Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
£37 per metre from Hawke House
£6.99 from Quicksellshop on eBay.
Is the difference worth it?
£6.99 from Quicksellshop on eBay.
Is the difference worth it?
Upholstery fabrics
- Thread starter Graham_Wright
- Start date
lw395
Well-Known Member
Some issues to be aware of for boat fabric IMHO:
Natural fibres may deteriorate in the humidity.
Some fabrics may fade badly due to UV.
Boats can be subject to a lot of wear.
I'm sure there are good fabrics at lower prices, but the major cost is probably labour, so anything which doesn't last well might be false economy.
Let us know how you get on.
Natural fibres may deteriorate in the humidity.
Some fabrics may fade badly due to UV.
Boats can be subject to a lot of wear.
I'm sure there are good fabrics at lower prices, but the major cost is probably labour, so anything which doesn't last well might be false economy.
Let us know how you get on.
Bobc
Well-Known Member
No
Vara
Well-Known Member
Get swatches from them and compare.
With care I suspect you may save a lot of money.
With care I suspect you may save a lot of money.
Corribee Boy
Well-Known Member
Have you checked how many meters you need? I had the Corribee reupholstered and we needed a lot more than I guessed: at least 12 meters from a defective memory. It would have cost a lot using 'proper' fabric.
I found an 'end of roll' upholstery fabric on Ebay for about £20 which did a good job, and is well up to normal wear and tear, though I wonder about the long-term effects of damp. It's a solid colour which was a mistake as it means that salt rings do show up, but I think the effect of salt on the cushion zips might be more significant.
I found an 'end of roll' upholstery fabric on Ebay for about £20 which did a good job, and is well up to normal wear and tear, though I wonder about the long-term effects of damp. It's a solid colour which was a mistake as it means that salt rings do show up, but I think the effect of salt on the cushion zips might be more significant.
Forget about zips and make them up with a big overlapping flap on the inner edge secured by a lot of velcro
Talulah
Well-Known Member
You can get some excellent bargains on eBay. I paid £18/m for genuine Alcontara.
I went to see it before I bought it.
I bought enough to recover the main cushions twice due to the amount of ware I get as a school boat.
With hindsight I would go with Spirit of Glenans suggestion of Velcro where appropriate.
I went to see it before I bought it.
I bought enough to recover the main cushions twice due to the amount of ware I get as a school boat.
With hindsight I would go with Spirit of Glenans suggestion of Velcro where appropriate.
Corribee Boy
Well-Known Member
Velcro - What a ripoff!
No, it would have made a lot of sense. I used a 'domestic' upholsterer. My mistake.
No, it would have made a lot of sense. I used a 'domestic' upholsterer. My mistake.
nigelmercier
RIP
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planteater
Well-Known Member
I did a quick and dirty facelift using an end of roll stretchy denim-look fabric from Ebay. Really easy to work with as it stretches both ways. Bodged it up with velcro, double sided tape and some hand sewing.
Still looks like new after two years. Not sure how long it would last if you lived aboard but fine for light usage. Still got some spare for repair or accidents.
Whole project cost me about £50.
Still looks like new after two years. Not sure how long it would last if you lived aboard but fine for light usage. Still got some spare for repair or accidents.
Whole project cost me about £50.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
The vast majority of boats in Britain are in the water 6 months a year and used for a couple of weekends a month.
Boats in general are subject to significantly less wear than pants which are worn all day once a week for several years. Pants are made in a variety of fabrics, none of which I would consider "hard wearing".
The real reason for special upholstery fabrics is that they are designed not to stretch which will leave you with loose fabric on top of cushions where people sit (same effect as sitting on a bed where the sheet then indents). They also often have patterns which hide stains well.
Plastic zips are pretty reasonably priced from Kayospruce and easily attached with a sewing machine (see my blog). Velcro will most likely make tearing noises while you are trying to sleep, and will probably wear out faster than a plasic zip. It's also more expensive than a proper zip (or was when I did my cushions).
Cheers
Dave
Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
Very useful Dave - thanks.
To achieve a raised front edge (which I have found more comfortable than a flat cushion) I intend to cover the top of the foam with memory foam (offcuts available to me) and double it back under itself for the first 6 inches.
Any comments please?
VicS
Well-Known Member
Which will require the cushion to be buttoned in order to pull the cover down onto the main part behind the raised edge ????
Whatever it's an appropriate time to post again the instructions for buttoning
6. To finish off the two ends, A & B, are tied together cut short and tucked under the button
.
Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
Talulah
Well-Known Member
Some fabrics are not suitable for buttoning.
Fabrics that work in 3 dimensions are suitable for buttoning but fabrics that only work in 2 dimensions create folds when buttoned.
Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
I thought that fabrics were essentially (almost) two dimensional?
Talulah
Well-Known Member
Imagine covering a ball and a cylinder. Some fabrics will cover ball and cylinder reasonably well due to stretch but others would be ok covering a cylinder only (2 dimensional curve) and rubbish at covering a sphere (3 dimensional curve).
Ex-SolentBoy
Well-Known Member
Sekers Sahara. Waterproof, and red wine proof. I tested it with a very large full glass. Don't ask.
Looks like Alcantara, wears better than Alcantara, about a fifth of the price though.
Looks like Alcantara, wears better than Alcantara, about a fifth of the price though.
macd
Well-Known Member
...with plastic sliders, too? If not, sooner or later they'll seize.
Velcro, on the other hand, is far nobler than even gold on the galvanic scale.
Boreades
Well-Known Member
Agreed, zips are pain - especially after washing the covers and they've shrunk!
