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Learning to sew? |
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Scratch 
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Joined: 30 July 2019 Location: Hudson, WI Status: Offline Points: 1453 |
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 Topic: Learning to sew?Posted: 29 Dec. 2022 at 11:23pm |
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Sew I decided that since I needed new seat covers, and my brother has a nice heavy duty Consew sewing machine right next door that he uses for sailboat sails, I should just bite the bullet and learn how to sew. I have 3 jeeps that I need new seat covers for, sew I thought now would be a good time to learn. I'm going to watch some videos on sewing and hopefully figure it out, but if anyone has any tips on making them, please let me know.
I'm looking for anyplace that might have patterns for the front seats as well as the rear seat. I'm also thinking I'll start by making tailgate chain covers from the matching material, sew if anyone knows of any measurements for those, I'd appreciate it also.
I'll try to post up some pics of my progress as I go. |
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44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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Agas46cj
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Joined: 09 July 2022 Location: 17569 Status: Offline Points: 267 |
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Posted: 30 Dec. 2022 at 4:41am |
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Make your patterns out of brown paper and when you cut make sure you leave plenty of seam allowance. The extra material will allow for good grip, room if you need to rip and resew and it can always be trimmed back later.
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48willys
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Joined: 22 June 2007 Location: sw/ virginia Status: Offline Points: 1338 |
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Posted: 30 Dec. 2022 at 8:56am |
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I used Jeff’s drawings to make my covers. I didn’t have any way to print them so I got a large piece of cardboard and used the measurements to draw them out. https://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/seat-cover-patterns_topic32409.html
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1946 cj2a #28680
1948 chevy 3800 thriftmaster 1946-50's cj2a-3a farm jeep 1993 yj, aka the yj7 |
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19Cargo42
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Posted: 30 Dec. 2022 at 11:40am |
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Each thread I read about members learning how to do this really impresses me. Good luck with your project.
Happy new year! John
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Scratch
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Joined: 30 July 2019 Location: Hudson, WI Status: Offline Points: 1453 |
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Posted: 30 Dec. 2022 at 1:17pm |
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Thanks!
Another thing I need is foam. It looks like the standard is like 3” foam on the bottom, and 2 or 2.5” foam on the backs. Does that sound correct? I was thinking about getting the foam from Walcks, but I see that BigWillyJeep uses a dual density foam. Does anyone here have foam from either of those places and can tell me how they like it for a person around 200 pounds? Not sure if BigWillyJeep even sells their foam separate but wondering if I should check into it.
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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bight
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Posted: 30 Dec. 2022 at 7:41pm |
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lots of upholstery places sell various types, thickness, sizes of foam. we here in maine have a place called Mardens that sells remnants and has variety of foam at very good prices.
i popped in a piece of memory foam cut from a large mattress topper on top of the original horsehair and it is very comfortable. old couch cushions often have good foam still in them too. there was a thread here on this subject not too long ago.
Edited by bight - 30 Dec. 2022 at 7:44pm |
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CJ-2A 72586 tan (stock)
CJ-2A 197624 green (resto-mod) the wife abides (def: to bear patiently; TOLERATE) |
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JonJ
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Joined: 18 Apr. 2020 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 316 |
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Posted: 31 Dec. 2022 at 5:49am |
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You can do this. I
 was so inspired by JPets post on the subject that I had a go for my back seat. Just on a plain old sewing machine. Learned a lot of lessons and next time I think it will go better but I had a lot of fun. Re the chains. I just looked at a couple of photos and saw where the cloth started an finished on chain links and copied. |
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Scratch
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Joined: 30 July 2019 Location: Hudson, WI Status: Offline Points: 1453 |
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Posted: 31 Dec. 2022 at 10:07am |
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Thanks all. I’ve thought of couch cushions but I’m wondering if those would be not dense enough for my fat ass. I think it’d be fine for the back but am concerned about the bottom. I tried calling Walcks yesterday to ask about their foam but I think they must have left for the day and now won’t be back until after their New Years sale is over.
I’d really like to just buy the foam from BigWillysjeep but I don’t see that they sell it separately. Their bottom foam is a dual density. I tried contacting them but nothing yet. I found a foam place local-ish to me, but it’s a drive and that might be a problem for me. I called them yesterday to get an idea on pricing. They seem to be as expensive or a little higher than Walcks, but they have lots of densities that I can test out. I’m thinking I might plan on using couch foam for the back and buying a higher density foam from the foam place for the bottom and skip the ones from Walcks. That way I don’t feel pressured because of their sale ending. Then if bigwillysjeep gets back to me before I make the trip to the foam place I might go with them. Has anyone here used couch cushion foam? JonJ, where’d you get those “rivets”? For the tailgate chain covers? They have those at the hardware store?
Edited by Scratch - 31 Dec. 2022 at 10:10am |
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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JonJ
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Joined: 18 Apr. 2020 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 316 |
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Posted: 31 Dec. 2022 at 10:35am |
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Hi Rivets are from Amazon. I should think you can get them. I got 6x5. They are also useful for the spare gas tank straps. A whole lot easier and less fiddly than the originals.On cushion depends on whether you want to sink in or have a firm seat. I went medium density on the back which is quite soft for me but fine for the kids! When I do the fronts I’m looking at the foam you get for seats in Mobile homes / caravans. A lot firmer!
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oldtime
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Posted: 31 Dec. 2022 at 11:02am |
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On seat bottoms I used a common open cell foam with a 1/2” thick piece of closed cell (sleeping pad) glued onto the top side of open cell.
Not too bad for comfort and very durable. Edited by oldtime - 31 Dec. 2022 at 11:03am |
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Currently building my final F-134 powered 3B .
T98-A Rock Crawler using exclusive factory parts and Approved Special Equipment from the Willys Motors era (1953-1963) Zero aftermarket parts |
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bight
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Posted: 31 Dec. 2022 at 12:13pm |
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use the search function. type in seat foam, hit match phrase button. several good threads come right up.
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CJ-2A 72586 tan (stock)
CJ-2A 197624 green (resto-mod) the wife abides (def: to bear patiently; TOLERATE) |
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48willys
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Joined: 22 June 2007 Location: sw/ virginia Status: Offline Points: 1338 |
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Posted: 31 Dec. 2022 at 12:43pm |
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Mine has memory foam from an old bed mattress, it’s a little soft for the bottom. I’ll probably layer it with something like carpet padding next time to stiffen it some.
Do some research here, there’s some pretty good older topics about it. If you do decide to layer your own, keep in mind you’ll need a can of upholstery glue to bind it together, it just works better glued together. |
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1946 cj2a #28680
1948 chevy 3800 thriftmaster 1946-50's cj2a-3a farm jeep 1993 yj, aka the yj7 |
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Scratch
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Joined: 30 July 2019 Location: Hudson, WI Status: Offline Points: 1453 |
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Posted: 07 Jan. 2023 at 8:22pm |
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Today was the day I started learning how to sew. This is my brothers sewing machine. It's a Consew, and he uses it for making sails for sailboats, as well as big canvas bags to hold sails, and other bags and gear for sailing. He has as many sailboats as I have jeeps.  He gave me a bunch of this stuff which is very similar to vinyl seat covers. It's actually pool covers. For his day job, he owns a pool and hot tub company and he gets this stuff all the time. I measured what I thought would be a good size at 15"x 6" and cut it out.  My first step was to make a hem on both ends. I did this on the shiny side which I want to be out. This was the first time I'd ever sewn. I was worried about keeping the stitch line straight but it turns out that's not very difficult to do. I did this on both ends.  |
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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Scratch
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Posted: 07 Jan. 2023 at 8:28pm |
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Then I flipped it over and folded it together to make the seam. I wanted this to be on the inside. I hope I'm not being to "simple" about this, maybe there are a bunch of people on here that have sewn before... not me, so I may be over explaining things. Oh well.... feel free to not read the post then. what do I care.
 Anyways, I guess it used to be they used pins to hold the pieces together but now some people use double sided tape. That's a thing to do I guess in sewing... Didn't know that. So I used some tape to hold it together while sewing.   Then I sewed that seam. You have to make sure you don't sew on the tape or the adhesive will be visible.  |
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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Scratch
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Joined: 30 July 2019 Location: Hudson, WI Status: Offline Points: 1453 |
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Posted: 07 Jan. 2023 at 8:33pm |
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You also have to make sure that the tension is set correctly on the machine. My brother purposely messed with me so I'd see what happened. That way it would stick better in my mind he claims, plus he could show me how to remove a bad stitch and start over. It was easier than I thought. Here's what the wrong tension on the machine can look like on the back side.
 And after pulling the bad stitch, setting the tension correctly, and re sewing, this is what the back should look like. Front and back.   |
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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Scratch
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Posted: 07 Jan. 2023 at 8:36pm |
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Then here's what the finished chain cover looks like after I turned it right side out, which to be honest... was the hardest part of this whole project. Makes me glad to know how easy it actually is to sew, and that maybe, just maybe... my seat covers will look ok.
   While I'm not so scared of the sewing machine anymore, I'm also not entirely happy with the chain cover. I may end up redoing them with different material, and maybe make them a little smaller. (I feel the opening on them is pretty big) Either way, I kind of know what I'm doing now so I feel much better about making the seat covers. I plan on ordering the foam cushions tomorrow and will start on the covers when they come in. If anyone has any sewing tips, that might help, let me know. I've found a bunch of good beginner videos on a place called Sailrite.com and YouTube obviously as well. Edited by Scratch - 07 Jan. 2023 at 8:42pm |
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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oldtime
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Posted: 07 Jan. 2023 at 8:53pm |
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I hear Consew and Sailrite are some of the very best walking foot machines for canvas sewing.
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Currently building my final F-134 powered 3B .
T98-A Rock Crawler using exclusive factory parts and Approved Special Equipment from the Willys Motors era (1953-1963) Zero aftermarket parts |
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Scratch
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Joined: 30 July 2019 Location: Hudson, WI Status: Offline Points: 1453 |
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Posted: 07 Jan. 2023 at 10:53pm |
Yeah I had never heard of Sailrite before my brother told me about them. I guess that’s where he gets some of his supplies or something.
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43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD 46 CJ2A 50100 Tan 46 CJ2A 77632 Wht 47 CJ2A 141681 Grn 48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel 48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red 61 CJ5 123120 Tan 03 TJ Inca Gld |
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oldtime wrote: