The Upholstery Forum

This is only my second upholstery project. The original cloth seats in this classic are being replaced with vinyl. I included my sketch to have some pleats added to bottom of the front seat. My question is once those sections are made (B & C) is it an easy task to sew them into the larger section A. I'm only asking because my last project had "section A" was broken into smaller sections and was more forgiving and was not one large piece of material. I want a smoother look and have selected a large section of material. I'm just wanted to know if there are any hidden issues I need to know about before I start cutting the material. Thanks in advance on this one.

It should be pretty straight forward to sew in those two inserts. The inside corners can be a little tricky. If you haven't done many I suggest doing some practice pieces.
Make sure to give your self plenty of alignment marks. It can be easy to get out of alignment on those inside corners and because you have pleats in that panel it will be very noticeable if you are just a little out of alignment. Make sure to give your self lots of relief cuts in the corners on piece A. When you go to install the cover make sure to steam the corners really good to help it relax and lay flat. If I can get a section like that to lay flat naturally, sometimes I will glue that part of the cover to the seat foam.

I hope this helps! Cant wait to se the finished project!

John thank you for the advice. I'll do some practice runs before the final sewing.

When I’m doing inserts I sometimes staple the 2 pieces together which makes sewing it up real easy. Like John says… do some practice pieces, I’ve learned to sew a little shy of the seam allowance helps to keep the corners neat if you are going to topstitch the insert.

I like the staple idea with the material. So here is what I have so far on the top and bottom seats. I still need to steam the corners to relax the material, but it's shaping up nicely.

Looks awesome! Nice job

Hi there, I'm new here, registered because came across this thread. I'm working on exactly the same vehicle, but my seats are in much worse shape.
Here is what I've done to my front seat so far.

A question to OP, could you please post a few pictures of how and where seatbealts are attached to? I'm going to install seatbelts on mine and can't figure out how to attach them.

Love the work you did on your seat. That back is amazing. The previous owner of this 49 drilled holes in the floor boards (good or bad) and put a 1/2" bolt, large washer and lock nut on the underside of the vehicle. I have included some photos of the original interior before I put new carpet in for the front seat and also the back seat. If you decide to go this route, I would add some water proofing sealant on the holes you drill through the floorboards tp prevent water and future rust issues. Hope this helps.

Pitt_Boss wrote:Love the work you did on your seat. That back is amazing. The previous owner of this 49 drilled holes in the floor boards (good or bad) and put a 1/2" bolt, large washer and lock nut on the underside of the vehicle. I have included some photos of the original interior before I put new carpet in for the front seat and also the back seat. If you decide to go this route, I would add some water proofing sealant on the holes you drill through the floorboards tp prevent water and future rust issues. Hope this helps.

. I would also add, that you can see the seatbelts from the back seat on the floor. If you are worried about seeing them, you might want to place them as far forward as possible or make a material pocket to place around the silver latches on the floor so they are not a distraction from the amazing seat you created, just a thought to consider.

Thank you,
I also wonder how did he ran seatbelts thru the front seat frame? Did he cut slots , something like this?

Nothing was cut on the seat frame. The after market lap belts were fed in around the seat frame in-between the gray heater plate which is on the floor and the seat frame. This would be below the red markings you added to the photo. The belts are long. They laid on the metal frame going back toward the back of the seat. The bottom seat placed over them and then they are placed to lay on top of the bottom seat cushion. It might be better to cut into the seat frame, but I'm guessing you'd need to smooth out the cuts so the seat belt isn't cut over time. You'd never know the belt is deteriating if its shredding at the cut point in the seat frame. I'm guessing you may not have this as your daily driver, but if you're turning her into a hot rod...based on your sewing skills... you might want to upgrade from lap belts. Hope that helps. Let men know if you have any other questions on the interior as mine is all ripped apart. Best of luck