ALLRIGHT GO AHEAD GIVE ME CRAP

OK so like most of u im not rich,of course if u8 are hi kidding lol,im gonna try to ;learn how to do upolstery seats ect.. never tried before but goitta old machine cheap,l,ots wrong i swear id rather rebuild a motor these things suck to many tensions ect... ,but if i can sew my seats lookout mite get into the biz joking i really respect upolsterers and there jobs ,dont believe me tryb it i swear if i dont destroy this machine just trying to do 2 seats ill b happy thanks upolstery guys an gals i really respect ure work but wish me luck im gonna trey mine at least,dave

Go for it Dave, I picked up an old machine myself, thinking I mite give it a shot on some small stuff. Havent tried it yet tho ! let us know how it goes.
Joe

man im very happy u replied yeah ill keep ya informed so far gotta tight top stitch but loose bottom,damn sounds weird saying that oh well gonna keep trying ,dave

I say if you can do it yourself , go for it also. You should have a good pattern if you take them apart good. Pretty sure you'll need a set of hog ring pliers also, but they are cheap

many years ago took a adult education class and did a pair of car seats ( everyone else was doing a chair etc ) - is always good to have some instruction from a pro - especially back then before the internet - if you havent sewn before, taking on auto upholstery as your first project is quite a challenge - having a decent machine helps - fighting with a less than decent machine gets old quick -keep at it- oo3

I second the check with the local schools for a night coarse, if not just give it a try. I know how to to half the stuff I do from just trying it. I'm not going to lie, I've messed afew things up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bob

I liberated my sister's old sewing machine for the same purpose... but I haven't gotten down to doing any upholstery yet. I should... I've got a vanload of buckets, of which I only plan to keep two of them!

Good idea on the night course. Good luck with the upholstery!

I agree that taking a course will help you get up to speed much faster than learning all the mistakes yourself!
Another thing I'd suggest is taking the machine into a pro shop and have them go over it. My Significant Other sews special stuff. She has some pro machines that have seen more thread than just about any home machine. She's owned them for 20 years. She only recently got good enough to get them all adjusted properly by herself. Having a pro service and set up the machine will make it work much better and allow you to concentrate on learning sewing, not how to work around a mis-adjusted tool!

I too took up sewing a few months back. For polishing my parts I needed a terry cloth boot for my DA sander and they are expensive, especially when I use 2-3 per piece I polish. I went to a fabric outlet and bought the cloth on clearance. I was able to cut over 200 6 inch blanks, I also bought 100 yards of elastic that goes around the edges to hold it on the disk. By the 10th one I was getting the hang of it. By the 20th I had it down where I was zipping right around the piece.

I agree that a "Class" would help but many, like me, dont have the time or money for it. I didnt have a class to learn CMM Programming or CNC Programming or MIG and TIG welding or any fabrication, but here I am doing it all.

If you have the aptitude to catch on it, get yourself some cheap cloth and cut a pattern and sew it together. Make sure you are keeping correct tension and go slow, be more about quality than how fast you are going. Remember that the seat material will be much thicker and harder to manipulate. Also, since money might be a restriction, get some heavy cloth and cut the pattern, sew it up, get a seam ripper and undo it, then do it again.

I say go for it, nothing wrong with a man sewing.

Yes, give it a try! I will mention something that I found on the SO's machine when I was giving it a try; Those machines go from 0-60 fast! I found that putting something under the pedal to limit it gave me more feedback and slowed it down enough so I was much more comfortable with it.

RodStRace wrote:Yes, give it a try! I will mention something that I found on the SO's machine when I was giving it a try; Those machines go from 0-60 fast! I found that putting something under the pedal to limit it gave me more feedback and slowed it down enough so I was much more comfortable with it.

Good call man! Have done that myself to save my fingers, a little block of wood under there has saved me many times. Lol

I say go for it to man & good luck!!!

this site is all about doing it by yourself....
there is help here whatever you mess up on your van!

Oh, and CRAP!!!!!

something like this could help
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOMOTIVE-UPHOLSTERY-HANDBOOK-FORD-1932-HOT-ROD-RAT-/270935463802?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f1503177a&vxp=mtr

thanks guys cant afford a class as of now so im just gonna read up on it and practice on scraps will take to a shop though to have somebody set it up right though,dave

check youtube - i bet there are lots of video instruction that would help - oo3

Go for it oo3! When you get good enough give me a call.

Maybe you can stitch me up a set of custom naugahyde pants!

Iagree with what you and every one is saying. jump in the water is warm.don't be affraid of something you haven't tried...take your time and learn . that's better than watching TV...

RodStRace wrote:

HAHAHA! At least one person went with it!

Sometimes the local school sewing class needs a project. If you furnish the materials and pattern (old seat covers taken apart) they can sew you up a new set!

lol