How to make patterns for boat seats?

[timtheboatguy]

Looking for some ideas on how to make patterns for boat seats. I have been using the old vinyl for patterns but sometimes if the seats are in really poor shape my new vinyl covers come out a bit crappy!

Do you pin the new material to the seat, make marks and then cut, or do you use a patterning material such as clear shrink wrap or paper? Any tips here very much appreciated.

Tim

[206RB]

Try some cheap clear vinyl. you mark it with a sharpie.

[fragged8]

I use plastic sheet and give the foam a light spray
with aerosol glue, it holds the sheet in place while marking.

if the foam is crushed I steam the shape back with a wallpaper
steamer with an icebox defrosting nozzle.


Rich

[Rich]

If the cushion is boxed all around I forget about the old cover altogether and cut the face 1/4" larger than the board all around. New foam cut larger than the board all around gives the best results, but if the old foam is still in good shape it can be re-used.
Rich

[timtheboatguy]

Thanks for the input, here is a link to some pictures of the mess I am curently about to start on.

http://www.kloppenberg.us/mess1.jpg

http://www.kloppenberg.us/mess2.jpg

[Peppy]

I use dust cloth to pattern for vinyl. I pin it to the foam with staples to keep it from moving.

[JuneC]

Thanks for the input, here is a link to some pictures of the mess I am curently about to start on.

http://www.kloppenberg.us/mess1.jpg

http://www.kloppenberg.us/mess2.jpg

Oh my goodness  ???  Good luck with that.  What are you going to do about the foam?  Don't think you'll be using the old vinyl for a pattern, eh?  Look at it this way - whatever you do, it has to look great compared to the existing seats. :-X

June

[Peppy]

If it was me making new foam for the rolled front, before I made the pattern I would glue some dust cloth to the top of the foam then pull it around and staple it to the board. Then you can build the shape before you make the pattern. Then before I upholstered it I'd glue 1/2" or 1/4" foam to the dust cloth.

[timtheboatguy]

Peppy,
Sorry to ask a dumb question but what exactly is dust cloth?

[Peppy]

Oh, sorry! It's the stuff you put on the bottom of furniture. It's a nonwoven fabric that comes in many different weights. I think I may have heard people on here call it cambric? I forget the brand name of the stuff we use. Ours is black and has a honeycomb type pattern on it. I like it because it's kind of like the backing cloth of the vinyl and it lays nice on the foam without sliding around. I do all the marking with a white pencil.

[timtheboatguy]

Thanks Brother!  BTW, I had a look at your photo bucket page, Your work is outstanding!

[Peppy]

Thanks Tim! I'll be sure to tell the sewers too. All that work is only half my fault.

The dust cloth we use is called Accord. Typar is another brand.

[Darren Henry]

Oh, sorry! It's the stuff you put on the bottom of furniture. It's a nonwoven fabric that comes in many different weights. I think I may have heard people on here call it cambric?

Enbond is another variety.It looks like landscape fabric ( like you put in the bottom of a floor bed to suppress weeds). Where you don't appear to need much; I'd just run over to the hard ware store and get a small roll of landscape fabric. I used to do that all the time if I ran short when I had my shop in Kenora rather than waiting for an order of it to arrive.

I think cambric is that light cotton wrapped over the horsehair etc.. on antique furniture.

On these I'd use a patterning medium as suggested, on a simpler project I'd just draw my seams on the foam with a sharpie and pin over sized pieces of vinyl on and add my seam allowance as I trace the lines onto the vinyl.

[Peppy]

I was making a motorcycle seat yesterday and thought I'd show you how I make patterns. Forgive me, I'm on my iPod so they aren't thumbnails and I hope they aren't out of order.

http://i.imgur.com/GXkCP.jpg
Here's the dust cloth stapled to the foam. I cut half the cloth how I like it.

http://i.imgur.com/o8Gyr.jpg
Fold the cloth in half, feel where it lays nice on the other side of the foam.

http://i.imgur.com/et1Qb.jpg
Cut the other half of the cloth. I might cut the original layer too if I want. While its folded in half cut a nice big lead on your white pencil and give a good gob of spit on it (or I keep a wet teabag nearby and roll the lead around on it) then put it inbetween the two layers to mark a reference mark on both sides at the same time.

http://i.imgur.com/FuxAc.jpg
Now that my face piece is symmetrical (along with my reference marks) I only half to make half the border pattern. I'm not worried that the cloth is all wrinkled as long as it lays flat along the seam. I'll pull the piss out of the vinyl to get it over the hump.

http://i.imgur.com/STlsC.jpg
Tadaa! We seamed it at center  because we were given a tiny scrap of vinyl and we had to make do. Normally we would have mirrored it without the seam.

I'm not saying this is THE way to pattern. It works for me. I've never had much luck doing it like Darren says unless it's a very simple thing. Also it would be easier to do it that way if I was sewing it I think. You could sew a bit,  try it on, sew a bit more...ect. I usually make a pattern then run down to the marina and upholster it a week later.

And I guess it's not really a boat seat, but I hope it helps!

[timtheboatguy]

So with the pattern material no seam allowence and then when transfering the patterns to vinyl you add the seam allowence?

Thanks for posting all of that!