Pardon me gentlefolk, please enlighten me on the topic of recovering your OEM seats

So, the company I work for is based in the textiles industry. I have access to a lot of different heavy duty fabrics. Many are "designer" types of durable outdoor fabrics. Recently, we started getting some newer stuff to look at, and there are a bunch of pretty cool looking fabrics that I think would look good as upholstery in my seats/door cards. One of several name brands that my company offers is Sunbrella brand fabric - known for being very durable, UV resistant, and long wearing.

My DD is a Dark metallic green color, with tan interior. The cloth seats have seen better days. I was thinking about trying my hand at recovering the original seats with some of this fabric thats available to me, but Im not necessarily interested in being matchy-matchy...I think Id actually like something a bit off the wall like oranges and purples.

Anyone have any experience with this? I have access to industrial sewing machines, so sewing equipment wont be the limiting factor here. Ive also got access to dense urethane foams that I could use to add some depth to the bolsters and get a bit more support/grip out of the oem seats.

Also, what do you guys like for custom stuff like this? Im inspired by things like Bride seats with the striped pattern in the center of the seats, or plaids and patterns that you see in custom jobs:

note...its surprisingly hard to find pics online of custom car interiors that arent super crazy lowrider plush-omatics, or ultra riced up elastic seat covers and rattle bombed HVAC vents...

I'm a fan of using plaid as well. Helps hide dirt/stains too.

I have nothing to add, but I'm in the process of reworking an old Recaro seat to fit my Miata and was at a loss as to what to cover it with. Outdoor furniture/awning materials never occurred to me. Thanks for the idea.

Try looking for the factory interiors like Porsche's "Pasha" and VW's plaid. Old car stuff like GM "Houndstooth" and AMC's "Pierre Cardin" for inspiration.

I love the idea BTW, I would do it. You'll need hog-ring pliers and start practicing some grip strength workouts. If you have access to the industrial sewing and foam, you should easily be able to handle this.

I have reupholstered seats, but used pre-fabricated leather covers to do it. Sewing the covers yourself would probably turn the difficulty level up to 11. I would disassemble the old covers to use as a template.

Buy this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Custom-Auto-Interiors-Don-Taylor/dp/1931128189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375467581&sr=8-1&keywords=custom+automotive+upholstery

and this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Automotive-Upholstery-Handbook-Don-Taylor/dp/1931128006/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375467581&sr=8-2&keywords=custom+automotive+upholstery

Reading them should make you feel like, "Yeah... I can do that..." But I'm sure it's like most other things - while not rocket-science, trimming is a skill to be learned and practiced. Personally, it's the part of my 1800ES restoration I'm really looking forward to since you can make it as wild or mild as you want and you'll also get to experience the fruits of your labor every time to drive the car.

In reply to Ian F:

I bought that book, read it and was able to turn this

into this

on my first attempt.

Not very many years ago, I had a set of Volvo 242GT seats that were pretty shot. I disassembled them myself and took the skins to a local upholstery shop. They provided a vinyl that was very close to original. The cost, including materials, to re-do a pair of buckets, was $100.

Unless you plan to do upholstery a LOT, it seems like the cost of a good sewing machine and the time and materials it would take to teach yourself, I think the sewing work is best left to the pros.

I have unlimited (within reason) access to industrial sewing machines capable of stitching 5 layers of marine grade fabric together. I also have access to extreme condition fabric at near/less than cost. Even if I pick a high cost fabric, I'm only talking about 2 or 3 yards tops, so I'd be in it less than $90 or so, worst case scenario. I can get high density reticulated foam offcuts for free...Cash investment is not a big concern of mine at this point.

I'm more interested in other peoples experiences with this topic. What kind of interiors do you guys love/hate, and has anyone done this on their own? I appreciate the feedback this far.

Depending on the weave direction and much sliding in/out you do I might wonder about wear to your clothing.

I made a messenger bag out of some sort of heavy fabric which ended up pilling most of my t-shirts where it would sit on my back.

I am looking at this type of work soon, but am leaning towards a pro doing it

I did the complete interior in my Opel GT. Took the old stuff off and cut it apart at the seams/stitching and made templates used to cut new vinyl then sewed it with an industrial sewing machine.

that's pretty great wlkelley. I plan to do the same as far as using a deconstructed OEM seat cover as a template.

And even though this stuff is tough, its not rough. It actually feels like regular upholstery. This stuff has been treated so its mildew resistant, and won't degrade when exposed to UV light.

I think this is definitely going to happen after seeing these posts and doing some more research. Now the trick is finding some used G20 seats...this is my did and I can't be seat less for a week while I do this...

...think I found the winnar!

Sunbrella Pinnacle Fiesta...its actually more of a purple than a burgundy that the pic shows, and the pattern repeat is actually pretty large, each square (between the little crosses) is about 8" or so.

I know its not everyones cup of tea, but I think that in a Dark green car with a beige interior, it will really pack a punch. This would go in the center of the seat, and the bolsters would get a plain tan color. It would also go on the headliner (or maybe just a border, or "euro stripe" on it), and on the door card inserts (similar to the doors in the pic in the first post).

What says the peanut gallery?

I wish I had read this last fall Ian!

I have a lot of sewing experience (Civil War uniforms, long story) and decided to sew seat covers for my MG. they didn't turn out the greatest- but then again they were pretty trashed so making patterns led to some "interpretation".

It was definitely harder than I thought it would be.

Ian F wrote: Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Custom-Auto-Interiors-Don-Taylor/dp/1931128189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375467581&sr=8-1&keywords=custom+automotive+upholstery and this book: http://www.amazon.com/Automotive-Upholstery-Handbook-Don-Taylor/dp/1931128006/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375467581&sr=8-2&keywords=custom+automotive+upholstery Reading them should make you feel like, "Yeah... I can do that..." But I'm sure it's like most other things - while not rocket-science, trimming is a skill to be learned and practiced. Personally, it's the part of my 1800ES restoration I'm really looking forward to since you can make it as wild or mild as you want and you'll also get to experience the fruits of your labor every time to drive the car.

I say that fabric rocks. Dooo Eeeet!

I love off-the -wall interiors, and the pimp-red-leather was one of my must-have options on my Mustang.

ha yeah, consider it done. Already looking for a CPO to steal the seat covers from...too bad no P11s in the local pick and pull...

Here are the door cards in my '90 900:

My fiancée recovered them a few years ago. I'd LOVE to have some seats done in something equally nutty for my '85 EXP.