Fabric

[lustyd]

Hi all, I plan to recover my cushions soon and need to buy some fabric. I've just taken a look and it appears that most fabrics will cost the same as my boat

Do any of you have tips for cheaper options? I thought of buying and converting duvet covers but this may be too thin for cushions. Any ideas welcome.
Cheers
Dave

 

[dingdongs]

boat =break out another thousand

 

[NickRobinson]

Vinyl?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alton-Smooth-...CarParts_SM&hash=item41539e0378#ht_1120wt_698

I bought white-ish vinyl off ebay, (can't remember who, the link is just an example)

It cleans easily, with Flash if necessary and does not transmit damp if slept on in winter.

Nick

 

[daveyw]

Had to re upholster the berths on our HR352. The first set of cushions lasted 20 years. Bought what we thought was the best available material, cost us a couple of grand(just the saloon and aft cabin). 5 years later it needs doing again!

 

[lustyd]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alton-Smooth-...CarParts_SM&hash=item41539e0378#ht_1120wt_698

I bought white-ish vinyl off ebay, (can't remember who, the link is just an example)

It cleans easily, with Flash if necessary and does not transmit damp if slept on in winter.

Nick

I was about to say not keen on vinyl but then saw the price. Thanks for posting this, it's not my favourite option but would make sense on my boat as the cushions suffer from condensation quite a bit.

 

[lustyd]

Had to re upholster the berths on our HR352. The first set of cushions lasted 20 years. Bought what we thought was the best available material, cost us a couple of grand(just the saloon and aft cabin). 5 years later it needs doing again!

Blimey, 5 years isn't much. What were you doing on them!?

At least on a HR you can justify the expense. a couple of grand is nearly twice the cost of my whole boat yet would add nothing to it's value.

 

[daveyw]

Blimey, 5 years isn't much. What were you doing on them!?

At least on a HR you can justify the expense. a couple of grand is nearly twice the cost of my whole boat yet would add nothing to it's value.

Well she gets full use May to Oct in the Med. The new material just wasn't the quality of the original HR stuff.

 

[planteater]

We used a cheap stretchy Denim look material of ebay and sprayed with waterproofing spray from Lidls. The lycra content makes it very easy to work with. I think we paid about £50 for enough material to cover the forepeak cushions and four large cabin cushions.

 

[eastcoastbernie]

Vinyl - reasonably hardwearing and wipe clean. Disadantage being not breathable so uncomfortable to sleep on and will stick to your skin in hot weather. Some of the cheaper vinyls are prone to splitting at the seams.

'Regular upholstery fabrics' such as you might buy in department stores, market stalls, eBay, etc. Make sure it is upholstery fabric as curtain fabric simply won't stand up to being sat on/slept on. If technical info is available, look for the Martindale data. This is the number of rubs the material will withstand. The higher the number the more robust the fabric. Advantages, loads of choice, might be available for a bargain price. Disadvantages some are easy to sew, some aren't. Usually breathable. Not waterproof.

Acrylic canvas - mostly used for cockpit cushions, sprayhoods, boom covers, etc, but sometimes used for boat interiors. Has got quite expensive. About the only stuff which is UV resistant.

Marine grade waterproof fabrics. The Rolls Royce of fabrics for use on a boat. Mostly easy to sew. Breathable, waterproof, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-terrorist, etc. Expensive so not suitable for a cheap makeover.

Faux leather - eyewateringly expensive. Difficult to tell from 'the real thing' Very hardwearing.

Whatever you use make sure it is FR, fire retardant. This goes for the foam too, if you are replacing your old foam. Your old foam will need replacing if it is at all damp - impossible to dry it out once it's been wetted with salt water - or if it is squidgy or out of shape.

 

[Ross D]

We buy the material we use on our boat from Kayospruce, they are reasonable in price and you can get fittings too, we are currently re-making our sprayhood.

Ross

 

[Fantasie 19]

I was about to say not keen on vinyl but then saw the price. Thanks for posting this, it's not my favourite option but would make sense on my boat as the cushions suffer from condensation quite a bit.

Can you sew that stuff, or is glue the only option??

 

[vyv_cox]

We buy almost all our material from Abakhan We re-covered all our cushions in Dralon bought there. A major job but well worth using the right stuff for the effort involved.

Their North Wales shop is a treasure trove of offcuts and part rolls, all at far lower cost than those shown on their on-line shop. The boat's curtains, cushions, awning, sail bags, dinghy bag, bedding, etc all came from there.