Well, like most projects, the settee cushions took a bit longer than I anticipated. After getting the foam cut and test fit, I started cutting out the fabric. The wood burning tool I used to cut the
Sunbrella material worked well, but it is a slow process. Not having the material unravel is well worth the effort. I used a permanent marker to trace around the plate (top and bottom) patterns of the cushions. The straight boxing (side pieces) were just measured, but patterns were used for the curved boxing of the back cushions. Although the fabric doesn't have stripes per-se, it does have a pattern or grain so care had to be taken while positioning the patterns to make it all look right.
 |
| The old, cracking salon cushions. |
Sewing the pieces together to make the cushion covers is fairly straight forward and there are plenty of tutorials at
Sailrite on how it is done. The trick was getting the zippers installed along the seams the same way it was done on the original cushions. The trick I found that worked best was to sew the boxing together, then starting about an inch from the end of the back seam, sew a couple inches of the boxing on, placing marks on the material. I would then temporarily sew the gap in the middle where the zipper would be using the largest stitch possible. From that, I could position and add the zipper without things moving around too much. Once the zipper tape was attached, I would install the slider, rip open the seam and sew across the ends of the zipper to lock everything in place. From there, I could sew the remaining boxing to the plate.
 |
| Making new foam inserts for the cushions. |
The Sailrite machine works very well for sewing heavy materials and zippers together. Although not a fancy, computer controlled machine, I have no doubt that these machines will last a lifetime even under pretty heavy usage. I think we will be holding onto it even after the boat is gone.
I applied polyester batting to the foam using 3M 77 spray adhesive. Then began the process of wrestling the foam into the covers. Since the covers are actually a bit smaller than the foam itself, this can be a bit of a process, but having the foam fit tight makes the cushion look a lot better.
After the bottom cushions were done and test-fit on the boat, I checked the patterns for the seat back cushions. The original back cushions didn't line up all that well, and I hoped to at least improve upon the alignment. I adjusted the patterns a bit and went to work on the seat backs. Sewing the large curved cushions was the most difficult as there are no corners to align. The front plates are longer vertically and shorter horizontally than the back plates. I had to make center marks and pre-pin the pieces together before sewing them up.
 |
| The new cushions. I think they are a vast improvement. |
So, it was a bit more time consuming than I thought, but I think the result was well worth the effort. The new cushions look far better than the old cracked vinyl ones and I think are quite a bit more comfortable too. Hopefully the new owners of the boat will appreciate them.
