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Hi Bobbin,
I noticed from the archives that you are very experienced in slipcovers, so here goes: How would you approach this?





Would you put a boxing strip on the top? Or just a piece for the outside back sewn to the piece for the inside back?
The customer wants it as fitted as possible, with one piece on the inside back. The back cushions are attached, and when I place the fabric over the inside back, all the lines telegraph through the fabric.
I've done 4 slipcovers before, but those sofas were more straightforward than this.
???

Thanks guys. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who's ever done this! ;D

Thanks Peppy!
One more question, if you don't mind. I sewed the stretcher into all of the seat backs, but forgot to sew it into the seats  :o, which are the same design, except that there is no welt running across the seat part. I have a 1/2" seam allowance. Is there a way to sew it into the seam allowance, or do I have to take them apart?  ???
Thanks again!

Hi Guys,
I'm working on some pontoon seats, and sewing them up as original, with a piece of stretcher canvas sewn into the seam where the welt is. Here is a pic of the loose cover:


The foam is in two pieces:



When I stapled the stretcher down, it looked like the welt was buried too far down, and you couldn't really get the full effect of the stripes. (Sorry I didn't get a pic of the stapled cover; I was so dissatisfied with the results I pulled the staples out immediately.

My question is:
Do I really need the stretcher? And if I don't, should I glue the two pieces of foam together?   :-\Thanks in advance!

Peppy,
I visited your facebook page; it is awesome! Even though I don't live in your area, I'm going to "like" it.

What sofadoc says is partially true. But say 20 of your friends like your business page. Every friend on their friend list will get a notification that their friend liked your page. So it does have the potential to spread like wildfire, in theory.

But there are other ways to advertise on facebook too. You can make your ad appear on everyone's page who lives in your city, for example. Or everyone who has the word boat in their profile. And it's way cheaper than advertising with google.

A little off topic, but pontoon boat seats always seem to have ugly 80's color schemes; usually three or four different colors of vinyl that don't really go that well together.
The ones I'm working on now are light gray, white, dark gray and red, and the owner wants them as original.
I think just red and white would've been a lot sharper.

There was actually no foam there originally, and believe it or not, they used flannel backed vinyl for the seats and the console!  But I have to say, it held up pretty darn well for being 20 years old.

This is a console/armrest from a pontoon boat that the owner "repaired". I made a cover (with my new kick-ass sewing machine), and when I pulled it over, you can see all the bumps from the metal right through the vinyl.
Is there something appropriate I can put on before I put the fabric on to smooth it out?
Thanks,
Jo

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd509/stitchbiatch/console.jpg

The worst fabric store in the world is the perfect way to describe it.
I just found a "Joanns Sucks" page on facebook.  :) I may have to join.

You should see his shop...it has four floors! There must be 5,000 machines in there.  He's got everything: Box stitchers, sergers, carpet binders, long, long, long arm machines, you name it. It's like a candy store for upholsterers.
And yes, I miss the peeling paint and finicky nature of my Singer 111w. NOT!

Don't get me started on Joanns. They are the only fabric store in my area, so if anyone needs anything they have to go there or travel to New York. And they know you are hostage, therefore rude and crappy service prevails. Then they have these coupons, only you can never use them for anything because they don't apply to sale items, but everything is always on "sale". 

They do have marine vinyl, but only in 4 or 5 colors, and it's 14.99 a yard. Once I wanted to buy some and they started to fold it. I  asked them to roll it up and they said no. I told them to keep it.

I've decided that there is absolutely nothing I need so badly that I can't wait a couple of days for UPS to deliver. Haven't been to Joanns in over a year.

I don't consider Joanns competition; most people (around here, anyway) know of their reputation and would rather choose from the much larger selection from my swatch books.

Finally got in the car and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Keystone Sewing Machine Co., and came home with a brand new Highlead GC0618!

I've never had a brand new (industrial) machine before, and can't wait to get to work!
Anyway, I recommend Gregg for all your sewing machine needs. He's extremely knowledgable and took the time to answer all my questions.

Mike,
I learned how to time a machine in the Air Force while in technical school for parachute rigging.
It's really not that hard, and I've even seen the instructions online.

However, I thought my machine was ok, but it's not. Apparently when I forced the handwheel, it messed something else up on the hook driving shaft. So now the other button that controls the stitch length isn't effective.

Oh well, maybe this is a sign that I need a new machine. Anybody wanna buy a vintage singer 111w155 in need of adjustment? :D

Thanks Gregg,

I had been doing this, but still couldnt' turn the handwheel opposite sewing direction. But I was inspired to try again based on your last post.

It took a LOT of brute force, but finally it worked! Everything started moving freely.
However now it's out of time  >:(, but that I can handle.
Isn't the point of the safety clutch to prevent it from getting knocked out of time?

One more question: do you guys repair machines? Mine can benefit from a tuneup, and nobody around here does it. If not, would you take it as a trade-in on a new machine?

And yes, that's exactly what I've been trying to do all this time, reset the safety clutch!