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Is there any way to replace the binding around the edge of a boat cover (with snaps) without replacing the snaps. The snaps are pretty close to the edge and I don't have a zipper foot.
I tried to sew without the outer foot on my walking foot machine, but didn't get anywhere. Any tips?
Thanks guys!
Jo

Hi,
Rochford Supply has a new fabric called Aqua Gun, and it's only 6.88 yd! Does anyone have any experience with it? Debating on whether to use it for boat covers.

http://www.rochfordsupply.com/shop/Boating_and_Marine/Textiles/Aqua_Gun_-_Solution_Dyed_Polyester/index.html

Hey guys,
I need to replace the headliner in my own 2003 VW Jetta. Can I just take off those side pillars? Do I have to disconnect the battery? And is that enough to keep them from deploying? This is kind of scary to me, but I really don't want to outsource something that is otherwise so simple.

I just tacked an extra $100 on a boat cover quote because the lake where the boat is is an hour away. Does this sound ok? I've never been asked to travel that far before, and it's gonna take 2 trips, of course, one for the fitting and one for the install. Am I ripping this person off? Or am I being too generous?  :-\

Hey guys,

What's a good method for covering a boat that's always in the water? The boat is a 2005 Chapparal 215, and the owner would prefer not to have snaps on the boat if at all possible. So how could this thing be secured? How awkward is it or is it even possible to fit it for a cover while it's in the water?
Thanks!
Jo

Found this on craigslist for $30. Thinking of getting it.....Whattya think?

Hi guys,
I've made a bit of a mess and got some glue on some of my pieces. What's the safest way to clean it off without harming the vinyl?
Thanks,
Jo

Hi guys,
Working on Bayliner back to back seats. Here is one of the covers not pulled tight over the foam:



Here is a close up of the puffy bump i keep getting:



Not sure if this matters, but I put the welt on the gray curvy piece first, then sewed it to the blue. I did clip the curves of course, but still have this problem.
What am I doing wrong??

Hi guys,

How do you deal with something like this? I have this motorcycle seat, so since the vinyl wasn't in too bad shape, I thought I'd take it off and make a pattern from the old one. I'm usually really good at making patterns out of weather beaten covers, but this one has so many buckles that it won't' lay anywhere near flat. I put it out in the hot sun which made it nice and pliable, but when I put weights on it, there's just too much fabric left over when I trace around the curves.



Advice?

Hi everyone!
I have a customer who wants his car seats done in leather. The only experience I have sewing leather is putting a chafe preventer reinforcement on dodgers, etc.
It's not so much the sewing I'm worried about; I have the proper equipment. BUT...where do I get leather? Is it true it's only sold in hides? If so how will I know how much leather to buy for a 2004 Acura interior?
Thanks for any info you can give!

Uh oh...we're sunk now; just caught this commercial on tv:

https://www.furniturefix.com/

How will we ever compete with this "system"? :o

Is there a way to cover this with vinyl? It's a customer's project, (long story), but it's 1/2" plywood cutout with lots of corners. I'm worried about those sharp inside corners. How can this be done?

Hi guys,
Here's my next project; coming into the shop today. 1987 Bayliner flip seats.



I've never done this type of seat before...will there be any unexpected surprises here? Or are they as straightforward as they look?

As always, thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Jo

Anyone ever do this kind of work? It's a genoa sail, with sacraficial cloth. The sac cloth stitching is coming undone and needs to be restitched. Two questions:
1) I only have a straight stitch machine; is this ok, or do I need a zig zag?
2) I don't have any scrap dacron sailcloth to sew on...any advice on what kind of tension I'll need to set the machine at (tighter or looser than for normal sewing?)

Thanks,
Jo

Man, I hate this place. I've never seen such surly attitudes in retail.

I went to get a few yards of white marine vinyl. While in line, I noticed that the first almost yard of fabric had greasy handprints on it. So when I get to the cutting table I ask her to cut off the dirty part. She says dismissively "oh, that'll wipe right off." Ok guys, am I a bitch for not wanting to pay $15 yd for dirty fabric?
So I say, "We don't know this for sure, and it's not something I'm willing to do when I get home." She actually says "Well I'm not cutting off a piece that big; it's a waste."
Now I just can't beleive my ears. She goes in the back and gets a wet paper towel and tries to wash the dirt off, but of course, it wouldn't come off. So now she's really bent out of shape, as if Joann's is gonna go out of business because a yard of fabric is damaged.

So she measures it out and starts to fold it! I ask her if she can please put it on a roll (and I swear to God you guys, I was perfectly pleasant the whole time). You would've though I was asking her to sacrifice her first born. She rolled her eyes and made an exasperated sigh.
It's always an experience like this whenever I go there. I hate this place!!!!!!!

Rant over. thanks.

Hey everyone,
I did a very old pontoon boat, which consisted of 4 seats and 4 separate seat backs, steerage, 4 armrest/console thingies, a couple of boards, and a captains/helm chair. Here's a before pic:



Well, everything turned out pretty good, except for the captains chair. This thing presented somewhat of a challenge for me. It has inside curves, outside curves, stripes, etc.  I used some parts of the old cover for the pattern (which was really crispy), and did another stupid thing: I assumed the seat was symmetrical, and made half the pattern, then flipped it and drew the other half. Well, guess what? It's not symmetrical! the foam is a whole inch higher on the left than it is on the right. So when I put the new cover on for a fitting, it looked crooked in front where the stripes were. You can even see this on the old cover, except it was hard to notice when I got it because your eye is drawn to the big rip in the center.
But now that everything is nice and new and clean, oh boy, you notice it from a mile away. And I'm out of fabric, and so is my supplier, so starting over is out of the question.
I don't want my name on this crooked thing, and am thinking of not charging for the chair and letting him buy a new captains chair, which is an idea he toyed with anyway.
What would you guys do?

Does anybody know where my best chance of getting these locally is? Would Home Depot carry this sort of thing? What other type of store would carry these? I need the part that screws into the boat.
Thanks!

Ok, I've resigned myself to the fact that I have to construct this bolster cover in sections (you can see the impression of the old cover in the dacron). It had a light fabric cover on it previously that looked really puffy.
I'm doing the new cover in vinyl. This is soooo tedious! Is there some kind of formula for cutting the pieces other then draping the fabric over and drawing the curve onto each section of the fabric? This is gonna take forever, as there are 4 pieces just like this; about 3 to 4 feet each piece.

Hi everybody!

Working on these cuddy cabin cushions. The candy cane shaped piece in the middle is about 4 inches wide on the top, so I traced the shape of it on the vinyl and cut and sewed boxing to both sides. Then I was going to staple the cover to the plywood base, but, as you could imagine, the inside curve will not lay flat. The outside curve is not a problem.



Am I supposed to sew darts in the boxing to take up the slack? And if so, how far up the boxing should I go?
Thanks!
Jo

would you get a new cover on this steerage??



I had to rip the old crusty dried cover off, so it didn't come off easily either. But, someone got it on once, so it's possible, and yet it seems impossible.
It's always something.