Patterning and Sewing Seat Covers - Porsche 356

These seat covers have a great Tuck and Roll detail along with piping and bolsters. Let's dissect the original seats, create patterns, then sew up a set of seat covers for the 1964 Porsche 356C.
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[@arnaldoleon1]

Nothing screams middle age more than two 50-year old men watching each sowing on KZbin. Cheers Greg!

[@GregsGarage]

LOL! Exactly! Just wait until I start restoring old planes.

[@MrFireman164]

😂

[@SVSeeker]

Beautiful work. You got me thinking about making lift bags.

[@GregsGarage]

You could whip those out in your sleep! Just thinking out loud here... I've seen old fire hose used for clamping fixtures and other weird things. I wonder if there's a way to string enough old hose together to lift your load?

[@NextLevelCarpentry]

Never cease to amaze me, Mr Greg! Didn't know you had it in you to do upholstery... but then again, I'm not surprised! I'll circle back to check out the seats when you get to/though foaming and fitting... BTW chuckled at how you handled the 'piping' terminology in post production 🤣🤣

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Matt! The upholstery work is very cathartic. There's something relaxing about following a line of stitches. The patterning and box building are also fun little problems to work through!

[@jonahguitarguy]

Props to you my friend. That's a huge undertaking. Of course all the metal is a huger undertaking. But upholstery is so far out of my wheelhouse what you did here is mind blowing. With really incredible results.

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Dane. Its like anything else... Just take your time and go one step, then the next. It will be fun to get the foam done and see the new covers in place.

[@BruceAUlrich]

Enjoyed seeing how you went about this. And using the trimmer string is brilliant!

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Bruce! This is a skill that comes in handy in furniture making as well!

[@blackwell1384]

Very helpful. I need to make a thinner seat bottom for my car, very helpful

[@GregsGarage]

Good luck!!! It's a simple process, but I always do a few little test panels before I work on the real seat. Since I don't do this every day, the practice helps.

[@amendippanesar]

Wow man this is absolutely amazing.

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Amen!

[@Green_Shortz]

Nice work on the 356 seat covers. The low profile piping is gonna make the Porsche just that much faster. Was laughing at your “binding” missteps. Your guitar work of late is still on the brain. 😂

[@GregsGarage]

You are 100% right. Binding is for guitars!

[@jwhrivnak]

Nice work!

[@TheRealJerseyJoe]

Well I'm super impressed. Well done, looks like you did a brilliant job. Respect !

[@GregsGarage]

Thank you sir!

[@ATfabNfix64]

Very nice, I going to do my own seats also on my 356. I got a Rex sewing machine off of Craigslist a few years ago and did my 57 nomad. I have watched every one of Chefflos videos and learned so much from him. Keep up the great work

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks! I think that Rex machine is the same casting as the old Thompson mini-walker. I'm amazed at how many of these machines are out there. They are PERFECT for guys who want to knock out an few projects but don't want to drop $2000 on a Juki.

[@MrFireman164]

Excellent

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks brother! I can't wait to see how they fit!

[@Benham_Design]

This was really interesting, I always thought that the pleats were created, by sewing directly through the top. I see it's folded and sewn.

[@GregsGarage]

The traditional "tuck and roll" is done with a hem like I did... I've made other seats where I did a simple seam. Both look good, but this way matches the factory seats.

[@elams1894]

I just assumed you would whip these off to a specialty upholstery shop or something similar. How wrong was I to assume. I am very impressed with your skill here Greg. This is fantastic. Great episode.

[@GregsGarage]

As a rule, I'm a bit of a control freak. I enjoy the doing, so if I can sort it out, I'll put it on my own todo list.

[@FoxyTCustoms]

Greg, those turned out fantastic! Nice work!

[@GregsGarage]

Thank you!

[@snocrushr]

Real nice Greg

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Greg!

[@BelgianMuscle]

you do know what you're doing, that's obvious... you've done it before so you know what you're doing. Are you a pro? No, but do you need to be? No, it just takes more time because you haven't figured out all the little trics pro's learned in 1000s of hours doing it. Looks really good! Back and bottom piping matches. Looks really nice! You are probably a Jimmy Diresta kinda guy... You go to school on the first one, i'm more of a "I do it right because i do it twice" kinda guy 😅😅 And "twice" is a variable in that statement 😂😂

[@GregsGarage]

You're 100% correct. I usually buy a pile of "practice fabric" when I'm at the supplier. They have a remnant bin that's about 75% off, so it's great material to test patterns and stitches on. I'm very deliberate when I get into the work. Do it just like you practiced!!! The pros are WAY faster and they don't make the same mistakes, but I'm cool with going slow.

[@Buckswoodshop]

Very cool! 👍👍

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Matt!!!

[@TheRooster1122]

Very Nicely done Greg 👍🏼👍🏼

[@GregsGarage]

Thank you!

[@kylegreen3728]

Nice job!!

[@GregsGarage]

Thanks Kyle!

[@sgsax]

Really nice work impressive results! I really need to do some sewing projects. I have plenty of misplaced confidence in other media, but not this one. Looking good!

[@GregsGarage]

Seth, just buy a machine and some fabric and let it rip!!! You'll surprise yourself with how easy it is to get usable results. Just take your time and lay out the patterns in detail. You got this!!!

[@WildmanTech]

Looking good Greg. This isn’t your first time doing this, is it? For future reference, old leather sofas are a great source of material.

[@GregsGarage]

I've done a little upholstery work here and there, but not tons. And yes... I've cut the backs out of some sofas and recliners that were in the "free" pile on the curb. The leather on the back is usually untouched and in perfect condition.

[@RustyGlovebox]

Nice job Greg, came out really nice. What machine do you use?

[@GregsGarage]

That machine is a Thompson Mini-Walker. The Sailrite machine is the same thing but a few generations newer and more improved.