this video is brought to you by sailrite.trucks are often used hard, for good reason. sometimes the upholstered seat of a truckmay take the worst beating of all. if that’s true for your truck seat, watch this videoand learn how to reupholster your truck seat following this step by step video. we havealready removed the seat and old cushion cover from our 1976 ford f-350. as you can see theseat cover is in very bad shape and needs to be replaced.angela will take a few measurements and write them down on paper. this seat bottom willuse two types of fabric, a naugahyde universal vinyl and a sunbrella sling. the sunbrellasling will be the two top panels separated by the naugahyde universal strip in the middle.to those measurements we need to add for seams
and also the shrinkage that will naturallyoccur when sewing the pleats to the scrim or sew foam. here is a look ahead and youcan see that these two equal panels are no longer the same length once the pleats aresewn into one of them. each pleat stitch will typically shrink thefabric almost an 1/8 of an inch along the horizontal plane of the pleated stitches.here is an example: let’s say we had a 26 inch piece of fabric, with scrim foam, andwe sewed 20 pleats on it. 20 x .125 = 2.5 --- our 26 inches panel will shrink down about2.5†in length. so, now we need to recalculate using our requiredfinished size as the standard. our original measurement on the old cover was 23 â¾â€plus we need to add â¾â€ for the seams allowance
making the total length required to be about24.5†for us. to calculate our cut size we need to know how far each pleat will besewn apart. for us we have decided to space them about 1 â¼â€ apart. so, now we can divideour figure by 1.25 and you get 19.6, so let’s figure for 20 pleats, rounding up.20 x .125 = 2.5 inches. we need our finished size to be 24.5 inches so add the 2.5†tothat. we will cut our panel length to 27 inches to accommodate for seams and the shrinkage.for the width or depth of the panel don’t forget to add the â¾â€ for seam allowancethere. now we can mark our sunbrella sling fabricpanels to size, we have two of them then cut them out with scissors.these two panels of sunbrella sling fabric
will sport channels or pleats. to accomplishthis stylish look we need to glue a scrim or sew foam to the bottom side of the fabric.this foam with fabric backing allows us to sew through the decorative fabric and foamwithout the stitch pulling through the foam due to the fabric backing on the foam.we will spray the backside of the fabric with 3m’s super 77 spray adhesive, we are notspaying the foam in this video, but that is also recommended. to keep overspray to a minimalwe spray glue in a wooden glue box, if doing this at home just do it outside or in a garageon a table covered in paper. it is necessary to glue the fabric to the foam to keep itfrom moving around when it comes time to sew the pleats.this sunbrella sling does not have a right
and wrong. however the fabric must be gluedto the foam side and not the scrim or fabric side of the foam. once it’s glued we cancut it out around the perimeter of the decorative fabric or in this case the sunbrella slingfabric. to make sewing the pleats or channels easierwe need to mark the fabric where each pleat should be sewn. to do this use a straightedge and a fine tipped marker, if marking the underside of the foam as we are. if you’remarking the decorative fabric use a pencil which marks can be removed from the fabriclater on. for our project we decided to position eachpleat about 1 â¼â€ away from each other, which is almost the exact width of this yardstick.we are marking on the underside of the scrim
foam or sew foam (the side with the fabricbacking). we will be sewing this project with the sailrite111 sewing machine which has a compound walking foot. carefully line up the stitch to theline that has been struck down on the backside of the foam. if you have marked the decorativefabric sew from that side doing the same. the sailrite 111 sewing machine is an excellentsewing machine for automotive upholstery projects like this one. coupled with the mc-scr powersystem and power plus balance wheel you get optimal slow speed control and power. thelarge underarm space of this machine allows for bulky projects to pass easily throughthe machine. the compound walking foot feeds thick and even uneven assemblies without hassle.the sailrite 111 with mc-scr is sold exclusively
at www.sailrite.com get yours today!our first of the two top panels is now complete. remember we told you that it will shrink upin length as you sew each pleat. well let’s compare it to second panel which has yet tohave its pleats sewn. as you can see it has shrunk by a few inches. that is ok, becausewe added enough for that fact and we will also have to cut it down in size later on.we will not show sewing the second panel, but here it is complete.we now need to disassemble the panels of the seat, since we will be using them as a generalpattern for the new fabric. before we do that we suggest you take a few photos of the oldcover so you do not get confused about how it was sewn together. also mark the old coverat some of the seams with a sharpie marker,
so you can use those to match up panels, ifrequired in a later step. on this truck seat cover the topstitch stopsat this location on the old seat cover. why? it may be a way of letting the fabric releasewhen the driver or passenger enter the truck and apply pressure on the seat’s corner.we are going to duplicate it on the new cover, even though we are not sure it would helpdo that. in retrospect we wish we had run the topstitch all the way to the end of theseam, but it was too late for that. using scissors we will cut apart the panelswhere they have been sewn together. here you can see a piping or welting that was usedwhen sewing these panels together. we will cut as close to the piping as possible. thiscover is in very bad shape, but we can still
use it for a pattern to cut the new fabric,just try to keep the ripped up sections together as you cut it apart. we show sections of thisin double time. we now have all the panels cut apart, theyshould be organized next to the corresponding panel to keep confusion to a minimal.next to finish off the top of our seat cover we will need to measure the section of vinylin the middle of the top plate (top panel of seat). we will be marking on the undersideof the naugahyde universal fabric with a pen. measure the depth and the width. we are measuringthe finished size of the panel so we need to add for seam allowance which will be about3/8†so we will add â¾â€ to the overall size of the panel 3/8†x 2 for both sides= â¾ of an inch.
naugahyde universal or all american can simplybe cut out with scissors, the edges will not unravel.adding a piping will add beauty to the seat. we are using a prefabricated piping that ismade from a soft foam cord and has a naugahyde vinyl fabric cover, it is available at www.sailrite.com.the sailrite 111 sewing machine has a cording foot installed. the cording foot has a tunnelbuilt into the walking foot to accommodate the piping cord. if you noticed this cordingfoot has been used all throughout this video even when we were not sewing piping. thatis ok, but the standard foot does typically work better for non-piping sewing applications.we will now sew the channeled or pleated sunbrella sling panels to the middle vinyl section.be sure the panels outside surfaces are facing
each other and edges are lined up as you sew.we are sewing in such a way that the piping cording is running under the tunnel of thecording foot. we will add the scrim foam or sew foam to that vinyl section after we sewthe outside sections to it. here is what the seam looks like when we aredone, she looks great! we will do the same for the opposite side, but this time our scrimfoam will be up, showing you that it can be done either way.we will now sew the scrim foam onto the vinyl middle section. angela will not cut it downto size to match until it is sewn in place. same procedure as we did when the sides weresewn on. notice that the sailrite 111 sewing machinewith compound walking foot easily feeds this
thick assembly.we’re going to show this in double time. once this is sewn the excess can be trimmedaway. now we can cut our boxing or side facing panels.notice that when this panel is joined together a piping will be sewn onto the edge.we are going to remove the j clip from the edge of this fabric, but before we do thatlets take a few snap shots so we can install it in the correct position on the new fabric.the j clip is simply sewn in place along the edge of the fabric, so we will just take aseam ripper and rip those stitches. typically the plastic sew able j clip is reusable, sohandle it with care. if the old fabric is torn apart, due to heavyuse, try to lay it flat on the new fabric
as it was when it was originally made. thenmark around it with a pen on the underside of the naugahyde universal fabric. if anyedge has a seam and the fabric is not lying flat at that seam be sure to splay the fabricout so you can mark along the raw edge of the fabric or just simply mark away from thefolded edge that same distance. once it is traced around carefully mark anyholes or positions where straps were sewn down. we have only traced around half of theold facing strip. since the other side is in such bad shape we are going to fold ournew fabric in half after it is cut out and trace the other half. we have roughly tracedaround the opposite half and will cut it oversize first.find the center and mark it well. then we
will cut the side that was patterned to thecorrect size. fold it in half and trace the opposite side and cut it out also.this facing or seat side has a tab or strap that was made from the same material. let’stake some measurements of it and cut one to match from our new material.we have cut it to size and now we will create a hem on the two long sides. we find it easierto baste hems in place with seamstick or basting tape for canvas. we will apply this doublesided tape to the strap and peel off the paper backing to reveal the glue and then createapproximately a half inch hem. sew those two hems down with a straight stitch.reversing at the beginning and end to lock the stitch in place.angela is marking the outside surface of the
facing to indicate where the center is andthen she will baste the strap in place to hold it at the correct location prior to sewing.it is always a good idea to check to see where it was sewed on the old cover prior to sewing.once it’s in the correct location we can sew it in place.we now have an exact duplicate, minus the holes which we will make in a later step inthis video. ok let’s go back to the main top plate andcompare its overall size with the old fabric that we cut apart. we have yet to cut it toa general size. lay the old panels face down and trace around it on the new fabric whichis also laying wrong side up. this will narrow down the size to almost thecorrect size, but more than likely it will
still be slightly over size. so, after thefacing is sewn we will trim either the top plate to match or the facing end to match.more of that will be shown a little later on in this video. since this one side is sucha mess and ripped up we will simply use the other side to pattern for the opposite sidejust flipped right side up. now that it is trimmed to a general size wecan now work to install the facing. we will need to find the center of the top plate todo this fold it in half and mark that location. here is where we will start sewing and workout towards the end of the facing strip so it will be centered. if we were to start atan end and sew down the length to the opposite end it is likely that it would not be centeredwhen done, doing it this way ensures that
it will be.notice the outside surfaces of the fabric is facing each other. be sure you are sewingthe correct side of the facing strip to the top plate. as you sew be sure the sides areeven and sew about a 3/8†from the raw edges of the fabric. you are now sewing throughthe scrim or sew foam the vinyl fabric and the piping. the sailrite 111 sewing machinewith mc-scr power system plows right through it all effortlessly and you have excellentslow speed control and power. this sewing machine combined with the mc-scr cannot bebeat for auto upholstery applications and more.as she was sewing the assembly together notice how she was slightly pulling on the scrimor sew foam, you may want to rewind and see
that again. that is important, you do notwant to pull too hard, but you also do not want to just sew without pulling the foamtaut slightly. to sew the opposite edge, just flip the assemblyover and repeat the process starting at the center.remember how we discussed the top stitch stopping short previously in the video. well that stepis coming up next and we decided to follow the old cover exactly, so we will start andstop the top stitch at the curve here. in retrospect i do believe the truck seat coverwould be better had the top stitch be sewn all the way to the ends, we did not do thathere. this top stitch should catch the 3/8†flapof fabric on the underside and also be sure
to splay the fabric out flat as you sew. thisstitch should be about 1/8†next to the stitch that holds the top plate to the boxing.the compound walking foot and the slow speed control are phenomenal on the sailrite 111sewing machine with mc-scr the next step is to trim this assembly tosize yet again, if required. we are using an awl and have picked the opposite end ata corner of the fabric to our loft table. now angela will pull the fabric taut and pickthe other end at the corner, she will do this for all 4 corners. the scrim foam should bepulled snuggly before any finial trimming is done. this will also confirm that our newfabric matches the old fabric. ok, now that it is stretched out does theold panel match the facing? we will line up
the old panel and let’s take a look. yes,it is almost perfect. now all we need to do is trim away the top plate yet again as weexpected. to do that mark it and then cut. next using sailrite’s prefabricated deluxevinyl piping we will sew that around the outside edge of the assembly. this prefabricated pipingis easy to work around corners, because it is scored on the flange. we are sewing itwith the sailrite 111 3/16†cording foot from sailrite. it works perfectly with thispiping. next we’ll work with the forward boxing.the process is almost exactly the same as what we just did for the backside edge facing.we will remove this one plastic j clip along the center section. this facing strip hasa seam in the center so we will cut it at
the seam. let’s pattern for just one halfof the forward facing strip, after that is cut we will mirror it for the second half.on this facing strip are many smaller length sections of j clips that are attached withfabric pulls, we will leave those in place since they are in odd spots and will needto be marked for correct position on the new fabric. what is a fabric pull? we will discussthis very soon. as we did earlier we are going to trace aroundthis old facing to create the new facing. you can see here that this portion was hemmedover, so we want to include the hemmed section when tracing around it.angela is now marking the location of the fabric pulls that are used for the j clips.fabric pulls are nothing more than scrap fabric
that is used to extend the fabric’s edgewithout having to use our good fabric. now that everything is patterned and labeledon the underside of our vinyl fabric we can cut it to the correct size. remember thisis only half of the forward facing. to pattern the second one we need to flip it over sothe outside surface is facing up or wrong sides are facing each other.label the second half using the first one as the standard. note: some seats do not havea seam in the center so you may have to cut the forward facing as one complete strip.others may have halves that are not equal in size or shape. so, follow these principlesin this video, but alter them if required to fit your specifications.it is now time to sew the two halves together,
to do so lay them so outside surfaces arefacing each other. and sew about a half inch from the raw edges of the fabric. we are creatinga semi flat felled seam here. splay the fabric open and sew about 1/8†away from the firststitch, this is called the top stitch. be sure to pull against the two halves of thefabric as you sew so the fold is right up against the first stitch. also be sure tostitch through the â½â€ flap of fabric on the bottom side as you sew.our pattern included for hems at areas where a fabric pull was not to be installed, soat those areas we will fold the fabric over and sew it down. this gives a finished lookingedge and keeps the stitch line even with the fabric pulls that will be made coming up next.here is our old cover and you can see the
plastic j clips are sewing onto scrap fabricor what we call fabric pulls. we will take some scrap fabric and cut it to the approximatesize required for each j clip. then we will cut the old j clip off by cutting at the stitchline that holds the fabric pull in place on the seat. then pattern for the exact sizeof the fabric pull, plus seam allowance. you can see that angela is marking about a â½â€away from the cut edge of the fabric pull. that allows for the seam allowance.after all your fabric pulls are patterned you cannot take the old and new seat coverand determine how they were secured and how they should be orientated on the new seatcover. this fabric pull has a lot of shape, but wewill sew along the same plane, another words…
so the raw edges are even. always be sureto reverse at the beginning and end of a fabric pull. a lot of tension will be applied tothese areas and we do not want the end of the stitching to come undone. here is wherea slit was made in the old fabric pull, we will do the same here to relaxed the shape.after sewing all the fabric pulls onto the new cover we are now ready to cut away thej clips and sew them onto the fabric pulls. be sure to orientate them correctly as theywere on the old cover. it is now time to sew the forward facing stripto the main assembly. we will find the center and start sewing from the center just as wasdone when we sewed the other side’s facing. we’re going to show this in double time.here is what it look like when we are done
with the one side. now flip it over and sewthe other side. we’re only going to show a brief portion of this.skipping ahead, along the back edge of the rear facing we need install the plastic jclip. angela is checking her photos from the past to see how it was sewn down. then shesews it in place. all that is left is to cut some holes to allowhardware to exit the seat cover. you can use the old cover as a reference to see whereholes should be made. it’s time to slip the new cover over the seat structure andfoam. in some places this foam has been compressed, since it is old, and has sunk slightly. so,we may have to use some batting or fiberfill to build out those areas where the foam hassunk.
we will start at the rear and fasten the jclip in place to the metal lip under the seat. you can expect the cover to fit over the foamvery snuggly, so having a helper may be beneficial. when pulling hand on the cover do not pullon the fabric pulls, but rather the vinyl fabric.we forgot to slit the fabric at this location so we will use a knife or in this case ourscissors and cut it right over the metal bracket. as discussed earlier the foam is slightlycompressed on the ends were it was mostly used by a driver and passenger entering andexiting the vehicle. in those areas we will use some fiberfill or batting to build thoseareas out. do this carefully, because you do not want lumps to show up in our end result.here is what our finished seat looks like.
now it just needs to be reinstalled in thetruck. out to the sailrite packing lot and here isthe 1976 ford f-350 with new seats. too, bad we didn’t have a before photo to show youhow it used to look. this is a major improvement. we did not show the process for the back rests,but if you can build the bottom one we just completed you can easily do those as well.the materials list is coming up next. sailrite has some great and long lasting fabrics thatwill work great for your truck’s seat. pick from the many styles of sunbrella sling fabricsand if your seat uses a vinyl like ours did you can pick from the naugahyde brands orseabrook which are top quality. for more free videos like this be sure tocheck out the sailrite website or subscribe
to the sailrite youtube channel. it’s yourloyal patronage to sailrite that makes these free videos available, thanks for your loyalsupport! i’m eric grant and from all of us here at sailrite, thanks for watching!