Cloth Bolster Covers - Black

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi everyone,

I looked back over my posts on this topic and was a little surprised that they went back over 2 years. How time flies. I take this opportunity to remind you of the project and also the current state of play.

I had planned to launch replacement bolster covers, made in black needle cord cloth, in the spring of last year (2012) but circumstances militated against me and illness took me over for a while. That aside, I started the project again this Summer with the view to getting it sorted out once and for all. My foam guy Cliff has been a real mate and has helped me no end. The result being that I am working with a "classic car trim restorer" in Coventry who has re-worked my patterns (yet again) and has now produced the first (good fit) working prototype covers. The differences are seemingly minor - but the end result is vastly different.

Those of you who know me and have followed my overall project for seat refurbishment will probably be saying "about ******* time" and I don't blame you.

The pre-production takes a real turn now - patterns to be digitised, material ordered in, first product runs etc. ,etc. but it is now a case of when not if.

The bolster covers are the main part of the full covers and will lead in turn to that full product.

I will make these items to order and will post a pre-order form on my site shop for those of you who are interested.

Xmas is upon us once again and so whilst I'll still be working it seems that most everyone else will be taking time off over the next few weeks so real progress will be evident in the New Year.

Thanks for your patience and Seasons Greetings to you all.

regards

 

Dave Hickman

 

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

They look good Dave. I am still interested in a set with green stitching when ready.

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi Tom,

glad to hear from you and thanks for still keeping me in mind. I've spent a lot of time (not always useful) on this particular product.

Look forward to getting production going - always different to a trimmers bespoke efforts.

regards

Dave

 

PS here's the other picture - it wouldn't upload first time.

Edited December 15, 2013 by dch1950

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

I have had my seats repaired with the bolster foams and a selection of used covers I have collected, they look quite good and I'm pleased with them, but the bolster upholstery is getting thin in places so replacement would finish them off nicely.

[Weser 30]

Hi Dave, looking great. I to am very pleased witht he bolster foam I ordered from yourself!

 

Is this cloth the replica of phase 2 seat cover cloth? Any chance of phase 1 cloth being available at some point?

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi there,

I think you have got mixed up here. I am making replacement black cloth bolster covers as fitted to 1.6 GTi's My insert material (red/black micro check) is called Quintet and is a replica of the Original (phase 2 ) Quartet insert material.

Ramier is a phase 1 insert fabric and I tried to persuade a british weaver to make some up for me - Ackroyd & Dawson to be precise, that started well and then the owner just stopped answering my emails.So it died a death.

Look at my old posts on Ramier - a firm called ASCI make a decent replica but it's expensive.

Hope that helps

regards

Dave

[Weser 30]

Hi. I was talking about the cloth bolster material not the insert material (i have followed your posts on this and seen it develop - great job!). My phase 1 cti has a very different bolster cloth material, it is sort of ribbed. Not the smoth bolster cloth you can see in the pictures you and Tom have shown. So I was wondering if it is something that you have looked into but I am guessing probably not. I presumed phase 1 1.6 gtis had this same material but I may have been wrong.

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

I'm still confused here to be honest, the black cloth bolsters are 10 whale black needle cord. It can look like velour at a distance or slightly out of focus. It's the only black material I've ever seen. As per second picture (see what I mean)
Also used for the Rallye seats. I've only been interested in the 1.6/Rallye supply to be honest. I've seen these on an Ozzy customers GTi. (see attached picky) and I've also seen an all velour cover ( that is to say velvet type pile)

The material isn't the critical thing as far as I'm concerned - it's the patterns, and the sewing method.

regards

Dave

 

 

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi all,

just got a call from Paul - my trim buddy, He has done a pattern check and proto sew on the squab bolster covers and tells me they look good. Will go an pick them up tomorrow along with the thigh bolsters and get them sewn to some inserts and then see what they look like.

Dave

Ps Andy - send me a picture of the material you are talking about.

[Weser 30]

Hi Dave just gone into the shed to get some photos. Here are the seats:

Here is a close up of the bolster cloth:

 

Hope that's come out ok as I am on my mobile. It must be that peugeot used a different material on the early cti seats as it's definitely different from the rallye material.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

It's a phase one 1.6 GTi/CTi which are all the same, they wear like billie'o' and when new if you saw 60k out of them you where doing well, the grey tweed never wear's out and I think is horrid

[Weser 30]

Ahh glad thats cleared up then. Your not wrong Miles it really hasn't lasted well!

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Thank goodness for that - I was beginning to think there was a new unknown black cloth I didn't know about

D

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

 

 

Hi all,

Just got in from Coventry and couldn't resist just popping a picture up of the squab covers.

Paul (the trimmer) has done a great job on the patterns and now I can move on to the proper pre-production work. I'm very pleased that I've finally got to this point after a number of disappointments over the years.

Things will commence with a new vigour after Xmas. So have a good one guys.

best wishes from

 

Dave

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi all,

Quick update, patterns go for scanning this week, and I should have my production master patterns within 10 days, just the nature of the top sewing to be worked out - colour, thread, position etc. Over the years I have talked to seamstresses, upholsterers, trimmers - you name it and when the question of thread comes to the fore - they usually don't have a clue - it's fascinating. "We usually use this " is the normal response along with a mumbled it's "20 thread" or something equally meaningless . If find this extremely frustrating as the universal standard for thread doesn't exist - it should, but it doesn't. There is , instead, a hotch-potch of mixed standards based on 2 main systems 1) weight per unit length and 2) length per unit weight. Sounds simple doesn't it. Anyway I digress. First batch of fabric is now here, so once the end pieces of this long game are finalised I'll be taking orders. Material price has gone up, and also my production overheads so regrettably my prices have increased.

Watch this space.

best regards and a Happy New year to you all

Dave

[MikeC 10]

Dave

Do you still do the bolsters?

I remember getting onto you before, while you weren't feeling the best.

Great to hear you're back to health though :-)

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Yes Mike,

Bolster foams are a standard stock item and have been for over 2 years now. They keep selling so I keep making them.

Thanks for your kind regards - 2012 was a bad year for me and 2013 was spent getting fit again and keeping the quacks happy.

I think this years going to be a good 'un.

regards

Dave

PS a note re: my bolster covers - squab seam is fine, top stitching sorted. Latest pictures on my gallery. Patterns to digitise now and production patterns to made, about another 7 days I reckon,.

I will take orders via a form on my site just give your order, your details and put down a deposit of £10 to book.

regards

D

Edited January 14, 2014 by dch1950

[309jazzpanda 41]

Hi Dave just wondering are you going to be branching out to other models if the gti covers are a success?

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi Andy,

If you look at the Product definition section of my T & C's page, I state exactly which seat frames and foams my covers are tailored for. Thus where a Peugeot model utilises the same bases etc. my covers will fit. However, where there is no commonality it will require the production of new patterns. My experience to date is valid and would come in handy - no doubt, but as to whether I want to do it - I'm not so sure.

I've got a whole range of products that I wish to start to develop this year and that will keep me more than busy. it's the quantum shift I've been looking to achieve for a while now.

Why, are you thinking of doing it then ?

regards

Dave

[309jazzpanda 41]

I will be purchasing bolsters in the future, but I meant would you be moving into other models coverings? Only because mine are brown not black.

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

I would be really interested in a set of new covers for my half leather green check seats. I have lines of green 'dots' missing from drivers seat and it annoys me.

 

I've followed your progress and often check back at your website. Great work and I'm very interested in green covers when you get round to them

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Getting my fabric designs woven is always a problem and it's getting more and more difficult. I tried to get a firm to re-create Ramier for me last year (Ackroyd & Dawson). Curious attitude in as much I was dead keen to use a British weaver, British wool and this firm seemed to do all that. I sent the sample to her and all was proceeding well, talk of yarn spinning, dyeing and "it looks like a fairly simple weave" etc., etc. , We were just waiting for the wool sales (apparently !). Then it just stopped. I asked what was happening, no reply, asked for the sample back - no reply. This is a fairly typical type response from British manufacturing more interested in being seen , than actually doing things.

Ah David Charles what a cynic you've become. Weaving is great if you want 10,000 metres, but curiously you still have to thread the loom whether it's for 10 or 10,000

But the yarn is the problem - most certainly.

Edp - green/black Quintet has not been a possibility for a while now - you know that, and equally I won't be working with leather for reasons I've stated already.

regards

Dave

I am going over to Coventry this evening to finalise the top sew methodology - by that I mean making sure it's done how I want it. Should be fairly straight forward as Paul is a great machinist. Have also finally found a nice green thread from Guttermans.

D

[Weser 30]

Dave once you have finished your templates to make your cloth bolsters from, would it be possible to use these templates to make bolster covers for the early 1.6 seats (shown in the photos) if a suitable material was sourced?

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

Hi Andy,

The term is patterns and the answer to the question is yes - of course, I could do that. Hence the provision in my price list for "Custom seat covers". I looked at vinyl (bolsters) with Alcantara inserts for one idea, but presumably there may well other suitable, or more desirable, combinations.(except leather - which Paul the trimmer is going to do under licence using my patterns). He doesn't know yet - but he is.

The patterns are finished, but I am having production patterns made, which requires CNC profiling programs which derive from 2D cad work on the pattern masters.The material amounts have been well specified by me in my "How to's" on my downloads page. My main target is the bolster kits at the moment, then moving on to full (standard (ish)) covers. But I have been working on pulling the individual elements of these seats together for a while now and I want to get my first cover product on to the market and then consolidate things. Quite exciting really.

regards

Dave

[Weser 30]

Ok great news. I will keep an eye on how you get on and be on the look out for some material. I am not in a rush it is just something I want to do one day.

 

When it seems to be going well we can see if we can sort something out. I would be great to use Paul the trimmer really as he must be very familiar with these seats now.