The Upholstery Forum

I have always thought that upholstering headrests must be difficult because of the tight curves and the clips that hold the cover in place...

I have just seen a YouTube video in Russian that shows how the amateur trimmer makes and fits a cover for the headrest and it looks very good and seems very doable...


These Russians work very precisely!! It's a pity that I don't understand a single word!!!

I just did some work on a Triumph TR6 and one of the headrests had a wear hole in it so I took it apart and replaced that side panel. It was a relitively easy job and remaking the whole thing would not have been too difficult. Jump right in.

Wow!! It looks as if it came like tbat from the factory!!! Thank you, as I was afraid that it would be very difficult! (or at least for me )

Perhaps sewing a french seam in the headrest would be harder, without using a post-bed sewing machine? When I sew a french seam in intricate panels, I wish that the flatbed machine that I use could transform into a post-bed one

@LeatherJohnny thanks, I got lucky and had a scrap that matched the color and texture pretty good. I don’t think a French seam would have been terribly difficult, why not try making a practice one from vinyl and see how it works for you.

Thanks again, and when I have some spare time I'll try to make one for my car and will let you know how it goes!

@LeatherJohnny ,

Listen to us Johnny. Go to the wreckers and get some headrests they are the very first thing I started with and are not as scary as they look

BigRig wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:42 am @LeatherJohnny ,

Listen to us Johnny. Go to the wreckers and get some headrests they are the very first thing I started with and are not as scary as they look

Thanks, and it's good to know!! When I see aftermarket upholstery jobs in cars it's not rare to see wrinkles in headrests and it made me think that they were difficult to do. I will keep you posted about my advances!

Hey cool video!
Some headrests are much harder than others. It depends on how difficult it its to get the cover on. Sometimes what I will do is put a thin trash bag over the head rest and install the cover. This helps to cover slid on much easier.

Thanks! Yes, I have used the plastic bag method in a couple of projects and it helps a lot!!! In my case, I used the very thin plastic that is used to protect furniture when painting the house

It was very interesting when I found out the vacuum bag technique, and it also helps when installing headrest covers. There are so many things to learn...

TAPE? - great vid - what sort of tape is he using for that?

In one of the videos he mentioned that it was masking tape, the one that painters use. I have used it to make patterns, and it works beautifully