Connect with your social network account

[6inarow]

I searched and could not find an answer here. I am making pleats for a car seat insert like John did on the 54 Chevy in the videos. Well I use the temp tack to get the vinyl to 1/2" scrim. it looks good so I start sewing and when Im done it looks like I have air pockets between the foam and the vinyl. I dont know how else to describe it. What am I doing wrong?? I cannot figure this out. Im afraid it will look like hell when I start sewing the seat covers together. Advice??

[6inarow]

[6inarow]

crap I think I figured it out: poor job of tacking the vinyl to the scrimfoam. I get I didnt stretch it well enough and left the pockets in before I sewed it. Is this correct?? Dang.......

[John Long]

That does not look to me like your Temp Tack is holding your vinyl to the scrim. Your vinyl should not have any loose areas. One trick when sewing narrow pleats is to sew every second or third pleat first and the go back and fill in the pleats you skipped. That helps prevent the stitches from pulling the material from one side more than the other. Also, it is beneficial to sew around the perimeter of the panel before you begin to sew the pleats.

What type of sewing machine do you have? Are you trying to sew that thickness without a walking foot machine? If you are, the top foot will not properly feed the materials together. It may sew it together but you will always be fighting one layer crawling faster than the other one.

There are also those that do not glue their material except around the perimeter so it can move freely but I personally always do.

All of the above are thoughts but I can not say for sure any of them are fact. What you are running into though is not normal for material properly glued to the scrim.
John

[6inarow]

Ok on sewing every second or third pleat first. Thank you. I did not ever hear of that. I am using a Juki 562. Its frustrating. Could I sue a heat gun at the very end to get rid of these or should I throw this section away?

[John Long]

I am not optimistic about heat fixing it. Why don't you try to glue the remaining part a little better and sew the rest of the pleats. You might as well get some practice out of this piece.

John

[John Long]

My apologies. I just saw your post where you said you figured it out. That is good.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

John

[6inarow]

I did take it apart and reglued the other side. They turned out a ton better. Im thinking this goes in the learning (scrap) bin

[John Long]

Nothing wrong with that. I am making my RH '53 Chevy backrest cover for the second time today. I let the alignment marks get away from me the first time. I will baste it with staples this time and make sure they line up. The important thing, you(we) did not settle for a less than satisfactory outcome. Learning takes time, practice, and patience. The excitement of finally getting it right makes it all worth while.

John

[6inarow]

Well dang it. It happened again. I had the vinyl PERFECTLY attached to the scrim foam. But by the time I get done sewing it has the little pockets in it. Must be somehow when its being handled and sewn. Im stuck......

[John Long]

Post another picture.....Something is not right. Either your glue is not holding or your are putting some sort of stress on the material while sewing.

Are you spraying both the material and the foam?

John

[John]

Hi @6inarow
Sorry your running in to this problem. That can be frustrating. I have a few suggestions that might help.

- It looks like your vinyl is really soft. Ive had this happen with soft leather before. You can try steaming the back side and pulling some tension on the piece just like it will have tension once the cover is installed. This will hopefully remove all those wrinkles. I always say steam is a trimmers best friend.

- next your over all thread tension may be to tight, causing your material to bunch up. I would try backing off the top and bottom tension and then even out the tension and that spot.

- another cause could be the foot lift is not high enough causing the fabric to drag on the foot while sewing. A lot of times you wont have this problem sew 2 layers of materials but as soon as you add 1/2" foam and the foot lift isn't high enough now. This setting is on the back of your machine with a wing nut in a slotted adjustment.

- Last your foot pressure could be set too high and is compressing your material too much causing it to bunch up when its trying to return to its natural shape but is locked in by the stitch. There is 2 adjustments for this. One is a hand screw on the top of the machine and the other is a hand screw on the back of the machine.

I hope this helps! Keep us posted on your results. Posts like this continue to help many people in the future.

@John Long
Awesome suggestions! I learned some new tricks from you today. I love this industry because there are so many different ways to accomplish the same outcome. I love learning new meathods from others. Thanks!

- last your foot pressure

[6inarow]

Well yes the vinyl is really soft. I will try to steam it. What is the liklihood steam will take out the wrinkles?

I loosened up the thread tension. I moved the foot lift as high as it will go. I lightened up the foot pressure. Guess what? Pleats are perfect. THANK YOU!!!

[John Long]

Good stuff. Thanks @John

[6inarow]

@John can you recommend a steamer??

[John Long]

John uses a Jiffy J-4000. He mentioned it in a thread a couple months ago..........

John Long

[6inarow]

thank you. Im new to the forum. Ill look for it

[John]

Here is the steamer I use. It will last your lifetime. Jiffy J-4000 Steamer https://amzn.to/2GKa8X0

If thats out of your price range you can find them used on craigslist pretty often

[Cody]

Most of those will come out at you stretch the material. I don’t glue honestly and that somewhat for this reason. On small panels I start from one side and work to the other. On large I start in the middle and work to one side and then
middle to the other. But if I glue I can’t adjust the material. If I think it’s too lose after a few pleats, I can see this and can pull on the material and sew. I usually try to stretch also as I sew. The foam will spring back and bit, so if the material is loose as you sew and the foam springs back it’ll be looser.

[BigRig]

@JohnLong, definitly a PRO! To all other I wonder if the material is being handled with care. How is the operator at the machine? @6inarow , make sure you are not putting any pressure into your fabric towards that foot as you sew. Stay relaxed and let the fabric pull through lightly guided by you.