Adventures in Upholstery! Part 1: Out with the Old

This is me, Roxanne, working on reupholstery as part of a boat restoration project!

This month, after being temporary laid off from my Saturday Job, as an Alteration Specialist for the retail store, The Buckle, I began to use my Saturday Work Day (outside of the home) to start a large reupholstery project! I am working Saturday’s for my Dad, helping him with his boat restoration! I have never done this type of work on such a large scale before, so I’m really excited for the opportunity and experience. When my Dad offered me this job, and I accepted, he purchased a brand-new industrial Juki Sewing Machine, designed specifically for upholstery! My Dad set up a Sewing Workroom for me in his house, and every week, I work there!

My Dad's NEW Juki!

This is the boat that I am working on prior to any repairs:

My Dad's Boat. It is a 2001 Model, we have had some great summers with this boat!

Sadly, this lovely boat was left out in the elements, uncovered, for a few years. The upholstery and interior have been severely damaged. On my first day of work, my Dad pressure washed the interior, then began removing piece by piece of the seats, cushions, and side panels...

Before Restoration: A Damaged Boat Interior

Work In Progress: Removing the Seating and Side Panels

I began my upholstery task by taking each seat section and cleaning them as thoroughly as possible. I then began to remove the old upholstery, in preparation for my next step: Pattern Drafting!

The old boat seat cushions ready for cleaning

Several pieces awaiting cleaning and upholstery removal

This is me, removing many many staples, so that I can remove the upholstery from the seats and panels

Progress!

After cleaning and removing the old upholstery, I then took apart each individual upholstery piece by piece, such as I did here with this Captain Chair Backrest, I drew a rough technical sketch with any notes I might want to remember when reassembling the new upholstery pieces later. All hardware that has been removed is also labeled and bagged for re-attachment later.  Each section of each fabric piece is marked, and labeled ready to be reproduced!

Pattern Drafting Prep for Reproduction of Upholstery Pieces!

As you can imagine cleaning and taking apart each boat piece is taking some time to complete. Next Saturday I will start drafting the patterns! Then I will sew together the new upholstery! I will keep you updated on my progress!

Thank you for reading!

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