Winter Projects - Recover upholstery

Talulah

Talulah

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With the Southampton boat show almost upon us it must be time to plan the winter projects.
I hope to recover the cushions but will regular upholstery fabric do or is there something special to look for in 'marine friendly fabric'?
I assume regular upholstery fabric will do which is then Scotch Guarded but any friendly suppliers on this forum?

Thanks in advance.
 
I bought "caravan" upolstery material from my local fabric supplier - no "marine" tag but has done the job well.
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"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
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I did mine, but I had previously done an uphostery evening class. I recommend that if you can. Its good evening out, you'll learn the basics and should be able do the first cushion under expert guidance. It is not difficult but there are a few worthwhile tips to learn. It'll make the difference between a professional looking job and an obvious DIY one.

Use a synthetic fabric, not a natural fibre one, would be my advice. Look at what people like Toomer and Hayter and Hawke House marine have to offer. T &H may be at the SIBS. Best to avoid contacting them and others by phone while the boat show is on as those how know anything are at the show. Compare what they have with what you can find at a "domestic" fabric suppliers, but you'll be lucky to find much in the way of uphostery fabrics other than at an uphosterers.

I would avoid velvets unless you are going to be shown how to use it.

Use the old covers as a guide. but remember they will have stretched. The covers need to be slightly smaller than the foam to ensure a good tight fit. If it is easy to get the covers on then they are too loose! You'll learn how tight to make them at an evening class

Seriously consider new foam.

If you are going to button them get buttons made when you buy the fabric and ask me for a link to the diagram I did showing how to fit them.
Get the thread from the fabric suppliers as well, you will want a fair bit.

You'll need a good sewing machine.

I dont think I'd bother with Scotch Guarding, but its your call.

(BTW they are fitted with zips so that you can get the foam in not necessarily so that you can get it out again)

If you use a patterned fabric it looks nice if you can get it all to match nicely. The pattern runs contiously all the way through my cushions and they can also be indivdually swapped with their opposite numbers on the other side of the boat and still all match
 
I have to keep adding things to do to the boat list of 'things to do' or swmbo will add things to the domestic list. I wasted the bank holiday replacing the shed roof when I should have been sailing!
VicS could you please post that link. Many thanks.
 
We did an entire boat ourselves 7 years ago and it still looks good. We found a dralon material at Dunelm Mills - the end of a roll. Cost from memory was 10% of a 'Marine' fabric. As elsewhere pointed out synthetic is preferable. In terms of durability, we use our boat 40 days a year if we are lucky and don't sit down all the time so the fabric does not need to be particularly heavy.
We purchased new foam using templates to get the shape right. My wife then sewed the cushions up with a standard sewing machine for which we purchased a 'walking foot' to better handle the material thickness.
We had to provide for nine bunks + extra bits and saved £3000-£4000 on buying the work in.
We've never regretted it.
 
We've bought new fabric for our cushions - end of line from Dunelm Mills. We got enough to do the saloon (forepeak and aft cabin have just had fitted bed sheets made so no need to replace the fabric beneath these). Cost £30!

The fabric we have isn't too bad (but SWMBO doesn't like the pattern) so we're leaving it on underneath and using the new fabric to make covers to go over the exisiting covers. This way we will be able to remove the new covers to wash them and still use the boat whilst living aboard.

Again ..... another job (prob winter)
 
[ QUOTE ]

If you are going to button them get buttons made when you buy the fabric and ask me for a link to the diagram I did showing how to fit them.
Get the thread from the fabric suppliers as well, you will want a fair bit.


[/ QUOTE ]
I found the fabric covered buttons you order will rust. I binned ours and simply stretched the fabric round a standard button.

[ QUOTE ]

(BTW they are fitted with zips so that you can get the foam in not necessarily so that you can get it out again)


[/ QUOTE ]
Velcro seems a better idea. The sliders on zips corrode.
 
Buttoning:

(Click the pic to open in a new window then hover over it and click the resize button to enlarge fully)

.................

Use whipping twine (at least medium thickness, what I used I think is "thick"), you'll need a long needle eg an uphosterers needle to thread it through the cushion.

Tighten the knot in "A" around both strands then pull them all down evenly by pulling end "B", when all correct just knot the two ends together with a reef knot, cut off the surplus and tuck the ends under the button.

Thats how I was shown to do it at evening classes by a professional upholsterer.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I found the fabric covered buttons you order will rust. I binned ours and simply stretched the fabric round a standard button

[/ QUOTE ] I must admit that I did not button the boat cushions, It was the 3 piece that I buttonned. However if you get them from a "marine" source they bl**dy well shouldn't rust.
[ QUOTE ]
Velcro seems a better idea. The sliders on zips corrode.

[/ QUOTE ] You wont get such a good result IMHO with Velcro because you wont be able to make the covers such a tight fit. I cant tell you if my zips have corroded. I zipped up about 20 years ago and have never looked at them again!
 
Re: Winter Projects - Recover upholstery - ideas??

saloon.jpg


We did ours recently, a man made suede effect material, that cleans up really well, even red wine. Not cheap, but great feel and look.

Standard square foam, but covered over with some cheap argos-type single duvet covers held in place with velcro. SWMO built the covers, which give a lazy feel to the cabin, rather than the standard caravan feel. They do need patting out occasionally, but so far I really like them. I am sure they will look tatty and very 90's dated soon, but man they are good to sleep on.

Buy the longest zips you can afford, the easier it is to get the fillings out the more likely you are to wash the covers more regularly. Wrestling the covers around the cabin is not endearing to taking them home regularly. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have to keep adding things to do to the boat list of 'things to do' or swmbo will add things to the domestic list.

[/ QUOTE ]Careful, that's a double edged sword. ie If you can justify the time to do xyz on the boat, you must also have time to do abc at home.

Similarly with cost - I find everything I spend on the boat costs me double, because an equal amount is spent at home along the same theory as above.

Its a bit like Newton's law - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
 
We recoverd our stern cabin bunks easily last winter. We bought a rolld of material off ebay, after first requesting a sample, and it's as close to the saloon cushions as you can get. We used new foam, medium density, (pale blue in colour) (ebay again)covered in muslim? before covering with the material. We used full length zips down one side and a special fabric on the base. The zips and base material I got from Kayospruce. We will do the saloon cushions this winter as they are knackered when you compare them with the new ones!
Regarding zips - you can get plastic sliders now instead of the metal ones which corrode.
 
Re: Winter Projects - Recover upholstery - ideas??

Some really good tips here thanks all. Are tent zips plastic? They are long.

I am tempted to have a bash at my cushions now.


Hard wearing fabric for chairs etc is called linen union. If using fabric with a pattern you have take into account the repeat length of the patter so try and go for small pattern/ repeat length.

Re the summer winter lists debate. If you have a winter list now you are ahead of the game and do not have to feel bad about not doing it. I find one long list overwhelming.
 
Re: Winter Projects - Recover upholstery - ideas??

[ QUOTE ]
Are tent zips plastic? They are long.


[/ QUOTE ] I think all mine had alloy zippers, and were heavier than you need for uphostery.

Anyway you buy the zip by the metre plus the number of zippers you need (one for each cushion).
 
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