Pleatz

[65Buick]

Hey Folks,

More dining chairs here. Getting better. But, I'm still not really sure about these front corners. I chose to do this type of pleat here
http://gdurl.com/bcci

Keep in mind that it's not buttoned down and I will pull it a bit tighter. I'm just curious what everyone else would do here. A solid fabric might help me round that corner so there is essentially no visible pleat.

And just off topic here, today I vacuum packed my foam and dacron waste - I keep filling up my little bin too quickly.

[SteveA]

That pattern is a pain keeping everything in line.  As long as every chair looks the same whose to say how the pattern should fall.
In order to keep from making a pleat there maybe try cutting v notches in the fabric just where it pulls around from the top.  You may be able to avoid a pleat -
Start tacking from the front and work your way back
SA

[MinUph]

When I have a tight corner the pleat will be one folded like a corner cut out. When I have a rounded corner like your seat the corner will get a kiss pleat. Two folds pointing towards each other and meeting in the center at the frame. Unless of course you can get away with none at all but that is kind of rare with most fabrics.

[65Buick]

Cool. I've got to turn this homework in Friday so I think I'll leave it where it's at then. All together I think they look nice and they all got new webbing & foam. I think they're comfortable. I'm kind of a lightweight though. Maybe I should have my wife sit on my lap so I can tell what it would be like for a bigger person.
I was just curious because the original had no pleat at all. But it was much thinner and had no texture or stripe to keep even.

[kodydog]

I've tried the wife on lap method but Rose always knows what I'm up to.

When doing dining seats I fasten the front and then the back. Then I work on the sides.  I start in the center and as I'm going along pull the fabric ever so slightly toward the center and away from the corners. Don't pull it so much that it causes puckers. Hopefully by the time you get to the corner you will have less fabric to contend with. I do the corners last. Pull that loose fabric tight right into the center of the corner. Now you will only have  two small pieces of loose fabric to tuck and staple down. With most seats you will end up with tiny pleats in the corners at the bottom. After you screw the seat on those pleats will be barely noticeable.

Another thing to consider is if you are reusing the old foam the foam in the corners will be smashed down to nothing. This makes it a little harder to hide the pleats.

The only caveat is what Paul said. Some fabrics just do not work out. Especially on a square corner. For those all I've been able to figure out is a small tight pleat on the front and back of the seat.

Just a thought. Vacuum packing is good for a little while but after some time the foam and dacron will take and hold the vacuum shape. Its all scraps so maybe it doesn't matter.

[65Buick]

Thanks for that Kody.
Do you ever do these starting at the corners? I did that with the dacron and it worked out well. But, it was just dacron.
I 'turned in' my homework and the client did like them.
I have not done a job yet in which I re-used foam. I pretty much refuse to.

The vac packing I just meant my throw away stuff. We use the craziest bin possible and many times all my waste takes up so much room I have to alternate between household waste and upholstery waste.

[MinUph]

65
you mentioned starting at the corners. I had an Upholsterer that did a lot of vinyl work in a factory setting and he said they would start the vinyl in the corners. Stretch the four corners in the start from centers. I have done it and it does work well. I don't see the fit for fabric but ya never know till ya try. As long as you can keep the weave pretty straight it might be worth a try.

[SteveA]

Right or wrong ?  I agree with Ed - I've always did it the way he says - bast the middle of both ends and bast the middle of both sides.  Little by little take out the tacks and staple home. 
However sometimes a cushion is a pain and I like to try to get the difficult area out of the way even if it means stapling the front first. 
The cushions below I did from front to back because the material spoke to me - more than my Wife does - can't blame her !


I've been around pros who do deep tufting from one end to the other and some guys work out from the middle - different strokes
Fortunately I know my boundaries when I need to give it to the pros.  I still haven't done deep tufting or a channel back chair  -  someday I guess

SA

[65Buick]

Looks good Steve.

As for the vinyl - I could see that being a little easier.
These particular seats had two tiny pleats as the fabric became tucked under the seat frame. Actually 4, two either side of the corner. So that when viewed from above, it looked like there were no pleats at all.

[Darren Henry]

quote  Do you ever do these starting at the corners?  quote

I generally "tack" the four centres [with my stapler held at an angle so I can pull the staples easily], just to keep things straight and then pull the corners as tight as I can. From there I just listen to the fabric. Sometime it wants to work from the corners back---sometimes it wants to work from the centre out.

[65Buick]

Yeah Darren I also temp tack front-back & side-side to keep everything square.
I think weave is definitely a factor. Or lack thereof, as with vinyl.

[Darren Henry]

With vinyl a heat gun can be your best friend. Some people use steam.