Email or username:

Password:

Forgot your password?
Top-level
R E K

Acquired a 9m zipper strip and 8 zipper sliders! Time to continue the uplholstery project.

Next on my list, re-upholstering some cushions in the quarter berth! Then, I'll make my way to the v-berth cushions!

Yes. Our boat is mostly cushions.

47 comments
duckpuck

@rek are you planning on making the documentation accessible on your website? That would be an interesting read for sure.
Do you have a special way of sewing the end of the zipper strips to prevent the sliders to fall off?

R E K

Getting better at sewing zippers :>! But corners are still weird and hard.

Finished the first quarter berth cushion, the one that has the most regular shape... the others are gonna be... difficult 😅 .

a view of the zipper plaque on a quarter berth cushion for a sailboat
a view of a newly-upholstered rectangular boat cushion sitting on the step of a sailboat
Anders Conbere

@rek dang, great job! Sewing is so challenging.

Max Cahill

@rek looking good matey! Honestly if it comes out a bit non uniform but is gonna work fine just call it character. Especially on irregular shapes haha

WimⓂ️

@rek It looks very neat to me. And a proper YKK zipper as well 😄 .

Gafanhoto

@rek I just bought myself a sewing machine, and although my family has been on the textile industry for a couple of generations, I don’t really know where to get started… do you have any tips? Tutorials? Or? (On sewing in general, and making clothes).

R E K replied to Gafanhoto

@gafanhoto I've never made clothes so i cant advise on that(although i plan to), so far my only experience is with upholstery.

I started out by watching the Sailrite videos, though they are specifically tailored to boats, outdoors, and all the tutorials use rly tough fabric, maybe not what youre looking for...

R E K

One of the cushions I wasn't looking forward to re-doing was the front v-berth cushion, because the fabric was stapled onto a backing board. It had a SHIT TON of staples >_<... way more than I thought.

Won't be able to reuse the foam, it looked awful and was crumbling to dust. I will have to wait before making this cover.

Like the backrests, I found some Japanese writing on the backing board when I removed the foam: Y-33 クッションセンター2 (Yamaha 33, cushion center 2)

the vberth backing board back in its place, awaiting a foam replacement.
A backing board from a v-berth cushion, with the words &quot;Y-33&quot;(short for Yamaha 33, the make of the sailboat), along with some Japanese Katakana that translates to &quot;cushion center 2&quot;.
many... many bent and broken staples on a table.
R E K replied to R E K

Completed one of the irregular-shaped cushions on the boat! Went well, but required a bit of concentration because none of the foam sides were the same (i put numbers on each piece of fabric, as well as 'this way up' arrows to not get confused).

I always panic when I first put the cover on, "SHIT! Doesn't FIT...!" Then I wrestle it into the cover for 20 minutes, it settles in, and looks great.

The starboard side v-berth cushion, newly upholstered and looking damn fine.
The cushion has an irregular shape.
A look at the newly upholstered cushion on its side, showing the zipper plaque. That side of the foam was cut at an angle, making life for Rek very, very difficult indeed.
C.B.Leslie replied to R E K

@rek one of the things you can do to make putting cushions on a bit easier is a garbage bag and a vacuum. Effectively, put cushion in bag, suck air out. Makes it smaller so you can put it. With the bonus of adding water resistance, because the bag gets stuck. ;)

R E K replied to C.B.Leslie

@cbleslie I know that technique, but i dont want to leave the bag in there. Dont want a plastic sound when sitting. Im ok with wrestling :P

R E K replied to R E K

Finished this cover yesterday, for one of the weirder quarter berth cushions.

The foam has a protruding edge, it is meant to act as a backrest for the nav table seat.

I made some buttons out of some left-over plastic(PE) from a previous project, and covered them with fabric so it would look nicer. The buttons ensure that the fabric meets the curve of the foam :>...

a quarter berth cushion held sideways to show two buttons sown underneath.
a quarter berth cushion with a newly-upholstered cover, showing the zipper on the slanted side of the cushion, the side that meets the hull. Part of the cushion has a large bulge on one side, two buttons were sown in so that the fabric can meet the curve better.
Ryan Null replied to R E K

@rek I’ve always found buttons difficult. Nice work.

R E K replied to Ryan

@ryan i sort of winged it, and it worked out ok lol.

Tekgo replied to R E K
R E K replied to R E K

The cushion saga continues (are you tired of these updates yet? XD...) I finished the entire quarter berth!

Next on my list, is the triangle cushion in the v-berth, the biggest cushion.

a cushion cover layer over a bare piece of foam in a sailboat, the cushion is laying at a weird angle and is taking up most of the room in this small boat cabin.
A cute Devine holding the finished quarter berth cushion cover, keeping it off the floor because it&#39;s too hard to see how big it is otherwise.
Devine laying on the finished quarter berth cushion area, looking very comfy indeed, the sweater they are wearing almost matches the one on the cushion covers.
A Devine-less quarter berth, with the finished cushions and looking damn good!
math blasterson replied to R E K

@rek That's such a nice and roomy quarter berth for a boat that size. PINO is lovely.

Tendigits replied to R E K

@rek please continue with the cushion saga, we are enjoying. Congrats on the progress!

paloma kop ⁂ replied to R E K

@rek i'm rooting for the cushion progress!

Andy Alderwick replied to R E K

@rek Please keep up the fabric-posting! :flan_hearts:

R E K replied to R E K

I finished the largest v-berth cushion yesterday (most forward cushion in image).

Yes, very grey on grey because of the walls XD... we also have a board usually that hides the anchor locker drain pipe up front, but it's currently drying outside :>.

a photo of the mostly finished vberth upholstery.
rostiger replied to R E K

@rek Whoa, you're getting fast! 🧵 🧵 🧵

R E K replied to rostiger

@rostiger Im a bit more comfortable using a high speed setting for the sewing machine, it helps a bit :>...

R E K replied to R E K

I still have to do the one that goes above the wooden board in the above image, but I have to get some new foam (couldn't reuse the old one, too worn). I'm toying with the idea of turning that cushion into storage, like making a box with a thin foam cover (so it doesnt look lumpy) and storing socks in there :>...
I'd also like to make two small throw pillows for the saloon.

Jonas replied to R E K

@rek
Ikea is doing that for a couch : one of the cushions contains a big 2 person duvet in here ; very crafty

R E K replied to Jonas

@magnetic_tape yea love that idea :)...hope i can actually get it done.

R E K replied to R E K

Started work on some throw pillows for the saloon :>.
First step is to make some inserts. I could have bought them pre-made, it would have been cheaper to do that, but I wanted to try making them myself.
I bought a twin bedsheet, zippers at a thrift store, and got some fill. I made two covers.
It is impressive how much fill I can fit into a single cushion.

a DIY pillow insert with a red zipper, with some polyfill inside, the cover is still loose as it is not yet stuffed completely.
the finished throw pillow insert looking plump, filled with polyester filling. Its is ready to be covered up with some nice fabric.
Avi Bryant replied to R E K

@rek I have a big bag of natural latex fill, do you want it?

R E K replied to Avi

@avi oh, yea maybe. Might be a while before I can get it from you tho.

rag. Gustavino Bevilacqua replied to R E K

@rek

If you want to try a very natural fill you can look for some luffa sponge.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa

R E K replied to rag. Gustavino Bevilacqua

@GustavinoBevilacqua natural fill(apart from latex) isnt great on a boat, it'll rot.

Tendigits replied to R E K

@rek nicely done! And with the zipper you can add more filling later, or empty to wash them. Really great.

R E K replied to Tendigits

@tendigits Yep, that's the idea. Our former cushions were sown shut, both the cover and insert :/.
Lady at the store told me that i may want to add more filling later, once the fill I put in settles (esp if the goal is to have a rly plump cushion). A zipper makes that easy.

R E K replied to R E K

The finished throw pillow, with some dramatic lighting :cooldog:

a look at a finished throw pillow, with the insert covered with fabric.
cathos replied to R E K

@rek all the upholstery is looking so good!! Love the drama.

rostiger replied to R E K

@rek Very dramatic! So much progress though! It looks like you're almost done, no?

R E K replied to rostiger

@rostiger kind of, still got 3 cushions left to cover (1 more throw pillow, 1 seat cushion for Devine's butt at the nav table, then the last vberth cushion that i want to turn into storage)

R E K replied to R E K

While battling out the rest of a cold, I decided to finish a few sewing projects.
Made a replacement shelf curtain, made a seat cushion for Devine's butt(in front of nav table) and made a cylindrical throw pillow just because it's fun, and I had left-over material. This concludes my sewing projects with this fabric ^^

A curtain that is both decorative and practical, it keeps light from hitting jars of dried goods, and keeps the jars from flying off the shelf underway.
Ninj, a little grey ninja, sitting on Devine&#39;s seat in front of the nav table on a new cushion!
Ninj, a grey ninja plush, being lazy, laying over a new cylindrical pillow
max22- replied to R E K

@rek is your ninja plushie homemade ? it's cute 😍

R E K replied to max22-

@maxime_andre no he's not, wish I could do that tho ^^

max22- replied to R E K
R E K replied to max22-

@maxime_andre We kept the name he was given(by designer Michelle Valigura) when we adopted him nearly 15 years ago, "Little Ninj" :>

max22- replied to R E K
Go Up