KINGSMERE CRAFTS
HAND-CRAFTED LEATHER GOODS
More Aircraft-Interior Restoration
Seats from a Piper Chieftain
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| Back view of seat - before repair and restoration |
Back view of seat - after repair and restoration |
Back view of seat - before repair and restoration |
Back view of seat - after repair and restoration |
Using the blind stitch
Somewhere between new and worn out, the life of most aircraft interiors can
be extended with minor repairs. Repairing a small problem before it becomes a
big one is only sensible. Making small repairs can also keep an interior looking
good much longer.
First, a few upholstery terms: The facing is a piece, or pieces of leather, covering that part of the seat normally in contact with your body. It can be an insert and two panels. The boxing, is the piece or pieces of leather that go around the perimeter of the seat and is attached to the facing. The welt is the long round tubular piece that is sewn between the facing and boxing.
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Figure 1: This is a very common problem. The welt on this seat cushion has worn
through and the seam has begun to come apart.
Figure 2: Carefully cut the seam open, cutting only the thread. Cut past the
worn out leather until good is encountered.
Figure 3: Sometimes the welt is only sewn into the seam. Here the welt has been
sewn to the boxing before the boxing was sewn to the facing. So an additional
cut is needed, to remove the welt from the boxing. Cut the thread about one-inch
past the point that the welt is ruined.
Figure 4: Remove the ruined section of the welt, inspect the condition of the
leather, and remove the thread remnants. Most of the leather is OK, but there is
one bad area that will have to be worked around.
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Figure 5: To insure your new stitches are sewn in good leather chalk around the
bad area. Keep about 3/8 inch away from it and smoothly taper the ends. Follow
this line with your new stitches.
Figure 6: The thread in your needle needs to be as long as the area to be
repaired plus 18 to 24 inches to insure enough thread to complete the job and
bit to spare. White is used so it will show up in the figures. Normally it is a
colour matching the leather.
Begin about an inch past where the thread had been cut, where the old stitching
is still holding the seam together. From the inside of the seat cover push the
needle through an existing thread hole in the facing. Pull until almost all the
thread has come through leaving about a six-inch tail behind.
Figure 7: Using the existing hole in the welt that corresponds to the last hole
used, push the needle through, and all of the thread except the six-inch tail.
Figure 8: From the outside of the seat cover, using the existing hole in the
boxing that corresponds to the last hole used, push the needle through into the
inside of the cover and all of the thread except the six-inch tail.
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Figure 9: Using the six-inch tail left in Fig 6, tie a slipknot around the
thread, and pull it tight. The knot will disappear inside the seat cover.
Figure 10: From the inside the seat cover push the needle through the next
existing thread hole in the facing. Pull the thread tight.
Figure 11: Using the existing hole in the welt corresponding to the last hole
used, push the needle through and pull the thread tight.
Figure 12: From outside of the seat cover, use the hole in the boxing
corresponding to the last hole used, push the needle through that hole and the
next existing hole. Pull the thread tight. An existing hole was missed out and
second one over used. Either way is OK providing the corresponding hole in the
welt and facing are subsequently used.
Now it becomes obvious that a curved needle is necessary as it allows you to put
the needle through two holes in the leather at the same time.
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Figure 13: Using the existing hole in the welt that corresponds to the last hole
used, push the needle through and pull the thread tight.
Figure 14: From the outside of the seat cover, using the existing hole in the
facing that corresponds to the last hole used, push the needle through that hole
and the next existing hole in the facing. Pull the thread tight.
Figure 15: Position the thread over the welt. From outside of the seat cover,
use the existing hole in the boxing corresponding to the last hole used, push
the needle through and also the next hole in the boxing. Press the end of the
welt down into the seat cover and pull the thread tight.
Figure 16: Again position the thread over the welt, from outside of the seat
cover, use the existing hole in the facing that corresponds to the last hole
used. Push the needle through that and the next existing hole in the facing.
Press the end of the welt down into the seat cover and pull the thread tight.
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Figure 17: From outside of the seat cover, use the existing hole in the boxing
corresponding to the last hole used, push the needle through that and the next
existing hole in the boxing. Pull the thread tight.
Figure 18: Continue this process up to the beginning of the chalk mark. As you
can see, every other hole will be used
Figure19: Now, instead of using existing holes in the boxing new holes must be
made on the chalk line that correspond to the existing holes in the facing.
Figure 20: To ensure proper alignment between the corresponding facing and
boxing holes, pull the thread out from the previous hole and hold it at right
angles to the seam. Make a new hole where the thread intersects the chalk line,
but only partly push the needle through.
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Figure 21: Again, using the thread as a guide, pull it tight and hold it at
right angles to the seam in line with the next hole in the facing. Where the
thread intersects the chalk line, push the needle into the leather to create a
new hole.
Figure 22: Push the needle through the two new holes and pull the thread tight.
Continue this process until the chalk line once more contacts the existing
holes.
Figure 23: Notice how doing this has closed the seam and nicely finished the end
of the welt.
Figure 24: Press the end of the welt down into the seat cover and stitch over
it.
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Figure 25: Having stitched up to the point where the welt is still securely sewn
into the seam, push the needle through the hole in the welt that corresponds to
the hole last used and pull the thread tight.
Figure 26: Sew past the end of the welt roughly two inches and then change
direction, stitching over the same area about three inches, to secure this end
of the thread.
Figure 27: Pull the thread tight, and cut off close to the leather. The thread
end will pull back inside the seat cover.
Figure 28: It’s not as good as new but it's better than before, and this repair will prevent further
deterioration.
Once you’ve mastered this technique, you’ll be surprised how often it can be
used.
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