LH Drive
03-01-2013, 09:43 PM
Has anyone done a set of seat covers made of tan saddle leather on a series rover?
I've thought about this for some time as I think it would look the part in a Series Rover and will age well as the leather gets broken in. Looking to end up with more of a rugged look. I'm getting closer to start making these seat skins for my series and wanted to see what others have done and what materials used.
The problem i've ran into so far is that the saddle or bridle/harness leather samples i've seen are thick. Something close to 1/4 inck thick or 15oz. for those that handle leather. I'm not looking for soft thin upholstery leather like most autos have but also don't want it to be too stiff and ride like a horse. I'm trying to get some thinner saddle leather samples in 5-6 or 7-8 oz. and will see what those look and feel like. I plan to use these saddle leather sections near the outer edges of the seat where most of the wear takes place as one enters and exits the rover. The rest of the seat skin will be made from a softer full grain bullhide I picked up from a local tannery thats in the 8oz. weight and is close to 1/8 inch thick but still soft enough. Had to purchase an entire hide but I feel I'll have enough to complete the project and I got it at a good price. This hide was intended to be used for Harley Davidson Jackets and saddle bags that will work great for my purpose.
With thick leather sewing I needed to use a heavy duty upholstery sewing machine so I purchased a used Singer walking foot tripple feed machine and installed a slow speed low geared servo motor that can easily handle sewing this thickness leather and up to almost 3/8 thick. Most auto leather upholstery makers use size 69 thread, i'll be using larger size 138 to 207 bonded thread with a proper leather needle in size 22 or 23 that can handle this size thread. I've practiced on a few scrap pieces with size 138 thread and have the tension worked out on the old Singer and it looks good so far. I'll post a few pics of my sample sewing on the bullhide. It will be a while till I come up with a decent pattern for the saddle seat covers. Hoping someone else has done this before as I don't want to ruin an entire hide. Might have to make a mock up seat cover out of heavy canvas first.
I've thought about this for some time as I think it would look the part in a Series Rover and will age well as the leather gets broken in. Looking to end up with more of a rugged look. I'm getting closer to start making these seat skins for my series and wanted to see what others have done and what materials used.
The problem i've ran into so far is that the saddle or bridle/harness leather samples i've seen are thick. Something close to 1/4 inck thick or 15oz. for those that handle leather. I'm not looking for soft thin upholstery leather like most autos have but also don't want it to be too stiff and ride like a horse. I'm trying to get some thinner saddle leather samples in 5-6 or 7-8 oz. and will see what those look and feel like. I plan to use these saddle leather sections near the outer edges of the seat where most of the wear takes place as one enters and exits the rover. The rest of the seat skin will be made from a softer full grain bullhide I picked up from a local tannery thats in the 8oz. weight and is close to 1/8 inch thick but still soft enough. Had to purchase an entire hide but I feel I'll have enough to complete the project and I got it at a good price. This hide was intended to be used for Harley Davidson Jackets and saddle bags that will work great for my purpose.
With thick leather sewing I needed to use a heavy duty upholstery sewing machine so I purchased a used Singer walking foot tripple feed machine and installed a slow speed low geared servo motor that can easily handle sewing this thickness leather and up to almost 3/8 thick. Most auto leather upholstery makers use size 69 thread, i'll be using larger size 138 to 207 bonded thread with a proper leather needle in size 22 or 23 that can handle this size thread. I've practiced on a few scrap pieces with size 138 thread and have the tension worked out on the old Singer and it looks good so far. I'll post a few pics of my sample sewing on the bullhide. It will be a while till I come up with a decent pattern for the saddle seat covers. Hoping someone else has done this before as I don't want to ruin an entire hide. Might have to make a mock up seat cover out of heavy canvas first.