The Upholstery Forum

When doing a car interior, how many yards of material do you guys estimate for different jobs? Say a bench seat, a bucket seat, door panels, etc?

I know leather would probably be a little different because you have to allow for working around imperfections, but i’m Thinking with Naugahyde to keep it simple.

Any ballpark estimates to use as a baseline?

Honestly, I never keep a ballpark figure in my head. I measure each seat I come across. My thinking is, I’ve never had 2 seats the same. Same overall size yes, but one wanted half black have grey, another mostly grey with a touch of a wine color. If the seats were all one color it would be easier. But since I order 2 or more colors per seat, I have to measure based on the area each color needs. Also, some seats are material on the back, some metal panels, others plastic. I think your best bet is to measure each seat.

I used to measure out everything and calculate how much material will be needed. Honestly now I just over estimate on everything. It saves time. Id rather buy and extra yard of material than spend and extra hour calculating exactly what is needed. Plus you should always estimate extra material in to the job for mistakes. Nothing worse than missing a deadline because you 1/2 a yard short and now you have to ship more fabric.