Boat Upholstery

 

We decided to recover the bench cushion on the boat as one of the corners was just showing some age.  As we were going to use the boat all summer we thought it would be better to cover it before it got worse.  The small leather repair had been tried and was 95% successful, in that it was repaired but a perfect colour match was very hard to achieve and it showed a little.

We bought several metres of Upholstery fabric from Immanuel Fabrics at Burnley for £1 a metre.  They specialise in ends of rolls or discontinued lines so you can buy really good quality fabric at tiny prices if you are not bothered that it is not this year’s colour/design.

This internet clip was a great help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7m0No1tUHo

The first one was quite straightforward as it was almost rectangular.  The issue with boat cushions and I suspect this applies to caravans etc is that the back of the cushions are thinner so that they fit snuggly under the seat back cushions.  Therefore all the angles you are dealing with are odd.  You are in fact covering wedge shapes.  Anyway the first one went quite well so we rushed back to Burnley to buy the rest of the roll of material before someone else snapped it up.

The fabric is a short napped plush with a flame proof backing, which is kind of rubbery.  I was really surprised how easy it was to sew.

The next 3 pieces were much harder shapes as they formed a ‘U’ shape around the table.

First we traced around the front edge of the cushion.  The video suggests taking a pen and drawing around the cushion with the pen pointing slightly under the edge at approx 45 degree angle.  This gives the sewing line and you need, and a cut line to allow approx 2cm extra for your seam allowance.  The stretch fabric needs to be cut so that the finished item is slightly smaller than the cushion and so fits snuggly.  We cut out the shape, leaving the back open for further adjustments.

We then placed that piece face down on the fabric and cut out the bottom of the cushion.

We then cut out a strip for the front of the cushion.  We cut it to the maximum depth so that the narrower side pieces could be shaped as necessary.

We then pinned the top piece to the front piece and sewed around the edge.

**Mistake 1.  We then pinned the top piece to the cushion to ensure we fit the base properly.  At this point we should have turned the fabric inside out and fitted it to the cushion in reverse, as it would have been MUCH easier to get the fit right by pinning the edges, right sides together, with the wrong side showing. 

**Mistake 2.  We drew a line around the bottom edge and then sewed the top and bottom pieces together and then clumsily refit the whole thing and re-sewed some edges until it fit properly.  Phew!!  It took 5 refits which means we had to wrestle the cushion in and out of the fabric 4 times, phew again!

We ended up with two flaps at the back of the seat.  We trimmed and neatened the top and bottom flaps so that they fit nicely with an overlap.

Next, I sewed the velcro along the edges, sewing all the way around the velcro edges to make sure it was secure.

We chose to use Velcro instead of a zip.  1. Because we thought it would be easier and 2. Because as the seats sag a little with wear the velcro can be un-fastened and re-fastened to tighten the fit, and another strip could be added if necessary, as it is underneath the seat and so will not show.

The finished seating in place.

Note the dual purpose collapsible fruit bowl/colander.  Beautiful and Useful.

Bags 3 – Birthday and Holidays Totes

I have been going to my hairdresser for 15 years and she is a terrific lady and never fails to please.  She has a great sense of fun and is a wise and cherished soul.

It is her Fabulous Birthday this month so I thought a nice bag might be in order.  I have been saving this material which I acquired a little while ago.  It is unusual in that the black satiny, right side has gold disks and the wrong side has Gold with Black disks.  Therefore perfect for a reversible bag.  But all the reversing, bagging techniques I normally apply did not show off the fabric fully.  So I first made the outer pieces with a reversed top edge.  

Normally I would put the inner and outer pieces together at the top where the handles are and make sure the handles are well secured by going back and forth a few times over the strap area.  The extra stitching does not show as the bag is turned inside out.  However for this bag I did not want any bulk at the top of the bag so I attached the handles to the inner first, making sure they were secure and then topstitched the bag together.  First I stitched a row approx 1cm from the top edge and then stitched around again with a bear 4mm space from the edge to hopefully give it a more professional finish.  Thank goodness for the Walking Foot on my machine as the topstitching was nerve-wracking and the Walking Foot really helps to prevents puckering.

The equally lovely hairdresser in the business was very excited about a holiday she is going on soon so I thought it would be nice for her to have a bag too.

The owl bag was lined with bag lining fabric to make it more substantial.   The bag lining can be bought as such but curtain lining seems to be pretty similar and more cost effective.

Both ladies seemed pretty pleased with their bags.

Bears 6 – Twin Brown Mohair Bears plus Guest

These two bears were made whilst on our trip on the ‘Oriana’ Cruise ship in January.  Cruise’s have several sea-days and it is useful to have a good book or take a small hobby to fill the gaps between entertainment events and food top-ups.

They are the last items to be made from the dense, short brown Mohair I bought last year.  I think 6 have been made so far. 

These are a 60% reduction of the original pattern.

The only different between them is the colour of their paws.  One is taupe suede, the other is peachy coloured. 

Their faces look different because the eyes are closer together on the top one.  

I had cut out 3 bears to sew on the cruise.  However, I met this lady called Margaret who was an avid embroiderer, but had not brought anything with her.  I offered her a bear to make and she was eager to try.  After each session I would suggest sewing to be done for next time and she was a wizard quick sewer.  I acquired more bear stuffing in Cadiz and we were sorted.  Thank goodness there are potty crafters in Spain too.

The following photo is Margaret with her finished bear ‘Teddy Oriana’, which she was rightly delighted with. 

He has cinnamon coloured plush paws.

Margaret insisted on paying for the materials she used and gave me a lovely gift on our last day together, which will help me remember a lovely lady.