not attempted it myself but i did see one guys attempt on a mr2 forum (i think- it was a link in another forum) and it was the worst retrim i have ever seen! it looked worse than the cheapest of seat covers, even the ones with dragons on them!

certainly a job for the pros i think!

i always thought it may be possible to do by using the original covers as a template and taking your time, but after seeing that guys attempt i certainly wont be trying it myself.

it may just be that he was rubbish but i wouldnt risk it.

 

Lol, I think I found that when I was googling it. Really was awful but he didn't do proper templates or anything. It looked crap because there wasn't enough material to go down between the bolsters. I'm going to practise on some old seats before I even consider trying it on mine but I did a fair bit of textiles work when I was at school and college so hopefully I'll be able to do something decent. If not then I've not lost much and I'll get it done professionally.

 

It takes years of experience. Use cheap crappy material because the first 4 or 5 attempts are probably going to be like crap and have creases and wrinkles. There's a reason people pay between ?1000 - ?2000 to let someone else do it.

Baz

 

I realise that what I end up with won't be as perfect as something done by a retrimmer who has been doing it for 10/20 years but I love learning new skills and the satisfaction of doing something myself rather than palming it off on someone else. As things are, I couldn't afford a retrim til at least the end of the summer, if not autumn so it seems worth it to practise with some crap material and any interior bits I get get for free from Simons work or from mates and see how it goes. I wouldn't consider using expensive leather or alcantara unless I can get a decent result with cheap materials though. I've bought a book that has been recommended to me by someone who fell into trimming comletely by accident a year or so again and is now doing amazing work, he said theres no reason why I can't teach myself as long as I'm prepared to work at it.

 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I wouldn't attempt it but I admire you for trying. You'll have to post up some pics of the results.

 

Will do, I have the advantage of knowing my way round a sewing machine and I have one that will handle most materials (possibly not leather but I'll deal with that if the time comes). Being a perfectionist probably helps too. If I thought it was going to turn out like that MR2 one I wouldn't even bother trying!

 

I agree totally with you about having a go at it. I do almost all the work on my own car because I hate relying on someone else. So we have somewhat of a similar philosophy. Upholstery is difficult but would be a great skill to have and be good at. Best seats to practice on would be a vw sports seat as they have a few angles to play with.

Baz

 

I have the advantage of knowing my way round a sewing machine

Of course you do, you're female!!! []

<legs it..........quickly>

[D]

 

Lol, I don't mind really - its a fair point. My boyfriend does all the complicated mechanical stuff on my car. I can do simple stuff but my limit would probably be changing spark plugs and ht leads. Simon is a mechanic so its all pretty easy for him. Whereas all the more delicate stuff is my field, he has 'asbestos hands' typical of a mechanic, always dirty and nicely roughened so he can do all the hard labour jobs, not so good for sewing.

I think I can get an old golf sports seat (from a mk2 if I remember rightly) which will give me something to practise on and it would be free as I know someone wanting rid of it. Luckily we have a spare room for all this stuff.

 

not attempted it myself but i did see one guys attempt on a mr2 forum (i think- it was a link in another forum) and it was the worst retrim i have ever seen! it looked worse than the cheapest of seat covers, even the ones with dragons on them!

Is this the one here

 

i Know somebody with a mk3 on ed38 did it, well him and his mum anyways

 

not attempted it myself but i did see one guys attempt on a mr2 forum (i think- it was a link in another forum) and it was the worst retrim i have ever seen! it looked worse than the cheapest of seat covers, even the ones with dragons on them!

Is this the one here.

Where?

 

to be honest its something that i've always wanted to have a go at. mainly because its so expensive to get a professional job. i've always thought, how hard can it really be but after seeing the mr2 attempt it put me off. but then again i think i could do a much better job than he did.

i was thinking to take it a step at a time. so first attempt, just unpick the original seat cover and try stitching it back together. if you manage to do that(and it fits back on just like the original), then next time once you have unstitched the material, use it as a template to cut out new material then stitch together the new cover. it may take a few attempts to get it looking good but it would be an excellent skill to learn and save you so much money over the years. once you had perfected the skill, you could earn some extra money by doing retrims for other people. it wouldnt cost much to learn either using cheap material to practice on.

i may give it a go soon. probably start on something small such as a headrest or get one seat from a scrap yard to practice on.

 

Any pics of this MR2?

 

I'm getting some old coach headrests from my boyfriends work and a seat for practise, I think I understand most of the basic stuff, using the old unstiched panels as templates, but allowing for the different stretch of materials etc, marking everything up, checking, double checking! The book I ordered should help with anything I can't think of.

 

not attempted it myself but i did see one guys attempt on a mr2 forum (i think- it was a link in another forum) and it was the worst retrim i have ever seen! it looked worse than the cheapest of seat covers, even the ones with dragons on them!

Is this the one here.

Where?

Whoops.

Here

 

not attempted it myself but i did see one guys attempt on a mr2 forum (i think- it was a link in another forum) and it was the worst retrim i have ever seen! it looked worse than the cheapest of seat covers, even the ones with dragons on them!

Is this the one here.

Where?

Whoops.

Here

thats the one.

it looks awful, really saggy.

i think the main problem was that he over complicated the design, especially for his first attempt.

also once you have fitted the new cover, you need to steam the seat to get it to fit properly, which i dont think he did.

 

Fair play to the guy. I've seen worse. In fact, i've seen worse that people have paid 5-6 hundred quid for. He could probably redo a couple of panels on the seats and they'd turn out ok. One of the most difficult things to get right is the hooks that hold the cloth down into the corners of the seats. VW have a special tool for putting the hooks in. I think they're one time use as well so when you take them out they break or bend.

Baz

 

Yup, thats the same one I saw. if you look at the whole thread, he doesn't measure the parts out properly at all so he doesn't allow for the fabric to go down into the corners of the bolsters, I think that was the main mistake, his sewing wasn't that straight either.