is what I started with...



Here's how they turned out...



I then turned my attention to the Rear Bench seat. I could not find an Original soooo... I decided to fabricate one on my own. It was to be 60" wide 18" deep with a 18" tall Back. I got a FREE "DONOR" couch off Craigslist and salvaged the foam out of it. Built the frame from southern yellow pine and coated it with epoxy prior to applying the final coat of Rustoleum Oil Based Paint. This 1st video shows the start of the process...


I then started making Piping for the seat. I needed 35 feet of piping for the entire seat so that was a lot to do. This video documents the process...



I then documented some basic sewing details for those who might be interested...



Soo... Here's a pic of the bottom cushion with the cover placed on it. Still needs to be stretched and stapled. I learned very quickly that an Air Stapler was the only way to go. Manual and Electric staplers trying to staple thru epoxy coated wood just will not get the job done.



Next was the construction of the Back Cushion...



And then the cover for it...And here they are together waiting for staples.



I then started on the Base frame for the seat. I wanted it to be easily removable for winter storage so, I made the base with Industrial Velcro Strips that would hold the cushions secure but allow them to be removed as well. Here's some pics to document the base build...









I then used a $1 cutting board from the dollar store and cut Base Pads for the Base Feet which I made from 1" Aluminum angle. I cut the grooves on the table saw and then Riveted them to the Angle.







I then used Stainless Steel Bolts to attach to the base.





And finally the finished Seat...



In the Boat...





Anyhow, I hope all of this will be an inspiration to anyone considering doing their own upholstery. You can do it. I had never put my hands on a Sewing Machine before this, but with YouTube and persistence, I got a very nice NEW interior for my boat for under $300 including the cost of the Machine.

Flamingo... INSPIRATIONAL!!

All the upholstery in the boats I restore looks fantastic...because I didn't do it.

"A man's got to know his limitations." - Dirty Harry
"When in doubt, sub it out." - J. S. Hadley

Believe me there were times when I thought I had bit off more than I could chew. But it was winter, to cold to work on the Boat, so I figured I Might as well keep on tryin. Once I figured out how to set the tension on the machine so it would stitch properly and how much pressure to put on the Presser Foot, it started to get a lot easier. Not much different than working with a scroll saw actually. After one of the FG members Andgott, posted his article on upholstery, if figured I'd give it a go. His advice about using an Industrial "Walking Foot" style machine is a good one but I just could not afford one. I'm still looking to buy a used one if one ever comes on Craigslist for a decent price. I really enjoy it and have since gone on to do my Son's interior on his 1965 VW Bus and a Wing Back Chair for my Daughter. I've discovered I really enjoy doing upholstery work.

Well, I bought a Walking Foot machine and took on some work for a guy needing some discount upholstery. Since I'm NOT a PRO, I told him if he'd send me his old covers, I'd do my best to make new ones Just like the old ones and send em back and he could install em. He was pleased with the results. I think they turned out pretty good too!!!

I think when I retire in a couple of years I might try doing some of this to make some extra cash for "Play Money"!!!

Did you use stainless steel staples?

MyFlamingo,

GREAT LOOK on those bassboat seats!!!

yours, satx

Falls Man wrote:

Did you use stainless steel staples?

Mike will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he uses Monel staples. Else stainless for sure....................

SS staples and a Pneumatic 1/2" stapler

I know it will help me. I recently purchased a Like New 1949 Singer Sewing Machine and I'm re-learning how to sew with just this thought in mind.

Mike outstanding work as usual! I forsee extra play money in your future!

For what it's worth you can use Monel or stainless. Some folks prefer Monel as the stainless can be a little brittle. That's from the Century club guys. I can't say one way or the other as I've used stainless, but so far only on the new carpet for the trailer buncks. So far so good since the new install 2 years ago.

Bob