anybody sew their own cushion covers

alk

alk

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Pretty much every boat I look at has interior cushions that are either water damaged, or covered with fabruc that is to ugly in a seventies kind of way to look at. With my last boat, I had an upolsterer make some new covers for my dinette, but it was a bit pricey. The boat I have an offer on will need ten cushions recovered with something a little more modern looking. Considering doing it myself. Has any body done this? How hard can it be? Will a regular sewing machine put a needle through the Sunbrella outdoor canvas that all of the fabric stores seem to carry, or vinyl? Or do I need an industrial strength sewing machine. Any good books that describe the process, or is a sewing class in my future?
 
by the time you pay retail for the sunbrella it will be a little more to have them made at a reasonable shop
 
are you sure about that? I thought I paid about 300 bucks when I had the four cushions for my dinette redone. I can get Sunbrella online for 15 bucks a yard, 54" wide. No way I would need more than 5 or 6 yards to build the size cushions I had recovered.
 
Alk, I hear Obama will buy you all the cushions you want. It's in his plan. Just ask for his royal blessing.
 
cleanup in aisle 4.
 
I said reasonable shop :) you need zippers and that rope stuf for the edges too.
 
I guess I need to look around, I thought I found the cheapest last time, but maybe I got ripped off.

So better question, has anyone had a set of dinette cushions recovered with a durable sunbrella type canvas, and if so, how much did it cost you?
 
When I recovered the interior cushions in my last boat I used a synthetic suede material. The salesperson gave me a swatch and told me to soak it in red wine overnight then wash. No stain. I was sold. Comes in alot of different colors and I had zippers installed so I could wash them. I am doing the same thing on my "new to me" boat. I am goint to try and sew it myself using the old fabric as the pattern. I am sure with alittle patience it should work out nice. Exterior material will probably need an industrial machine. Jo-Ann fabrics has what I am talking about. I am going with a beige and taupe color to replace the vomit colored vinyl in my salon.
 
You can sew it yourself with a heavy duty vintage sewing machine. The new, plastic sewing machines won't do it. Look for a machine built prior to the late '60's. The pros use an industrial walking foot machine. Use UV resistant polyester thread such as Dabond. Sailrite has everything for the do it yourselfer. They aren't the cheapest, but very helpful. If using vinyl, make sure its marine vinyl as it has a different backing that won't mildew,etc. If you are using welting, don't use the rope stuff, it will support mold and mildew. There is a plastic welting for marine use.
 
I know a reliable and inexpensive shop that did OEM stuff for several boat makers. They do all my work and I respect their workmanship. However shipping cushions would be expensive. Do you think that shipping just the old fabric covers for copying would be a viable business??
 
quote:
Originally posted by alk

I guess I need to look around, I thought I found the cheapest last time, but maybe I got ripped off.

So better question, has anyone had a set of dinette cushions recovered with a durable sunbrella type canvas, and if so, how much did it cost you?

Click to expand...

Alk we had a curved back 3/4 round settee and the 4 seat cushions reupholstered which took considerable work to remove the back and reinstall. It came out great but cost almost $1k. I had the same guy who did all of our upper cushions and helm seats re-made in the bridge. But he only works in the Tuckerton NJ area. He also did our side curtains on the hardtop. Bill
 
Practice makes perfect or you get better as you go along. I made my bimini top, cover for the helm, a cover for the tackle station for my boat. I also just finished a cover for my 13 foot Boston Whaler to keep the leaves out of it and keep the sun damage down. My next project is the V berth cushion for the removable piece between the two main bunks. I need to make the cushion seats for the bench seats on the fly bridge as they are long gone, weren’t on the boat when I got it. I bought an old Singer 201 off eBay as it is just a straight stitch machine and just started going at it. Just try to keep it as a hobby and go for it. There was a Sail Rite store here in Fort Lauderdale that gave lessons but they closed before I could sign up for classes.
 
An old Singer is a great solution. I have a 1956 model 15-91 (direct drive motor) that did a great on my cushons. You can also make your own welting using the plastic cord and cover with the material you cover with cut on a bias. You'll need a welting foot to do this. Your local fabric store should carry a book on upholstry that would be helpful.

I use the poly upholstry thread and set the needle tension to almost the highest setting to pull this thick thread.

Get the catalog from SailRite and you'll see what materials are available. Several eBay suppliers carry discounted sunbrella and similar material.

Be fore-warned, I got into sewing for my boat and now have 15 or so vintage machines my wife really wants me to sell!
 
I agree with the suggestions of getting an old metal Singer. The one I use was made in 1911 and still works fine. You can still get parts. It needs a little help when starting in the corners of seams when you are penetrating multiple layers of material, but otherwise it did a great job.

With no prior experience I was able to make a complete copy of my camper cover (with no windows) for winter storage. The Sunbrella material is not cheap, but it is still much less expensive if you do the sewing yourself. Buy the seam binding from the same place you buy the material. Try to re-use the zippers since they may be the highest cost item.

As said before, you will get better as you go along, so start with the piece that will be seen the least.

Mike
 
An old all metal Singer will do the job unless you get into an area with many layers of material and then you can turn the machines wheel by hand to get through those very thick spots. Sailrite sells this stuff called seamstick and it will hold everything together while you sew. It also helps water proof the seams a bit. Use the longest stitch length the machine will allow and use at least v69 thread, but v92 would be better. you'll need a #18 needle, which is the largest most domestic machines will take. for sunbrella, use a denim needle, for vinyl use a needle for leather/vinyl.
 
I did some of of mine. The dinnette cushions were rectangular and I stapled new fabric the same way the old was done. The bow berth was a different story. It has an interior curve and there was no way to do it myself without spending a significant amount of time sewing. Also don't forget you really can't do this unless you have a large table to lay everything out. Don't think you can do it properly by just setting up a fold-up table and starting. In my case I was able to do the rectangular ones and paid to have the bow done. It didn't hurt the pocket so much by doing half myself.
 
My sette/dinnette cushions were all curved not rectangular. Same with the seats back one piece and curved. The cushions were sewed on all sides no stapling on the back. Bill
 
Alk,

I would not recommend using outdoor Sunbrella canvas for your interior cushions. This is a canvas base material and not what I consider furniture grade material. It is also very stiff and not soft. If you plan on using fabric use Sunbrella furniture fabric or marine grade furniture fabric. You need to remember that you want fabric that will repel mold and mildew. There is alot out there however it is not cheap. Ultraleather is expensive, but I think it is the best when not using fabric. Also I would recommend using new foam as well.

When it comes to sewing machines, you need to remember that most home sewing machines cannot handle size 69, 92, or 138 thread as well as handle a heavier needle when going through multiple pieces of fabric.

I started sewing with my old metal singer from my parents, 1950's. It was ok for some light work, but it could not cut the mustard. I purchased an industrial Juki in 2007. That's were it started.

These are the projects I completed on my 1988 Carver Montego. Of course, after all my projects were completed we sold the boat for a 440 Trojan Express in 2007. The next owner is enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Salon Interior, Forward stateroom trim, Dinette, Setee, (used Ultraleather ostrich)
Cockpit bench seats. I did not have any. I created them from scratch. (used marine grade Islander vinyl)
Bimini and Camper top.(used Sunbrella)
Carpeting in the cockpit.
Carpeting in Salon.
Dinette Table.

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OLD INTERIOR
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NEW INTERIOR
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Bob,

Great work! Looks like a professional job. What other projects did you do prior to these?? Just curious to hear what kind of experience you had prior to tackling this boat.

Jeremy
 
Bob,
Really nice work. How did you learn to do all that upholstery and canvas work? I would think that Juki made things a lot easier as I've done some canvas work with a heavy duty home machine and although it worked out, it was difficult to get through the thick corners.
 
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