Build your own car seat covers

This is from a tutorial I posted on my website, http://www.dejapong.com

After much searching for a suitable seat cover for my 1993 Chevy S10 and not finding anything, I decided to try making myself my own set. I figured it couldn't be that hard, and it would be something handy to know how to do sometime in the future. It was quite a bit of fun, and I would like to share the process here with you today. Ive probably not done the best job in the world, but its definitely better than having torn seats ruin a perfectly good car.... so here it is.

The sound of a sewing machine has to be one of the most relaxing sounds in the world to me. My mother's main hobby is sewing. With ten kids to look after its not exactly a hobby she can indulge in very often, but every now and then (when she was relaxed and happy) she would get out her vintage treadle and carefully make something. Whenever I heard her sewing, I knew that all was well and that I could safely be in the same room with her without getting sent off to do some chore. Anyways, the whole point of that tirade of nostalgia was to open up this article in something a little less dry than the average how-to article.

visit me at http://www.dejapong.com for more articles and stuff like this.

Step 1: Make your pattern

First off, you need to have a pattern. The easiest way to get this, is to go and measure your old seat. If its a complicated seat, my recommendation would be to get some pieces of paper and cut them out to match the individual pieces that make up the seat. Enlarge these pieces a bit so you have a little bit of room to sew.

Comments

[MissMonkeyXXX]

Great plan... alas, no sewing machine!

[abadfart]

thanks i think ill do this for the seats in my moms car she has a 93 Buick and the leather seats are about shot

[slimguy379]

i own a 99 monte carlo LS model. it has bench seats, and like you i have not found anything i like, i am going to do a very similar look of yours. however i re did my interior of my car with red and black vinyl. So i would like to keep the vinyl look and make the covers from the same material. But my father is skeptical about the thickness of the vinyl. would your average joe sewing machine handle the thickness of the vinyl? i figure a thicker needle would work. but figured id ask before i buy a new needle. thanks, and beautiful tutorial.

[abadfart]

give leather needles a shot

[padevries]

Your typical inexpensive machine won't but if you have an older (1960's or earlier) vintage it might. have a look talk to a couple of "experts" at a local sewing machine store...

[golddigger1559]

 ive got a 69 VW fasty and that model almost always has vinal seats so after all these years almost every seat is cracked and what not... is there anything i can put on that to preserve the vinal so i don't have  to worry about it until i get it reupholstered

[ke5aux]

Looks great! I was looking for just that.

[salmansheikh]

this is cool. I bought some seat covers off ebay for $46 shipped and they tore the first day when I sat on them because there cheap Chinese-made one size fits all. My wife bought some from Ross for $6 each that were superior to mine but we sold that car that had them and I can't find them anymore and the didn't fit perfect. I've never sewed in my life (other than buttons on a pant or shirt that broke off) but I'm gonna try this...

Abe
http://www.linkintech.com/wordpres

[phlojoe]

dats soo nice,i hv always dreamt abt it ill try it soon

[antiguru]

haha nice~!

I got mine from shear comfort but now I kind of wish I made my own =]

[edel]

sewing is easy and like most things the more you do it the better you get, a few tips, when sewing use pins to hold the pieces together, but make sure the pins are perpendicular to the line of sewing therefore you can sew over the pins (slowly) and you almost never break the needle, doing it this way keeps the fabric together and speeds things up a lot. also sewing stretchy fabrics can be a bitch a strip of tissue paper under the fabric, so you sew through the tissue and the stretchy fabric at the same time stops the fabric stretching as you sew and distorting the final shape (rip away the paper when you are done) but everyone should have a sewing machine!

[andresm]

WOW!!! well done, i would try it, but im not the type of person that has a good sewing ability, lol

[radiorental]

very nice job - well done.

fyi, these guys do most cars and a very awesome job too
http://wetokole.net/page/WOH/PROD/CHEV/CHEVTRUCKF

they do your s10, but overall, its a little pricey - worth it if you surf or have dogs.

[Neodudeman]

Wow, you made all that sewing look So Easy. lol.