Topics

So, I get on this forum this evening, do some reading of posts, and then start to post about the fun I had today using my electric cutter to cut the lip off of a bunch of single welt cord that I had made.

I go to click on the "New Topic" button and it's not there. What? I look all over the page thinking maybe it was moved. Nope. It gone. Those expletive deletive hackers! I'm thinking that I'll try tomorrow and hope Inger has the time to fix this latest problem caused by those Russians. You'd think they'd all be too busy corrupting our government officials to have time to mess with our upholstery forum.

So, I go to log out and I can't. Oh no. The "Log Out" button is gone. Those da... Oh. It says "Log In". I forgot to log in.

Never mind. It must be Friday.

gene

I made 18 yards of single welt cord that I needed to glue into the slots on dining room chairs. In order to do this I had to cut off the lip. I have used scissors in the past. I'm working with velvet this time and all that cutting is tough on my hand.

I made a video but photobucket does not allow uploads of videos and I need to update photobucket to post a picture. So hopefully you can make sense of this. I used my my electric cutter to cut off the lip. Wow does it go fast and easy! The blade guard is just thick enough to keep the stitches away from the blade but thin enough to cut very close to the stitches. I pulled the welt cord through the cutter.

It only took me a few minutes to get er' done.

gene

US Foam out of Michigan has free shipping on orders over $100, east of the Rocky Mountains. (Does anyone remember when Coors was NOT available east of the Rocky Mountain)

They had a price increase in August of this year and another 9% in November. That's a big increase.

Anyone else notice prices for foam or other supplies going up recently?

gene

I couldn't find my original topic.

I asked about making a down/foam cushion insert and you folks recommended Ronco in California. I bought a down envelope for a single sofa cushion. It came two weeks ago and I finally got around to unpacking it, cutting the foam, and putting it all together. The customer picked it up today.

I was very happy with the down envelope. It had a nice loft to it and was sewn very well. Their prices were OK also. I'm going to start telling my customers about this option.

Thanks again,

gene

I'm working with an expensive vinyl. It has a felt type backing.

When I sew two pieces together, I can pull the pieces at the seam and I can see the thread. It's a light blue vinyl and I'm using a white thread.

My sewing machine is adjusted correctly.

Is the only solution to use a light blue thread, or is that a way to tighten my stitch? It stays tight when using fabric.

Thanks,

gene

On wing back chairs, for example, when I want to add a bit of padding to the inside back or the arms, is there any difference in using poly batting or cotton?

Cotton seems to give more support on the arms and it doesn't seem to make a difference on the inside backs.

Does anyone use poly batting on these areas?

I like using poly batting on the outside panels because it seems to go faster for me than using cotton and it does not seem to make a difference.

Thanks for your thoughts.

gene

KodyD mentioned in another thread that he is booked up through December.

How do you guys schedule your business. We are technically job shops. We work when we get orders. This can make scheduling very difficult.

Do you assign a specific amount of time for each job based on what that job it? Do you have a chart or spreadsheet that you use that shows various times for different jobs?

Or do you just go by experience and guess how much time you will need?

I try to get a job completed within 2 to 3 weeks once I have the furniture, fabric, and a deposit. And even with this I can easily promise too much and find myself under pressure to get things done.

I have heard of upholsterers who will keep a sofa in their shop for months.

gene

What is the best way to hide/ cover up sewing machine needle holes in leather?

I am not asking if it is possible because I do not want to hear that it is not possible.

Just give me a DIY easy to use with products I have in my kitchen or can buy at the store that I can fix my sewing mistakes and I will be happy.

Thank you,

gene

I have a customer who is wanting an estimate for reupholstering two leather loveseats. They each have a single seat cushion, attached back cushions. 68 inches wide each.

I have only done small projects in leather. On something like this, how do you figure how many hides to buy? Do you take the fabric yardage and convert to sq. ft. of leather then figure how many sq. ft of leather each hide has? Do you have a leather supplier take your fabric yardage and let them convert to the number of hides?

I'm working on two antique chairs where the back panels are leather. The ID needed to give her leather supplier the piece sizes so they could make sure they gave me the right sizes of leather. They had an 18 sq. ft. minimum. (Her leather supplier is very high end which is why I won't be going to them for my leather.)

Any leather suppliers that you can recommend?

Thank you,

gene

Google photo photos of my laser guided electric cutter - with kickstand. I'm thinking of having the kickstand chrome plated to match the chrome on the cutter. Maybe have the handle painted purple metal flake in memory of the Triumph 650 I had many moons ago?

Is there any way to make these image addresses shorter?

gene

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0nnFXVdkEdZqYGptfQsvjgg9vknaGwo03Wngwu2CwXn7FKLAEUqtVtF_SLtTJFgp8Jv8E5rN5pp4WNs9a0TJ4cN86_tQZsRe160rwyaxTKKzgXIENnAkBEudamlbfdoLDSyw3GRCaTOCox5Et9ln66l9TVW3nGQAgCci92gXoB6Dp3kEBR-zVBnl2uC27XdZifV2xqY1ZKrxH5OR5-u_yeT8WAVRC_Vp8upMDMTpqBQB6d1mk_8yre8l-jsIYv9dm8S5f2D3PfrA3_y4PYO0BCuYRhNXqdLEN6C1s4V1ja2EFBMCaTvZjJqUU28iPHLRFj8wnRVDPhpNMcp1EANeM9esoiIPu_A1R0EzHvgJTXxc72O_NuccgOAsPwK-hzoaWAw4-u5WUq0Oaep4xfXIv0VMph7N6NuREl99Ypa_0_k6EErtsAjvcze9JseNe2y916hkbCnfWdUUqZ2j5zV8xvmXnacoPYr_lNOwkbOPFgrRNoH-srZdz9y6sCZK8fwDwCglQL54uG683yuNP_CDYtUxsu3Am1nx2MyBZxduy28IGTy9XvIivPLBflh9wxOQzfrLiARfz9OtYOrpBqjs2DnKrjJNwqa0bzsCpMejfxAVRoM3eYvIUZir=w417-h739-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/u6JBurLS-FABSG2qD3HaKYdftg_fZc3eqQnPdeFTxiv9EGaa1lm1Vmqizk36RFUmZOZFLar-iPmZ6DVlxqUSxrxYrJQE8aTYUK-_j-bpSU0UZsQRcp0F5vj0byvB-J7CZX7rYb2wFjmdfDsKFaDxnf9zDiTtoxuIx5CZM5q2IXU7r3ZB3WJ1uJl05nD62kjp2RXwseI3y-Bj9vd-LlTVuO6Aau5IjMmdifq8xykS4zujDBD2QjInsG91AcSYyosZC63BJYdih7J8ZImNQ2IHYRQvd7SOwVZWW4WJsV7vPcqYlZ3KWE0DjieXleH-PqeVYeSuJAew5jkLznjZFdRjRs5Povjbii41nUGagJVrdsJuMY42WQ5gdA7Yqyd6eA3M_93Vo3SGrwNP_O9SVibzFgw6ak5sdf5iocjOhmUp9L5HPUdNdVoWQKu4SKrOIYK64CRfhTz3QLdJygMiCRAwXpclg63jv_HDZAixz5M_LIg5o0sdc1t94i5XBAIxvK-KSSrz2I5f_UZl0OhtpgpOLpssaQ1EQUPfmO2AVUGgEA8mo9LxqPyXYpcti2mXoi_0kkXc-OrFz5R38W5PKf88Y7Cnkh-qOGT_0iYxIDmGWRSyQq7Ud4Ih=w417-h739-no

I finally got tired of my eyes getting tired from cutting fabric. This laser light makes a really big difference.

$6.00 from Harbor Freight. I epoxied it to the top of the electric cutter. The glue pad that came with it was not strong enough. I put a kickstand on the back right side so it stands up and doesn't roll on it's side and hit the laser light when I put it down.

I can cut faster and just as accurate if not more so. If you use Rowley's Tapered Pillow Corner Template this really helps to cut faster and with more accuracy.

I put pictures of my electric cutter on photobucket and it says only paying customers can link their pictures to photobucket from other forums.

https://www.harborfreight.com/laser-marker-93242.html

gene

Who ever said upholsterers have no sense of humor.

The caption on this picture said, "I keep the leg of every pirate I kill."

https://i.redd.it/tpv3eurahkaz.jpg

gene

My son was at home yesterday and he said it sounded like someone tried to open his front door. He opened the door and an Amazon sub contractor delivery guy had left a package by his door. He saw the Amazon guy driving away.

His package had been opened and the packaging slip was gone. Nothing was taken because there was nothing in there the guy wanted.

A package for sunglasses (not my son's sunglasses) was stuck to the tape of his box. The delivery guy had opened another Amazon package, took out the package with sunglasses, removed the sunglasses, and then thrown the empty package in his van. This got stuck to the loose tape on my son's package.

He called Amazon and told them.

I do not like people coming up to my house who are uninvited. What do you do when it's the delivery guy?

I wonder how much Amazon pays for stolen packages each year?

Anyway, it always amazes me how much work people put into being thieves. It must be profitable because there seems to be a lot of them.

gene

An ID asked me today if I would guarantee that if I cut the fabric wrong I would pay to buy new fabric. She said the fabric was $1300 a yard. 3 pillow covers only. The repeat is 26"V and 26"H with a 50" bolt width. She had 5 yards of fabric.

I said no.

She had a big company in Texas that was going to do the job and she thought she would check with me so she could save on shipping charges. And she was OK with me saying no.

gene

I like to put a plastic cover on my furniture when it is being delivered or picked up. When it's picked up the plastic cover goes with the furniture.

I buy plastic covers for $1.00 each made for wing back and club chairs, and $1.20 for sofas. They work well but are too big for smaller upholstered chairs.

I found these on Amazon. They are excellent for smaller chairs and ottomans. I have two small barrel back chairs and I stitched the end of a bag closed on my sewing machine then cut the bag in half. Each half fit nicely on these chairs.

gene

https://www.amazon.com/Plasticplace-Gallon-Trash-Bags-Clear/dp/B01AVIWUAS/ref=pd_sim_86_5/140-6527848-5950645?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01AVIWUAS&pd_rd_r=NKEDPC8RYS2M9DD9DRTP&pd_rd_w=twk9S&pd_rd_wg=shoHV&psc=1&refRID=NKEDPC8RYS2M9DD9DRTP

No, not overweight fabrics that like to sleep during the day. The other kind.

I just did an ottoman with a chenille type thick nap fabric.

You cannot iron this fabric. You cannot steam this fabric. Wrinkle relaxer products do not work. It is very difficult to get this type of fabric to lay well. Creases do not come out.

Is this the nature of the beast? Or am I the only one who does not know the tricks of the trade? And if the latter, what are the tricks of the trade in working with this kind of fabric?

Thank you,

gene

Hello,

I am looking at making boxed cushions for a bench 30 feet and a bench 9 feet. The 30 foot bench will have several boxed cushions and not one long cushion.

They will be in the outside part of the owners' box at the MLB stadium. They want to leave them outdoors during the season.

What fabric, foam, poly batting would you use?

There's a lot of discussion about Sattler, Racocril, Tempotest, Sunbrella Marine. A lot of it is for covers, etc.

My concern is that they will be staying outdoors all season long.

Thank you,

Gene

I got a chair in that has a loose boxed seat cushion. Stripe fabric.

The stripes were lined up very well on the front of the cushion cover.

The zipper panel had the stripes running horizontal.

There was no need to match the two fabric pieces of the zipper panel because the stripes were horizontal.

I found this to be much better looking than upholsterers who have the two fabric pieces of the zipper not match up at all, and even if they are matched up then to not match the zipper with the stripes on the top and bottom panels.

Running stripes horizontal on the zipper panel looked OK. It's not as neat as matching all the stripes, but it is less work.

Does anyone else do this with striped fabrics?

gene

I got an email from a customer asking me to review the attached document. It was a PDF file. I downloaded the file and ran a scan check on it. It was OK. I sometime get PDF files from customers.

I opened the PDF file and it had a link button to google cloud where the document was stored. I clicked the link button and the google cloud window popped up. I needed to log in with my email address and password, as usual.

Being either computer savvy and always practicing safe internet protocol, or just being paranoid as a turkey on Thanksgiving, or both, I looked over the web page. I noticed that the address line said "Not secure". I closed all the windows and called the customer and told her what I had. She was very apologetic and said she had indeed been hacked.

If I had been just a bit more complacent and functioned out of habit, I would have given the hackers my email address and password. They would then have sent a similar email to all the email addresses I have.

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive.

You're not paranoid if they really are out to get you.

gene

I have some outdoor back cushions that have loose polyester batting fill. The insert cover has deteriorated so I will make new insert covers.

If I add some loose polyester batting that I use for indoor cushions to help fill out the cushion, will that be OK to do for these outdoor cushions? The owner said they are outside under a roof and do not get wet. I am putting an acrylic outdoor fabric on them.

Thanks for your thoughts.

gene