Upholstery temporary repair 1950 Buick Special

[Sonomatic]

I think a lot of us bring home cars with interiors that look something like this.  A lot of us have wives that don't have the "restored veil", the ability to see the car as it will be, not as it is now.  Some of us need to meter funds as they become available, and interior is some that usually resides at the bottom of the priority list.  Covering with a blanket, works very short term, as it does nothing, in a case like below, to keep the stuffing from falling out of the seat, until all that is left are the springs.  My car came with a set of seat covers, the plaid variety that you see alot on original cars from the '50s and '60s.  In addition to what you see below, my original seat material was rotted in the area where you sit, so I came up with patches.  What I did was measure and cut patches to fit over the holes and reach to structurally good materiel on the seat.  I put them in position with stitch witchery and a small craft steam iron that I bought at Joann's Fabrics.  I think a standard iron would have worked, but a little too awkward, plus, if I got something on it, my wife would be less than happy.  On the seat back, I had massive damage, and used fabric patches that I bought to piece together material that was there but shreaded.  (third picture)  Fourth picture is the seat back patch in place.  The material I used was a shop fender cover, like you rent from a uniform company.  It matched the original seat material in weight and feel.  As you can see in this view, had my damage not been as severe, and had I been more precise with my sizing of the patch, I could have done this on both sides and it would have looked as if it was kinda made that way.  

 

In the sixth picture is a roll of Stitch Witchery.  It's used to hold a hemm temporarily.  That's the operative word, temporary.  It must be sewn.  I used two rows of Stitch Witchery on each side of the fabric.  I started at one corner and ironed down one side, pulling slightly to provide tension and tightness to the fabric.  If you have someone that knows how to sew in your life, they can coach you, and, maybe take an interest in your progect.  Also, once you have a side attatched, work from that side toward the middle, and work in a fan shape, constantly pulling slightly on the fabric to tension it slightly.  Once the fabric is in place, for it to stay in place, you'll need to sew the perimeter of the patch.  I used a curved needle and carpet thread, that way, I could use one strand.  You can go online to Youtube, or, one of the fabric stores and have one of the ladies in there show you how to do a back stitch, using a single thread.

 

You'll notice the lumpyness in the photos, especially on the seat bottom.  In my case, I firmly patted those areas and got this: Picture 7.  That is nothing more than a cheap, Amazon bed sheet that my wife gave me out of the closet.  It's spread out and tucked in and that's what it looks like.  As thin as the sheet it, the lumps are showing threw.  An added bonus was, it's almost the exact same color of the back seat.  I have since cut the sheet in half and safety pinned it so it stays in place.  What I'm going to try next, is actually sewing my sheet cover into a slip cover.  On these older cars with bench seats, the seams are in plain sight to use as a pattern.  To see how to do it, check out slip covers on Youtube.  

 

I hope some of you find this helpful, to put off an interior, but still have decent looking seats when someone looks through the window of you project.

[EmTee]

At least you've shored-up the padding and underlayment.  The sheet makes a nice clean surface.  Looking at the original fabric I see it has a bit of a nap/texture.  I like your idea of making a slip cover, but you may want to consider using a blanket rather than a sheet.  I'd think you could find a color and hopefully with a nap that is similar to the original.  The other benefit is unlike the sheet, the heavier material would do a better job of hiding the unevenness of the underlying padding.  The downside is it will be a little harder to sew.  Looks like you're making good progress!

[drhach]

Nice job. At least you've checked the decline of the seat until you're ready to make the repairs permanent. 

[61polara]

You have preserved the seat in a way that there would not be a deduction if shown in the HPOF Class at an AACA National.  Great preservation work.

[Sonomatic]

I never even considered that.  I really don't have any plans to have it judged, but also, don't want to "mess it up" with irreversable modifications.  Thanks to all for your comments.