The Upholstery Forum

Some reviewing of past posts has helped with my project, which is what to put over the bare springs besides burlap. This is for a 1932 Packard 900 roadster, specifically the back cushion for the rumble seat. See pics. My planned approach over the burlap is a layer of scrap vinyl, then an inch or so of foam, shape it somewhat, then make a pattern, add 1/2" of scrim foam to the pattern, then sew in the leather pleats with hidden stitching, add a welting border of some sort, with added vinyl material to stretch and hog tie it to the springs. Does this layering sequence seem viable? The last pics are what I am trying to copy.....the very last my Juki 1541 and work area.......am new to this type of posting....... We shall see what happens....:}

It appears the white roadster with the red rumble has a "hidem" strip around the base of the back. Also notice the set of old golf clubs and foot bar on that roadster...nice touch.

Jerry, right you are, hidem was a popular fix to cover staples and seams. Still is. I am hoping to upgrade the look with some welting, like that used with the green Packard pic.
I did some experimenting with hidden stitch seam pleats, and using Johns worksheet, 7/8" allowance, which was spot on, for spacing on the pleats with some scrap burgundy vinyl.
I didn't like the flat look of the pleats on the first attempt with 1/2" scrim foam, but John, via Kacie, suggested using less glue. He was right! Also adding 1" of 2 lb PE foam on top of the scrim gave me the full rounded look I was after. Despite the added thickness, he spacing of the pleats remained the same using 7/8" for 'foldover' allowance.
Amazed that the Juki plowed through 3" of material, (1" plus 1/2" scrim, folded over), using John's tip of sewing onto an extension scrap really helped. See pics of sewing sample strips.... This was done with a standard universal needle, #92 thread, tension on the light side, 1/8" stitch length. Will hopefully follow up with a finished seat cushion back...

Pic showing the scrap sewing extension aid....and the rounded pleats.

in your layers, I have also seen jute pad in the layering . I can say one thing , that is going to be one comfortable seat with all that padding cant wait to see it finished.

I have used jute pads over the burlap on the older cars seats. Work great and saves wear and tear on the foam.

Doing some testing with burgundy vinyl, doing the whole seat covering this time out of vinyl, full size, including hog ties to the frame.
The first pic shows little or no adhesive and no sewing border of vinyl or material with 1/2" scrim foam and 1" thick 2 lb foam. then trying .sewing hidden pleats, .a mess....lots of wrinkles that can be pulled out...but was easier to just start over . .Border sewing of the scrim and some adhesive between scrim foam and vinyl is needed, for a nice look but still flat looking with 1/2" scrim foam.
Second pic shows putting 1" foam directly on cushion, then pleat with 1/2" foam scrim centered over it...sort of works, as 3rd pic shows, but not optimal fullness of the pleat.
Fourth pic shows way too much end foam to sew an end panel decently.
Fifth pic shows a tough large piece 60" x 60" of material to sew at the machine.
Sixth pic shows a layout, using a sharpie on leather, likely a no-no, but we will see. Interesting that the finish size was 40" using John's formulas, and got there ... added 9" for hidden stitch pleat allowance and another 10" or so for hog fastening. The bulk on the ends was an issue, so plan to just use foam in the center, none for the ends or on the added material to fasten the hog rings. Hog rings work crude but they are fast.
Last pic is the layout on leather, overall size around 5' square.....a big chunk of leather to manhandle thru the Juki when doing those hidden seam stitches thru 3 " of foam and leather width at the double fold over stage. Why such a big chunk of leather?
Doing all the pleats using one piece of leather 5 foot square avoids the issue of having mismatched individual strips of leather for the pleats. Pretty obvious if done wrong but much easier to sew the pleats if done correctly with individual pieces of leather.
Most of the sewing work is the old saying, Measure twice, cut or sew once.... Need to review what John mentions for marking vinyl and leather again....I am sure a Sharpie is not at the top of the list! More later....

Hi all,

Finally got the rumble seat back sewn, not perfect, but good enough!

Still needs some steaming, to get some minor wrinkles reduced, but should be fine for now.

The 34 Packard will be a challenge, as no springs pads, etc are really available for it, so will use all foam , various densities, for the pads, since I do have the exterior dimensions and the proper 'look'. In a nut shell, will be easier in the long run as won't need to sew thru 3" of foam like done with the 32 rumble seat. Instead, can glue it all together, with ridges for the pleats etc, make patterns, and just sew leather for a change , which should be a lot easier to do. That will be a different project, and hopefully John will have some suggestions on how to do it. I have access to truck loads of all kinds of foam, various densities etc, so will pass on my learning curve down the road. Cheers ,Lee