Except the leather I'm using is a color that doesn't match anything else in the car period yet it's so vivid, I need to try to incorporate it. I really love this color and this is real leather so I want to make use of it. Let's what I'm working with.
The materials I'm using for this project are:
- Red leather; I stripped a leather couch to get it. Leather is expensive.
- Good scissors. I'm using culinary scissors that you would cut chicken with.
- Adhesives. This time I'm experimenting with different glues instead of stitches. I'll be using super glue and vinyl adhesive as I see fit.
- Velcro. So it doesn't constantly slip off of the dashboard.
- I have a Lexus logo from the rear of a junkyard Lexus that I will incorporate.
- Sewing needles - both straight and one that I bent instead of buying a curved needle (good tip right there).
- Thread. I will be using both normal colored thread for a nice look and fishing line where it's not visible. Fishing line is super strong so it won't rip and is also hard to even see. Good for hidden stitching.
- (Maybe) A different fabric for the underside.
Because of the color issue and the fact that it doesn't match anything else in the car (except the floor LEDs that I can change the color of - I'm addicted), I need to either use it sparingly throughout the car or use it everywhere.
Two options. I stop with just the dashboard cover and possibly just a cover for the center armrest, even if that's temporary.
The other one is that I re-do the armrests on the doors, create seat covers for the front and back, include the dashboard and center armrest, as well as the rear center armrest.
There's option 2b. I can create the dashboard cover and also use a cover for both center armrests. As for the seats, I can reupholster the parts that are ripped. I'm confident I can do this - I just need to sit down in my car, look at where the holes are, and see if the parts I would be replacing would actually look good.
That's actually the option I like best. I really don't like seat covers, to be honest. They slide around and look cheap.
The dashboard is angled slightly so I had to cut the leather to replicate that. Here I'm using just my eyes and senses - no measurements. Ofcourse, I made sure the length is right.
Then, after doing my best to line up the leather in a way the glue wouldn't drip down, I went across the seam with some super glue. The result is in the first picture of this article.
I have enough skill now to be able to take patches of the seat off and replace them with new leather so that really appeals to me. This would be my first time reupholstering a seat. I've been reading up on it and teaching myself enough to be confident I can put this off.
But, like I said, I need to have a look at my seats now and see just how many holes there are and the location. Imagine, if you will, that the middle of the driver's seat is ripped and the middle of the passenger seat has a hole. That's ideal because the same locations are affected.
I can take out the middle leather pieces and replace them.
Now imagine if one seat had rips on the outer leather parts while the other seat had one in the middle. At that point, I would basically have to reupholster it completely because I wouldn't have the middle seat red on one side while the other seat is red on the outside. I hope that makes sense.
The 'Lexus' was too much.
I just want you guys to get an idea of how I think. This idea has been brewing in my mind for a long time, actually. That's just a sidenote. I want to tell you what went through my mind when I was trying to decide the stitching I want to use.
Initially, I was set on gold stitching because it would just look awesome but after some thinking, I had to change my mind. Like the red, I also have no gold in the car. In order for everything to match, I settled on beige and black - depending on the area. This is simply because you want a clean look. Too many colors throws everything off. My car is mostly beige inside and all of the stitching is.
That's it for part 1. I will be posting updates on this project.
You will probably see another small project I have going in the next one. Did you notice the bent piece of metal in the first picture? Come back to see what that is and what I'm doing with it. I think it's going to look nice (hint). Peace!
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