Are sewing patterns for cushion covers for the Catalina 25 available and, if yes, where can I find some?
cushion covers
- Thread starter nancyellen
- Start date
I don't know about patterns. If you have the old cushions. Turn them inside out. Use a sharp knife and cut the threads where the seems are all sewed together. Then layout your new fabric flat and lay the individual pieces (you cut out) on top of the new fabric. Now cut the new fabric using the old pieces as a pattern. Many years ago I worked at an upholstery shop and this is how we always did it. Good luck 
http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.search
type in C25 cushions, match any word
type in C25 cushions, match any word
Capt Nelson's Easy Cushion Covers
I replaced all the cushion covers on my H-27 (5 big cushions) and my H-30 (13 cushions) without a pattern. I’m not a sewer or tailor and have no sewing experience but they all came out great.
A few tips:
Have a good quality sewing machine. I did mine on my wife’s standard 36 stitch Kennmore. But I wish I had my mom’s 1909 single stich Singer (converted from a treadle to electric) which could sew through armor plate. You’ll need needles for upholstery (they are a little heaver then regular needles), big basting pins (ones with colored plastic tops are easier to use than the regular ones), Upholstery thread (I used sunbrellar thread from Sailrite and Ebay), A metal yard stick and marking pen (I used a regular ball point…. All marking will be on the inside of the cushion anyway).
Pick a good medium weight upholstery fabric with a pattern that does not require a lot of matching and will not show stains or dirt.
I removed the old cushion covers and batting and put them aside. (I reused the batting in the end to save money but you may want to use new). Then I placed the fabric back side up on a ping pong table. I placed the cushion on top of the fabric and traced the shape of the cushion. One panel at a time (a rectangular cushion will have 6 sides.) I then used the straight edge to make heavy straight line on each edge that I drew on the fabric and added an outside border 1” (the width of the ruler) on each edge. I did this for each side of the cushion. I had a helper hold up the cushions for the narrow sides.
Each panel will be 2’ at least apart. Carefully label each panel; top bottom, front, back, right side, left side. The side of the cushion next to the hull needs to be labeled so you know where to put the zippers. (If you don’t want to do zippers you can leave one of the longer seams open). Put the foam in and stitch the final seam by hand with a needle and thread. Bu I put in zippers and it’s not that hard.
I did one cushion as a test which came out great and then laid out all the rest and cut all the panels out in one sitting…….
Get all the panels for one cushion together and using the basing pins pin up the top and sides of each cushion inside out. You then use the sewing machine to sew the top and sides together. Remove the pins and fit it over the cushion. Adjust and re-sew as necessary. When it fits well remove the foam and turn the parts inside out and sew the bottom panel on. Leave the sipper open a bit or leave one seam open for hand sewing. Remove all the pins and turn the cushion right side out through the open seam or open Zipper. Put the foam and batting in and zip closed or hand stitch the open seam and you’re done.
Start with the simple shapes first to build up your skills. Once you master the simple shapes you can do the more complex ones. I found larger cushions easier to do than small ones but could knock out a cushion from start to finish in about 2 hours. For Zippers use continuous zippers that match the color of the fabric. I used medium to heavy duty nylon zipper plus matching slides. The zipper is about 2” wide. You cut the zipper to length with a scissor, put the slide on and then sew up each end. I made each sipper about the same length of the panel that will be next to the hull. If you’re interested in my easy zipper method email me (Nelsonhow@netscpae.net and I’ll write it up for a fellow sailor….)
I takes a little time but for my H-30 it was a winter project that cost about $250 in fabric and zippers vs $ a quote of $4,500 to have it done....
I replaced all the cushion covers on my H-27 (5 big cushions) and my H-30 (13 cushions) without a pattern. I’m not a sewer or tailor and have no sewing experience but they all came out great.
A few tips:
Have a good quality sewing machine. I did mine on my wife’s standard 36 stitch Kennmore. But I wish I had my mom’s 1909 single stich Singer (converted from a treadle to electric) which could sew through armor plate. You’ll need needles for upholstery (they are a little heaver then regular needles), big basting pins (ones with colored plastic tops are easier to use than the regular ones), Upholstery thread (I used sunbrellar thread from Sailrite and Ebay), A metal yard stick and marking pen (I used a regular ball point…. All marking will be on the inside of the cushion anyway).
Pick a good medium weight upholstery fabric with a pattern that does not require a lot of matching and will not show stains or dirt.
I removed the old cushion covers and batting and put them aside. (I reused the batting in the end to save money but you may want to use new). Then I placed the fabric back side up on a ping pong table. I placed the cushion on top of the fabric and traced the shape of the cushion. One panel at a time (a rectangular cushion will have 6 sides.) I then used the straight edge to make heavy straight line on each edge that I drew on the fabric and added an outside border 1” (the width of the ruler) on each edge. I did this for each side of the cushion. I had a helper hold up the cushions for the narrow sides.
Each panel will be 2’ at least apart. Carefully label each panel; top bottom, front, back, right side, left side. The side of the cushion next to the hull needs to be labeled so you know where to put the zippers. (If you don’t want to do zippers you can leave one of the longer seams open). Put the foam in and stitch the final seam by hand with a needle and thread. Bu I put in zippers and it’s not that hard.
I did one cushion as a test which came out great and then laid out all the rest and cut all the panels out in one sitting…….
Get all the panels for one cushion together and using the basing pins pin up the top and sides of each cushion inside out. You then use the sewing machine to sew the top and sides together. Remove the pins and fit it over the cushion. Adjust and re-sew as necessary. When it fits well remove the foam and turn the parts inside out and sew the bottom panel on. Leave the sipper open a bit or leave one seam open for hand sewing. Remove all the pins and turn the cushion right side out through the open seam or open Zipper. Put the foam and batting in and zip closed or hand stitch the open seam and you’re done.
Start with the simple shapes first to build up your skills. Once you master the simple shapes you can do the more complex ones. I found larger cushions easier to do than small ones but could knock out a cushion from start to finish in about 2 hours. For Zippers use continuous zippers that match the color of the fabric. I used medium to heavy duty nylon zipper plus matching slides. The zipper is about 2” wide. You cut the zipper to length with a scissor, put the slide on and then sew up each end. I made each sipper about the same length of the panel that will be next to the hull. If you’re interested in my easy zipper method email me (Nelsonhow@netscpae.net and I’ll write it up for a fellow sailor….)
I takes a little time but for my H-30 it was a winter project that cost about $250 in fabric and zippers vs $ a quote of $4,500 to have it done....