Upholstery - what to use?

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LizCarroll

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We are the proud owners of a hunter horizon which is a little tatty inside - I'd like to make new covers for the cushions but I'm not sure what type of material to use. We have 2 dogs that come sailing with us so ideally it needs to be able to take a wet dog lying on it and not be too horrible to sleep on afterwards /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Any recomendations?
 
Brilliant- excellent question

Hm. How about old newspapers as simple "throw-over" covers? Copies of The Independent would be quite stylish. I can't think of anything else that would be "not too horrible" to sleep on after a wet dog has been on it.

Welcome to the forum, by the way...
 
hmm upholstery. First you need a fabric thes in the region of 350 gms/sqm. The rest is up to you. For comfy unsweaty nights stay away from vinyls, but with a wet dog you need something easy care/loose cover/machine washable.

Pattern/colour personal choice. Some really easy care stuff, look for a trevira. Man made fibres but looks ok and doesn't shrink.....much.
How much do you want to spend?
 
Re: Brilliant- excellent question

Unless I can remember how to thread my sewing machine maybe we will be using newspapers /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It's not such a bad idea to put a blanket/towel over the cushion during the daytime to keep the worst of the wet dog at bay!

For those evenings when the dogs are dry and smell of timotte what material would be the best for re-upholstering - I was visiting someone in hospital the other week and spotted that their pillows were covered in a thin rubber type material. I thought that something like this, then a nice hardwearing washable material cover on the top might be good, but I've read a bit more since now I'm not sure what to do /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: Brilliant- excellent question

I'm happy to spend a few hundred quid (excluding foam) and I'm not too bad with the old sewing machine
 
Re: Brilliant- excellent question

The only thing that would be immune to we dog is vinyl, but I'd rather sleep with a wet dog than have vinyl covers. We used to have them our Westerly 22 and they were horrible.

I did the covers in the saloon last year with plain old cotton fabric from Ikea at £1.50 a meter. I had to drag up distant memories of home-economics classes to remember how to thread a sewing machine and wind a bobbin, but I got there in the end. They came out surprisingly well in the end. I dont have wet dog though, if I did I would have fitted zips for easy cleaning.
 
Re: Brilliant- excellent question

ok.

newspaper, old blankets go on top for the dog. But it may be a bit awful to sleep on if there is a rubber or plastic sheet - even with some cloth on top there is a damp feeling as one perspires, horrid to sleep on.

The ultimate gear is Alcantara, synthetic suede. Quite hard to sew, i believe, but bomproof and can even be scrubbedv hard. The cobaly blue looks v smart tho there are loads of colours.
 
Re: Brilliant- excellent question

I agree with the Ikea material, did the same with our saloon cushions on a Macwester 28 using cutain fabric cos we sail with dogs as well. But for the forecabin (7 foot wide at max by 7 foot long) we invested in made-to-measure with the proper lining and cover fabrics. Including a measurement visit they cost £350. They looked amazing and were the comfiest berth we have ever slept in. The foam would have cost us £200 alone. It was worth every penny.
 
It sounds as though you need a waterproof/stainproof fabric for when the dog is on the cushion, otherwise it'll get damp and smelly. But I think that such a fabric would be uncomfortable to sleep on because it wouldn't breathe.

I'd suggest making waterproof covers for the dogs, and then remove them when you want to sleep. There are some reasonable looking waterproof fabrics available, such as those used in hospitals.

Give us a ring on 07789 174194 (or see the website in the signature) if you'd like advice on which specific fabrics might be suitable.
 
Just waiting to receive delivery of refurbished cushions: from original medium/heavy weight cotton to "microfibre" (Alcantara is the best and best known of them, I opted for oter make). About 400€ for the material (20 cushions in a 32 ft sailboat)

Cheers,
Gianenrico
 
Alcantara is definitely best if....

the boat is a non-smoking boat. A small spark will immediately melt a hole in the Alcantara. On the maintenance side: I can back what everyone else has said: a cup of coffee spilled is simply removed with a wet sponge or cloth.
If the material is heavily used, the only thing it will show is some pilling.

We used to have Alcantara cockpit cushions on our former boat. It's a pity we still smoked at the time. There are some ugly holes in them now, but they still serve the new owner after ten years....

fair winds
 
Re: Alcantara is definitely best if....

Lizzy,

We are just in the process of recovering our cushions as well, as they were previously covered in nice 1970's style brown vinyl!

We have bought upholstery material for the new covers, but have also unpicked the old vinyl covers and used one piece as part of the cover for the bottom of each cushion. That way we have a vinyl piece where the cushion is in contact with the wooden berths, ie maximum protection against wear, and can also turn the cushion over to get a waterproof, wipe down top if ever needed, eg wet dog!

Because of the way the cushion is retained by a small lip at the front of the berth, the vinyl is invisible during normal use...

might work well for you, and vinyl isn't expensive
 
Re: Alcantara is definitely best if....

I like the idea of having one side vinyl and one side something like Alcantara - best of both worlds!

It's great to know that Alcantara is tough wearing and can handle the abuse I'm sure it will get from us - the boat is non-smoking so that's one less thing to worry about. I'll do some shopping but the price looks ok too - just got to dig out that sewing machine...

Thanks to everyone for their advice /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: Alcantara is definitely best if....

Hi Lizzy,

Did you price the Alcantara up? If you did, where was the cheapest supplier you found? Got to do mine soon, and this stuff sounds good.

Safe sailing

Sparkie
 
Re: Alcantara is definitely best if....

I haven't looked at costs yet - I need to get a move on as spring is on the way...will look tonight.
 
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