First Attempt.....

[Sireatalot]

Do you mean fingers crossed stitched....


Sorry, I'll get my coat..





And no..... dont cross stitch your fingers !!
Hehe

[mrzigazaga]

Mmm...A one fingered cross stitch.....So when I'm at the hospital waiting to be seen i can give the middle finger to the receptionist...Doctor and medical staff...And everyone else who is sitting there waiting to be seen....

[prideaux]

How is the Finger and the sewing Machine
A

[mrzigazaga]

Hi mate...After having all the trouble with the machine i have eventually sorted it out..It now has a proper size V belt..Positioned properly...I have found a service pdf manual online so i read that and set the machine up properly..I altered some parts so that i can actually have a said amount of stitches per inch...I now know if the thread is pulling out if its the top or bottom tension...And now I'm just waiting for some more material to arrive before i make my head rest covers and takle the seats...I have been practising the TVR logo as i had some templates made up...I have made some sunglass cases..The black one is vinyl and the dark grey is leather...
..

I also went to the trimmers last week and chatted to the lady that has been doing all the trimming for the past 35 years..She gave me a load of good tips as well as some proper needles..Thread..Small pieces of leather...(Which i used for the case) and some proper piping...I have bought a magnetic guide that helps steady the edge and help give a straight stitch...I need to biuy a few more bits for the machine so i can do the piping and straight french stitch.

The learning curve is varied but i know a lot more than i did a week ago...Ill update when i have successfully made something that fits how it should to a head rest or seat....Ziga

[bluezeeland]

Probably shouldn't be asking this, but what is a straight french stitch ? (If it means what i think it means, you'd better not describe ....)

[mrzigazaga]

bluezeeland said:

Probably shouldn't be asking this, but what is a straight french stitch ? (If it means what i think it means, you'd better not describe ....)

Hi Frank...Trust you... Basically its the stitch that the gear gaiters have running down the side of the joining stitch....Its normally done with a twin needle machine..Ive only got one...But ill manage...Its also the stitch that the Wedge seems to have a lot of.....Cheers..Ziga

[bluezeeland]

mrzigazaga said:

bluezeeland said:

Probably shouldn't be asking this, but what is a straight french stitch ? (If it means what i think it means, you'd better not describe ....)

Hi Frank...Trust you... Basically its the stitch that the gear gaiters have running down the side of the joining stitch....Its normally done with a twin needle machine..Ive only got one...But ill manage...Its also the stitch that the Wedge seems to have a lot of.....Cheers..Ziga

Phew, for a moment I thought it meant something else.......

See what you mean tho, as in, joining stitch the 2 parts, and stitching the two seams either side

On a serious note, don't you have to be incredible precise in upholstering ?

[mrzigazaga]

Well I'm still practising....Had a go at quilting this morning...Its only a rough trial so not symmetrical ...I going to attempt re-trimming my Wedge seats soon and might incorporate this in the middle lumber panel....



I made these for my female friends, Sisters and mum for christmas...Just a sideline really as the market is flooded with products like this....




I have also got some panels to re-cover for a mate...Im learning loads about how things are put together...Even been servicing my machines...They take an age to set up and calibrate....I have three machines now and realise to complete the whole package i still need another two...An arm machine and a twin needle machine...Theres already nowhere to sit in my front room...

[jon haines]

Its coming on nicely zig keep it going.

[adam quantrill]

Too right I know how much this stuff takes out of ordinary sewing machines having tried to sew some canvas. You'll soon become an expert on taking them apart and putting back together (I have mastered the first part of this...;^), if you aren't already.

[mrzigazaga]

adam quantrill said:

You'll soon become an expert on taking them apart and putting back together (I have mastered the first part of this...;^), if you aren't already.

Well that was one of the first mistakes i learnt....Taking stuff apart is okay as long as you mark the reverse side in certain places so that you know where they go when you put them back together...Good job i only de-constructed one headrest....

[Rockettvr]

Coming along very nicely zig. I've no doubt we'll be seeing some of your work appearing on folks cars very soon .

[wooly350i]

This is the first time I've tuned in to this post Mark,
I'm seriously impressed matey.

[GV]

I need to make a new gear lever and handbrake gaiter. I can show you to cut and stitch it Mark....

[pasogrande]

Mark,

I am really impressed. I have had my machine longer, but not put in enough hours. Mine is the Pfaff 145 H4, a single needle, true walking foot machine, the same as you will see on many UTube videos. And UTube is where I learnt a lot.

Right now I am making five boat cushions for a friend. They were so bad and gave me little to work from. They have piping, zippers and are coming out okay, but not close to professional.

I set up an account with a wholesale supplier of materials for cars and boats, including thread, foam, adhesive spray, isinglass (for boats, and also for convertible rear windows), zippers, etc. Costs are in the US$11 to $18 range for most upholstery vinyl (per yard 54" wide) Parts I would need to buy from the little shop that sold me the machine. Genuine german Pfaff parts are expensive; chinese parts are available, but not worthwhile. With the machine I bought the piping foot and the zipper foot. The first is great; the second useless.

But I am way behind you on parts for the Wedge.

Wilf.

Edited by pasogrande on Sunday 18th January 23:33

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Wilf....I purchased different feet for my walking foot machine but can cope nicely with the standard foot when doing zips and piping...Thankfully piping is available already made and you just order by the metre, It saves a lot of Pfaffing around...(Excuse the pun)...What i have realised is that to do most of the work comfortably you need a variety of machines...A twin needle machine would be great for most of the show thread like on top of the door caps or gaiters or around the dash and centre console...But its achievable with a bit of careful setting out...I have put a fair amount of hours in but need to put more in as i need to make a start at earning some money..I must of thrown away £200 worth of practise material....Unfortunately its one of the hazards of learning something new...I have been buying leather scraps to practise on lately and TBH its an affordable way of doing it...I never realised there are so many grades of leather...Then there are different hides from different animals..I love the reptile print and was thinking of hand making wallets/Belts in real gator as i have a contact in the states now, England is pants for that kind of thing....Trouble is there are so many people doing it these days..Car trimming has a bigger call, Especially where i am....I have work lined up on some mobile homes and caravans which should be interesting...Im going to have a go at the Wedge seats soon...Cheers...Ziga

[pasogrande]

Hi Mark,

I can buy piping, but they only sell a 100 metre roll! So I cut a strip 1 1/8" wide, and use some 5/16" nylon rope. The piping foot holds it together perfectly; it also holds it just right when sewing it into place. That part comes out fine, but when I have sewn it around to the starting point it is hard to make a clean joint.

I only use one size of needle and thread. The needles are Groz-Beckert 110/18. The thread is 92. These seem to work for the things I have done. For practice you can use anything you find around the house; old jeans are great.

Yes the French seam should be done with a double needle machine, but I will not be getting one. I find I can make it look okay until I have to stay parallel to the seam around tight corners.

Small stuff like wallets are so cheap here as they come from China. The only things for me are to do with boats and maybe cars.

Wilf.

[mrzigazaga]

pasogrande said:

Small stuff like wallets are so cheap here as they come from China. The only things for me are to do with boats and maybe cars.

Definitely...The coin purses and laptop bags will eventually be made from the off-cuts from the hide for the cars...I have a few friends who run a family owned business which has always been a vehicle repair since the 30's, Its now an MOT garage, They are always working and always have on classic cars and will put work my way...I also know another chap who has been restoring classic cars for years...Once I'm confident then i will be putting myself out there...I have hopefully just bought a dark blue full hide which is going VERY cheap and although i was going to re-trim my seats in Saville grey outers and charcoal grey inner panels with black piping..Maybe a single lumber panel in quilt.

Now I'm wondering if the dark blue would look better than the charcoal...

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Peeps..Well i got a pair of reading glasses which has helped tremendously with some of the close up work...Have been making up the templates that i will need later on...I made them for the headrest and its becoming easier to cover..I did this last night in black vinyl..There is no piping or TVR logo and to be fair i think its better if i get new headrest bolsters as the old ones are too out of shape so if i make a template from them then they might not fit others...If the price of new ones are feasible then thats the way i will go when i do get commissioned to work on someones car...Once I'm a bit more experienced then i could make new ones from the same type of foam used in the original install..




The outer edges look out of shape but its the piping that gives them shape..Onwards and upwards....Cheers..Ziga

[KKson]

Looking excellent. When does the business website go live!