Should i do my own upholstry?
- Thread starter Keith V
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- couch dinette upholstery
Yes. DIY.
Not that hard. You can get foam and material from rocheford supply, not far from you.
Www.rochfordsupply.com
I might even have a hog ring pliers and hog rings left over you can use.
Not that hard. You can get foam and material from rocheford supply, not far from you.
Www.rochfordsupply.com
I might even have a hog ring pliers and hog rings left over you can use.
Really? 6K-9K for a couch and dinette? I guess it has been longer than I recall since I got mine done. Sorry.... I'd get a sewing machine and appropriate tools and make a learning experience out of it. At that savings, it could be a fun thing.
That is what I did when I wanted to do the seats in my Camaro.......learned a ton online.
Pfaff 545 for me. A walking foot machine is a must.
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If you want new and want some support. Check out Sailrite.....any of theirs would be fine for upholstery.
If buying used.....most all walking foot machines are built for thicker HD work. The used prices have gotten crazy since I bought mine....I think I paid $400 for machine with the table.....but that was 10 plus years ago.
Sailrite
If buying used.....most all walking foot machines are built for thicker HD work. The used prices have gotten crazy since I bought mine....I think I paid $400 for machine with the table.....but that was 10 plus years ago.
Sailrite
Learn how to do it and go with "Keith's Microlevel and Upholstery". ;-)
My mother-in- law did almost all of the sewing on my upholstery….
I think she used some heavy needles. But dont thinj she had any crazy heavy duty machine. Might vary on the material you use?
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Mike teets was the diy upholstery guru. He has some great info and you tube videos.
www.gmceast.com
- GMC Reupholstery
looks like the videos are gone
Found them on youtube
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If it's a walking foot, it's tough enough.
I have a non-walking foot machine that's tough enough (and I got a great deal on it), but you have to be VERY diligent about helping to feed the material through at the right rate when you're working with bigger stuff. That often ends poorly; so I'm always keeping an eye out for a walking foot machine. I'd recommend just getting one the first time.
We have a Bernina quilting sewing machine that's not meant for upholstery at all but it has proven to be strong enough for the upholstery on the coach and even leather. As Paul says, the walking foot is really helpful. Our machine came with an add-on walking foot attachment. That attachment and careful needle selection has made our machine work for most anything.
If it becomes a choice you might consider a servo motor over a clutch motor. We found the clutch motor hard to control and it always wanted to go warp speed. We tried a reducer setup like some Adler's had and that helped but the servo was the ticket for a novice like me.
Servo fits where to clutch motor did
Seiko walking foot
Ya....and...."Learn how to do it and go with "Keith's Microlevel and Upholstery". ;-)
I did my own as well. It came out not too bad but I’m sure the professionals would have done better. Anyhow, I figured if I was going to save money I’d go that route. Wasn’t too bad, just took a little time. I went to a place in town called “Old Time Pottery” and bought some very durable micro suede at a very reduced price. They would buy remnants of good materials from all local fabric stores. I dug thru the piles of fabric and found the amount and color I could work with. I then thought, ok I need to spend some money on a good sewing machine and was up at Walmart just nosing around on what machines they had. They had one that was in the 300-400$ range and was about ready to buy it when a lady working in the sewing depart came up and asked if we needed help. I explained what I was doing and she said she wasn’t suppose to do this but walked me over to their cheapest Brother sewing machine, 80$ if I remember. She said she did all kinds of upholstery projects with it, that all she did was put the right heavy duty needle in it. So thats what I bought and that machine is awesome. Very basic options but it did the job! So the most expensive part of was the foam I added to the seats. I think I added 3” thick foam. Memory foam I think. So the material was less than 100$ I think and a few other expenses like staple and the pig snout pliers and such. Just alot of sewing! Of course this was 15 years ago.
Tom
