Re-doing my cushions.

[wojtek86]

Hey guys!
So last week I posted a picture of the floor I did. here is a a pic for those of you who missed it.

This week I am tackling a new project. All of the cushions were original and very worn out. I am re making all of them by myself. I am using a very economical singer sewing machine and fabric exterior fabric that I ordered from fabric.com. The total cost to re do all of my cushions for the C&C 32 will be about $300. So far they are coming out professional. I am also reusing my old foam. After soaking it in blesh water and then drying for two weeks, the foam smells and feels like new. I will post more pictures when all is done.

 

[CloudDiver]

Very nice work... I need to learn how to sew myself!

 

[wristwister]

I'm in the process of reupholstering all my cushions too. Found a nice outdoor upholstery fabric at the fabric store for cheap. I did find that my wife's cheap sewing machine wasn't up to the task, so I found a nice Pfaff walking foot machine on Craigslist for cheap and it's plowing through the job beautifully. As a side benefit of being able to do heavy work, I've made a BBQ cover, an outboard cover, and I'll be taking on a sail cover soon.

 

[NotCook]

Our covers are fine, but I'm finding that the foam is starting to deteriorate and turn to flakey dust on our outdoor boat and dinghy cushions. Any recommendations on what foam to look for to replace it?

 

[RoyS]

Consider a fire resistant foam. Usually has a slight blue tint. Works well. California established the fire resistant standard for all furniture foam a number of years ago. It is available.

 

[njlarry]

Great work.
Three questions, what is blesh water, what did you use on those great looking floorboards and how did you learn about sewing skills?

 

[kito]

I did my cushions too and never used a sewing machine before. Just start with some cheap "practice" material first. There are lots of good videos on Youtube plus Sailrite has some great videos on their website. They may not look quite as good as an experienced upholsterer can do, but in my quest to renovate my boat 100% by me, it was very rewarding. The money I saved from not having them done by an upholstery shop paid for my new Barracuda walking foot sewing machine. Plus down the road I will be able to do my own sail repair, sail covers etc.

 

[topcat0399]

Hey guys!
So last week I posted a picture of the floor I did. here is a a pic for those of you who missed it.

This week I am tackling a new project. All of the cushions were original and very worn out. I am re making all of them by myself. I am using a very economical singer sewing machine and fabric exterior fabric that I ordered from fabric.com. The total cost to re do all of my cushions for the C&C 32 will be about $300. So far they are coming out professional. I am also reusing my old foam. After soaking it in blesh water and then drying for two weeks, the foam smells and feels like new. I will post more pictures when all is done.

Those look sweet.
Last year we made replacements for our 44 year old ones.
Put about $500 into it for the entire interior.
A significant improvement that gives a crew a warm fuzzy.

The old smelly 1970's vberth cushions are now on the garage floor
under the cars during oil changes for my selfish comfort...

 

[sailnoproblem]

I'm in the process of reupholstering all my cushions too. Found a nice outdoor upholstery fabric at the fabric store for cheap. I did find that my wife's cheap sewing machine wasn't up to the task, so I found a nice Pfaff walking foot machine on Craigslist for cheap and it's plowing through the job beautifully. As a side benefit of being able to do heavy work, I've made a BBQ cover, an outboard cover, and I'll be taking on a sail cover soon.
View attachment 121211

Nice job, and the piping looks great. I have given some thought about doing mine. What is a walking foot machine?

 

[justsomeguy]

What is a walking foot machine?

Ah, the information age.

 

[wojtek86]

No need for expensive machine or walking foot. I got a machine for $130 and $250 worth of fabric and I am making about 20 cushions that go all around my 32' boat. Its time consuming. I can make one cushion in about 3-4 hours.

 

[wojtek86]

Great work.
Three questions, what is blesh water, what did you use on those great looking floorboards and how did you learn about sewing skills?

1.water with bleach sorry for the typo.
2.For the floorboards I use high grade marine plywood and then stained the different shades on it. After doing some sample coating I noticed that the light, thin stripes blend in when coated with polyurethane so I actually taped them off and used spray paint to highlight them. After the staining and light highlighted stripes were done I used two part epoxy from home depot, mixed and poured a thick coat on the wood. Let it dry for 24 hours, sanded with 220 and then used marine poly with UV protection to top it off. I did 3 coats of that. Then I let it dry for a week before installing. Pictures coming soon.
3. Youtube and $130 sewing machine (Singer HD4411). Learning curve is not steep. First cushion looks like shit. Second one is a little rough around the edges and zipper. Third looks awesome. All other ones look professional. Then of course you can go back and redo cushions one and two. The key to making nice fitting cushions is to trace the foam perfect with half inch overhang, then saw exactly with half inch seam allowance. Sewing is the easy part. Also seam ripper is your friend.

 

[wristwister]

Two cases where a walking foot machine makes a big difference:

1. Thick stacks of fabric, like multiple layers of canvas, sail Dacron, leather etc. Without the walking foot, things get bunched up at the top as the machine pulls it along from the bottom

2. Sewing dissimilar fabrics together. In the case of my cushions, I'm using a sunbrella type fabric for the tops and sides, and a waterproof nylon on the bottom. The nylon is much slipperier and has different stretch characteristics than the other fabric. The two fabrics feed unevenly without the walking foot.

Yes, these can be done without a walking foot machine if more care is taken and you aren't super concerned with the appearance of the stitching. But I found a great Pfaff walking foot machine on Craigslist for $120, works great!

 

[lpbosch]

I love that floor.