DIY VW Bus Seat Re-Upholstering Part III – Drivers Side

So in Part I and Part II of the DIY reupholstering of my front seats, I’ve been working on the driver’s side first…just to get it out of the way.  Most folks might think that both front seats are the same in VW Buses, but they aren’t.  The drivers side seat has a full back side (back side of back rest), while the passenger’s seat (at least in my 71 Westfalia) only has a partial back panel so it can lock into place with the ‘hoop lock’ attached to the van itself.  I’ll post some pics of this when I get to the passenger side seat re-upholstering.

For now, I am still in the throes of figuring out the various shapes I am having to create from the very worn out, tattered, and barely there pieces of the old driver’s seat.  I am hoping for the best, while bracing myself for the worst.

I’ve lost a bit of momentum, I admit, since it took over a month to receive the faux burlap I ordered from Baja California Sur, Mexico.  I wasn’t very pleased when I received it, because it is quite transparent.  So…with hopes of remedying this problem, I have plans to fuse a very thick layer of Pellon Wonder Under fusible webbing to the underside.  I guess we’ll see how that goes.

For now, here are a few pics of the patterns I have created from newspaper.  I will post more pics in the next part of this series; when I cut and fuse the fabric.  If you have re-upholstered the seats in your VW Van…ever, please feel free to drop me a note or two of advice.  I could use it at this point!

Thanks for stopping by, and uber thanks for commenting!

*Never stop learning new, exciting, and useful things.*  *Amaze yourself every now and then!*

Fold Back Panel Piece, Trace, Then Cut…Marking Fold on Pattern

Seat Side Panel Pieces – Cut 1 Pattern but 2 Fabric Pieces

Faux Burlap and Pellon Heavy Duty (not too stiff, but still strong)

Faux Burlap (feels almost plastic coated), and Pellon Fusible Webbing – Heavy Duty but Flexible

Close up of Turquoise Faux Burlap from Baja Mexico

Pellon will add strength and opacity to transparent-like faux burlap fabric

Back Panel (not seat back rest) Pattern Piece Cut From Newspaper

Seat Side Panels – Pattern Pieces

Allow enough room for sturdy wire insert, when hemming seat covers along bottom.

Seat bottom hem must have sturdy wire inserted within casing, to hook over prongs on bottom of seat frame.

All Driver’s Side Seat Patterns Traced From Old Seat Upholstery Scraps (guesstimation-like), and Created From Newspaper. Fabric and Fusible Webbing is Ready to Cut!

 

DIY Seat Upholstery In VW Bus – Part II

In Part I of my take on cheap seats in my Volkswagen Camper Bus, I showed the remains of the driver’s seat, the bare frame of the seat, and listed the products and items I am using to redo my front cab seats in my 71 Westfalia Camp-Mobile Bus.

Here in Part II, I’ll be showing the process of how I sewed a burlap cover to overlay the springs of the frame; which was not done in the original seat upholstery process.  Originally, the coconut hull cushion was just lain right over the springs; which to me seemed haphazard.  –Especially since the springs had, of late, been piercing through all the ragged layers and ripping my clothes.  I felt it was a very necessary step.

Then I cut-to-fit (cutting quite big, at first…so as-not to undercut; since I have limited supply), the carpet padding and glued two layers (wrong/rough sides together), to give my driver’s seat plenty of firm cushion.  Then…I went even further and stitched the cushion to the under-springs with Hemp Twine (see pics below).

I hope this tutorial will inspire some of you VW Bus enthusiasts to re-upholster your own seats, and let your creativity be your improvisational guide.  Thanks for reading my Blog.  Stay on the look-out for Part III, where I hope to finish this project with success!  :  )

Peace .V.. & Love!

The Process (in pictures) of the 1st Phase of Re-upholstering (Driver’s Seat): PART II 

*Click on Pics to Enlarge*

Using Old Coconut Hull Cushion, Cut Burlap to Fit Frame

The Layout of Burlap on Frame

Cut Both Burlap Covers for Seat Springs

Pin In Place on Seat Back and Bottom

Using Regular, but Sturdy, Needle…Sewing Burlap to Frame With Heavy Duty Thread

Burlap For Driver’s Side Seat Back, All Stitched!

Back View

Pin Burlap Over Driver’s Side Seat Bottom and Repeat as Before

All Done With First Layer of Driver’s Seat Redo

Optional Step: Smear a Line of Glue Over Burlap Stitching to Reinforce

Up Close of Glue Over Stitching of Burlap

Cut Padding a Bit Large (You can Trim Later, if Needed…but You can’t make larger if cut too small), using old Coco Hull padding.

Cut 2 Each of Seat Back and Bottom, From the Make-shift ‘padding’

Spray Glue to Rough Sides of Padding to Double Thickness, Then Weight with Bricks or anything Heavy ’til Dry (I allowed 24 hours to dry)

Once Padding is Dry, Spray Glue to Burlap (topside) and to underside of Padding, then weigh down to adhere.

Seat Pad During Seat Gluing Process

With an Upholstery needle, this time using Hemp Twine, stitch through thickness of padding an tie two ends of twine to seat spring on underside

Natural Hemp Twine

Repeat in Stitching Pattern of choice ’til both top and bottom pads are secure to frame.

First Stitch – Back View

Second Stitch at Back

3rd Stitch at Back

Bottom/Last Stitch of Seat Back

Finished Pad Stitching of Seat Back Piece

Stitching Pad to Seat Bottom Springs

Finished Secure-Stitching Seat Pad to Spring

To be Continued in Part III

Using What’s Left of Old Seat to Create New Template for Upholstering. Still Waiting on Fabric to Arrive from Baha, Mexico! Aye, Aye…!

 

DIY Seat Re-Upholstery in VW Camper Bus

DIY Seat Re-Upholstery in VW Camper Bus:

‘Need new seats in your VW Westfalia Camp-mobile or Bus, but you can’t afford to have them professionally done?  Well…you’re not alone!  I too found myself in this situation where the front seats in my old 71 Volkswagen Camper Bus were not only shredding and falling apart, but the seat springs were ripping our clothes when we sat down to drive.  I knew I couldn’t put off upholstering any longer.

With minimal to no funds for prettying up my old bus, I had to get creative.  Enter this Do-It-Yourself method I conjured up out of desperation and hard-headedness.  Re-purposing some leftover (brand new and unused) carpet padding from re-carpeting our daughter’s tiny room, I found it was a perfect fit (firm cushion and water-resistant on top side) for the job.

So, here’s Part I of the creation of my van’s CHEAP DIY seats.  :  )  I welcome you to follow my blog for Part II of this project.  I am awaiting my fabric so I can finish the job.  Wish me luck!  I’m learning as I go, and welcome any comments or suggestions any of you may have.  Thank you for stopping by!  :  )

.V.. (Peace) & Love!

ITEMS USED for RE-UPHOLSTERING Seats —

• A yard-and-a-half of Jute Burlap fabric
• Tan Upholstery or Heavy-duty thread
• Regular, but Large/Sturdy, Sewing Needle
• Upholstery Needle
• New ‘Moisture Resistant’ carpet padding (enough for two layers on seat and back)
• Spray adhesive
• Hemp Twine in various thicknesses
• Choice of Upholstery Fabric ( at least 4 yards) *Does not have to be upholstery fabric, but can be any medium or heavier weight fabric.*
• Fusible Webbing like Wonder Under (heavy weight, but still flexible)
• Elmer’s or similar school glue **Optional

THE PROCESS (in pictures) — PART I: The Tearing Down

The Driver’s Seat (the one I’m working on) Was Worse Than This!

Passenger Seat – Better Than Driver’s Seat Was

Coconut Hull Cushion From Driver’s Seat (what’s left of it)

What’s Left of Driver’s Seat Upholstery

Driver’s Seat Back – Nothing Left of It

Driver’s Seat Bottom – Nothing Left!

Bare Seat Spring

Down To the Bare Metal Driver’s Seat Frame

 

 

 

VW Bus Adventures — Kisatchie to Homochitto

We hope you enjoy The Journey into nature.  Fair Winds and Happy Travels!

.V.. (Peace) & Love,

GVR

Family Adventures

Banana Bend on the San Jacinto River —

It had been 30 years since he’d last seen the place, but my husband Nico insisted on taking Baby and I on a family adventure to see Banana Bend on the San Jacinto River.  I was a bit skeptical; picturing a run down, or shut down, remnant of what once had been a fun party place on the bend of the river.  Boy…!  Was I ever surprised!  –In a very good way.

I had already found myself quite charmed by the tiny ferry boat that had carried our crew of three across the ship channel, quite a ways inland and up the waterway from Galveston Island.  Able to carry not even 20 cars at a time, The Lynchburg Ferry was like stepping back in time, in a way.  Unlike the Bolivar Ferry — which we’ve ridden often — The Lynchburg Ferry looked a bit unstable at times, and traveled much slower than its much larger neighboring ferry (Bolivar Ferry).

So I snapped one-after-another photos of our crossing, and we were on our way…yet-again, down the road, searching for that place Nico had left in his past…until this day.  Bumping down the two lane road in our old VW Camper Bus, we stayed on the look-out for a sign…any sign, to let us know we’re heading in the right direction.  Then…we spotted it!  — Banana Bend…Just Ahead.  The sign said, in a nutshell; though Nico was going too fast for me to read the small print.

A few miles down the road, we came to an overpass that Nico didn’t remember ever seeing decades ago when he last visited Banana Bend.  So…we turned around and went back to the sign he’d sped past in such a hurry at last pass.  Sure enough, in small print, it had listed the street where we should have turned before.

Making our turn onto a much smaller road — a Farm to Market road — we continued on our adventure, searching…searching.  Then…there we were: facing two yellow kayaks planted vertically in the ground, reaching up into the sky, with a sign in the middle telling us we had arrived.

A nice little man was working the entrance gate, and let us in to look around since they were soon to close down for the day.  I felt like we had entered an island hide-away…on the river!  Palm trees everywhere, along with tiki palapas style cabanas and picnic tables.  And it was all so secluded, you’d never know it was there…unless someone told you.  I was thankful to Nico, for bringing us to such a charming island escape as Banana Bend.

And even though we were only able to stay for a short time before dark was beginning to fall and we had to head back and try to catch the last ferry, we had already began to plan a day trip to our new island escape (or escape from the island).  Having recent bouts of island fever, I know Banana Bend is just the place I’ve been needing all along.

*Here’s to new adventures, inland…and beyond!*

**NOTE to Families**  Recommended Family Days – Saturday/Sunday Afternoons & Weekdays (off-season): After careful research, it seems that BB is quite the party place during summer months and on weekends.  We visited late on a Saturday during the off-season, and all was peaceful and quiet.  It’s best to do your homework before visiting, to know of which events are taking place on any particular day or weekend.  Visit Banana Bend on Facebook.    

Installing a Camper Canvas on a VW Bus — With the Top On