Fabric for vehicle seat covers.

[Ploshkin]

Our farm pickup inevitably needs seat covers that are pretty hard wearing and water resistant - preferably able to take a spin in the washing machine.
The current ones are crappy Chinese ones that weren't cheap and i had to make holes in appropriate places for seat belts etc when first used.  The backing on one has already disintegrated after less than a year.  They are a pig to put on and I have nearly been in tears this morning trying to put them back on - they don't fit properly anyway, so naturally I have resolved to make some that fit.

Has anyone done this or similar?  I'm presuming a ripstop fabric but don't know  what weight I would need.  Who is a good supplier?  I'm also thinking a strong stretch fabric for the backs to get a good fit - any suggestions?  I don't have a problem with making a pattern, I can fiddle about with bits of spare fabric as much as I want.

[b15erk]

Plosh, I have rather a lot of car upholstery quality leather which I was given rather than it go to the tip.  The downside is that it is cream, but it is beautiful quality.  The downside is that it is heavy, and I think it may be quite expensive to send.

If you are interested send me a pm.

Jessie

[Ploshkin]

Thank you for the offer Jessie but I think cream leather might be a bit too posh for the farm pickup and DH would think I had really lost the plot.

[b15erk]

Shame, it's very nice leather Plosh, it was used for upholstering wedding cars.  Such a shame, Mr Plosh could diversify!  Wedding Tractors ? 

Jessie

[UttaRetch]

Plosh, you could try Boyriven, but maybe your order would be too small.  There, is however, a swatch service and you can see what's available without 'showing your hand' so to speak.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Would Cordura be any good?  From the likes of Point North and Pennine Fabrics?

[SkoutSews]

Wow, cream leather upholstery for the farm pick-up! I can imagine Mr. Ploshkin's expression! Mr. SS gets cross that farm vehicles no longer have hose-through interiors.
However, we've had town and country seat covers that have lasted well over the years. They've been through the washing machine a few times and survived. At under £20 X VAT they might be worth a look. That's if you're not set on sewing your own.

http://www.heavydutyseatcovers.co.uk/index.html

[UttaRetch]

Mr Plosh could diversify!  Wedding Tractors ? 

It happens more often than you know.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

It does indeed, we followed a wedding tractor and another tractor with a trailer full of bridesmaids/parents/guests for a mile or three a few weeks ago.

[Ploshkin]

SkoutSews, there didn't seem to be too much difficulty with the Ford Ranger but trying to find something for a Nissan Navara is another whole kettle of fish.  I spend so long with the sewing machine making openings for seat belts and such that I might as well make them.  One of the problems is that there are so many plastic mouldings these days there is nothing to attach to (and the elastic doesn't last 5 minutes anyway ).  That means the covers won't stay put properly.  I might try doing a bespoke one for the driver's seat as that is the frequently used one.
Thanks Bodge for the North Point and Cordura suggestions - I hadn't come across those.

[Greybird]

Just seen this thread. If you type in: "car upholstery fabric" on  Ebay it comes up with quite a few options that don't seem too expensive. A lot of it is faux suede which I'm sure is washable. Any good?

[Ploshkin]

Thanks Greybird, I'll have a look.  Often it's a case of putting in the right words to search - if you search for 'seat cover fabric' you mainly end up with seat covers.  I haven't tried upholstery.

[Hummingbird]

I recently came across this site if upholstery fabric might fit the bill - not cheap, but quality and a range of weights including outdoor and contract use...

https://modellifabrics.com/

[Lachica]

Texfabrics https://texfabric.co.uk/ was where I bought the fabric for upholstering our boat seats. They have a wide range, from wool to fully synthetic. I think I paid around £5/m. They do have remnants too, if you only need a small amount.

[Ploshkin]

That sounds useful, thanks Lachica