Making my own bucket seat covers

[Corts60]

Well since no one seems to make a lot of bucket seat covers, let alone the exact ones for my Suburban, I decided to give it a shot. I ordered the factory material from SMS Auto Fabrics and re-upholstered the drivers seat bottom today. My sewing machine can't do piping, but other than that I think it came out alright. I swapped out the cushion from the passenger side since the foam was in better shape.

What do you all think?

[Corts60]

Installed.

I'll finish the passenger seat and back sides on another day. That was quite a bit of work!

[72c20customcamper]

Looks great

[dagnabbitt]

Wow. You're hired!

[Willowrun]

Very nice!

[jocko]

Beautiful job, very nice! Have wanted to do the same to my low back buckets, but then I sold the truck they were going in so it’s on the back burner now. Ha. I assume these are for your 86?

[Nick_R_23]

Excellent work!

[Corts60]

Thanks everyone!

Jocko - these are for my 88 4x4. And I see you’re in Burleson, I have a lot family there.

[blazer2007]

Nice job ,I did my own bench seat and was quite easy and try to tell people it,s easy to do. Copy the old material and put it back together. I thought it was a good winter project and rewarding as well. Did the door pockets as well .That will next on your list

[LT7A]

That came out really nice. That looks difficult to do. Piping is the first part to get damaged since it catches on things, so I think leaving it off is a good plan.

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by LT7A

That came out really nice. That looks difficult to do. Piping is the first part to get damaged since it catches on things, so I think leaving it off is a good plan.

Thanks! It wasn’t too bad, all said and done I think I have 4 hours into it from the time I unbolted it until I had it re-installed. I’ve upholstered seats before, but never ones with pleats, so that was a little challenging for me to get the lines straight. They’re actually a little squirrelly, but look decent enough.

[Corts60]

Got the second seat complete. It didn't come out as good as the first one because I was using the driver seat bottom and the foam was broken down a lot more than the passenger. So the material is a little loose on it. Oh well, good enough for the ol' winter rig.

[44SAA]

Nice craftsmanship. I have the same color interior in my 1980 C20

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Thanks everyone!

Jocko - these are for my 88 4x4. And I see you’re in Burleson, I have a lot family there.

No kidding! Small world. And you reminded me I need to update my info, I just moved a few days ago, a whole 7 miles west of where I was last week.

[Palf70Step]

Seats came out great Cort. Good Job!

[Mathew21]

Great job!

[kipps]

How are the pleats formed? Are they just stitching in the top layer? Or are they laminating several layers together with stuffing in between, like a quilt?

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by kipps

How are the pleats formed? Are they just stitching in the top layer? Or are they laminating several layers together with stuffing in between, like a quilt?

It’s laminated I guess for lack of a better adjective. There are 3 layers: velour, 1/2” foam, and a special material that is ironed onto the foam. I don’t know what the last layer is called, but it’s like a white silk screen. Basically it helps the foam slip through the sewing machine without sticking or hanging up. The pleats were really hard for me as I am an amateur. My lines are crooked. Keeping the material taught while running through the machine while also trying to keep a straight line was very challenging.

[Corts60]

Thanks everyone!

[Gregski]

fantabulous

[blazer2007]

Originally Posted by Corts60

It’s laminated I guess for lack of a better adjective. There are 3 layers: velour, 1/2” foam, and a special material that is ironed onto the foam. I don’t know what the last layer is called, but it’s like a white silk screen. Basically it helps the foam slip through the sewing machine without sticking or hanging up. The pleats were really hard for me as I am an amateur. My lines are crooked. Keeping the material taught while running through the machine while also trying to keep a straight line was very challenging.

It,s called sew foam

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Well since no one seems to make a lot of bucket seat covers, let alone the exact ones for my Suburban, I decided to give it a shot. I ordered the factory material from SMS Auto Fabrics and re-upholstered the drivers seat bottom today. My sewing machine can't do piping, but other than that I think it came out alright. I swapped out the cushion from the passenger side since the foam was in better shape.

What do you all think?

That looks great BTW.

Piping requires, patience, a steady hand and a different foot for your machine. IIRC they're called a Welting foot. My Singer had one in the goodie drawers in the cabinet. Whether you can get one for your machine is???

I re-used the piping on the seats in my 1981 VW Rabbit when I replaced the upholstery in 1992.
I was using a Singer 201. No such thing as fancy stitches on that machine. You got one stitch style on the 201 straight ahead.

[truckin 79]

wow those do look nice good job.