seats
 

Wanna do a set for my 7?

Front Seat, draft version
 

More sew foam arrived today, so I started on the front seats with practice material. Instead of boxing in the front of the seat I thought I'd try wrapping the top around, including the 1/2 inch of foam behind the fabric. I think this is called a waterfall seat. This is the easy part, however. I need to decide how to tie in the bottom with a method for inserting the cushion, and I'll have to look at the seat structure to see where to add flaps both for holding the cushion down and hiding the works. This time the top material was trimmed to the size of the cushion before sewing so that the seam pulls the fabric into the foam just a little. This practice vinyl is also thinner so easier to horse around on the machine for the corners.



Paul - thanks for the vote of confidence. If I had a set of seat cushions for the 7 to practice on and make a pattern, and no -10 in the garage that needs to get finished, I'd say sure. I already feel a little bad spending time inside sewing instead of outside finishing the cabin top - which I hope to make progress on over the holiday. Ask me again as I get closer to flying....

==dave==

What to do with the leftovers?
 

Not interior work, strictly speaking, but a couple of short projects to use up some material - pubs bag (shameless copy from Royal bag) and a kindle cover:



And, I haven't completely stopped work on the cabin top:



==dave==

Front Seat, Bottom Construction
 

I may be making this busier than necessary, but still want to leave a way to get the cushion in and out yet snug up the cover. Here's what it looks like attached to the seat frame (still 'practice' material); also, the fabric top is not glued or otherwise fixed down to the top of the cushion, therefore the rice bag for photogenic purposes.



This is done with the bottom in four sections - a front and back piece that come around the sides, then two overlapping side flaps, and it all velcroes together, plus has the Velcro strip for attaching to the top of the seat frame:



This should work OK, I just need to trim the bottom pieces a little tighter for a better fit. The top material is cut to fit to the edge of the foam, and the seam allowance (I'm using 1/2 inch) compresses the foam for a nicer fit - I didn't do that for the bottom and it shows. Alternatively I could sew the bottom in just two overlapping pieces (a la the rear seats) and count on the existing Velcro on the top of the seat frame to hold everything.

There is also a front and rear strap that wraps around the seat frame and sticks to Velcro on the bottom.





I'm ready to do this as final, and start working on the seat back. Then all that'll be left to do is bind the carpet pieces. Oh, and put the cabin top on and so on and so forth...

==dave==

Bellows for Lumbar Support
 

Plan is now to put inflatable lumbar support in the front seat back. The pink foam support cushions that came with the kit seemed to fit the rear seat backs better, so that's where I put them...not sure if they were meant for the front or not. Oh, well...so I wanted to experiment with some way of sewing an expandable flap behind the fabric portion of the seat back. Here's what I came up with:



and here it is expanded:



I think this will mean the vinyl on the front of the seat outboard of the fabric center will need to be anchored to the foam. Time to prototype. The front seat bottoms are awaiting the arrival of more Velcro to finish up. In the meantime I've been looking around the house...



==dave==

First Draft
 

Here's a pattern check on the front seat back:





I'll use the front piece to trace a pattern for the sides of the front (vinyl) on either side of the fabric center, and figure out how to wedge the bellows in.
Also want to add a pocket to the back panel. It's a start...

==dave==

Front Seat Bottom Final
 

Here's a better look at how I decided to put this together - two side flaps that Velcro to the fore and aft sections of the seat bottom:



and the two additional fore/aft flaps that wrap around the seat frame; the other exposed Velcro connects with Velcro on the seat frame.



View from the bottom in place:



And from the top:



I haven't glued down the fabric to the foam, and may not...still thinking about it. Stay tuned for the seat backs...

==dave==

Front Seat Back
 

This is how the front seat looks now:



A view of the bellows for the inflatable lumbar support:



The stitching on the black portion of the front is a little zig-zaggy, and I forgot to change thread color so had to stick with a contrasting thread on both sides. I also decided to sew the seam down along the sides in the direction of the sides to make the transition from front to side uniform and avoid bulky spots. Thought about French seaming it, but got worried about having two chances to have a crooked line. I think I'll have the front and back fold under the cushion and Velcro or snap together, and I'll have to finish the side edges off and decide where to run the hose for the lumbar support (which mr fed ex is supposed to be bringing by this afternoon). I may also run Velcro up the sides instead of sewing the front to the back like a pillow case - that'll make it much easier to install/uninstall and allow me to use some fabric glue on the front side vinyl if I decide to. Then sew on a back pocket and install!

==dave==

awesome
 

Dave
The seats look awesome. I can't believe it is your first set.
Carol

Thanks
 

Well, if you count the 'prototypes' it's probably my second or third set. I just hope I keep making new mistakes...although this morning found me seam ripping again, trying to sew something on backwards (old mistake). I'm enjoying figuring this out.

==dave==