body and interior Cutting carpet set.

[stricht8]

I'm in the process of making a new carpet set for my '73 2002. I'm running into some difficulty with the front passenger side carpet. I'm using the original as a template but finding that it appears to be formed into shape where it climbs up into the under dash area. Where these carpets formed or did the carpet just stretch with age? How do I cut the carpet to take this into consideration?

[esty]

a formed shape isn't necessary...every section can be flat..originally they were flat without curves...years of being in the car has shaped them...

 

EDIT....just a tip...i'd cut each section slightly larger until you're happy with the design then trim a little at a time until you get it to fit like you want & it's easier if you make the patterns to fit your car now and now focus so much on the patten of the original....use the original as the starting point

Edited February 4, 2015 by esty

[stricht8]

Thanks for the sage advice. I guess I need to pattern from the car then sew the binding on. Nothing is easy on an old car!

[stricht8]

My materials: honey brown square weave wool, vinyl binding, vinyl material for the drivers side tranny tunnel and wider binding areas, polyester thread, heel pad.

And my "new" vintage adler 167-373 industrial sewing machine:)

[esty]

i envy your sewing machine...

 

 

good luck with the binding....& have fun

[stricht8]

Thanks:) Hey, I need a German machine for a German car! I anticipate the binding being a challenge.

Edited February 5, 2015 by stricht8

[esty]

I anticipate the binding being a challenge.

it's very difficult at best to impossible to sew that type binding on and keep a clean look...that stuff is made to be fed thru a binding machine...

 

i tried and tried when i started making carpet and could never get it to look anything close to good so i do a different type binding...old school style binding, cutting my own binding from vinyl....

 

 

you're learning with some expensive carpet...i'll keep my fingers crossed for you and would love to see what you do when finished

[esty]

when you finish your carpet set and are ready to get that old machine out of your way, i'll have FedX remove it

[stricht8]

Yes, I have a bad feeling about the binding but I'll give it a try. I like the binding style you do too, but I wanted the stitching to show. Sloppy stitching is of course not something that anyone wants to see!

I was going to settle for any old machine, but decided to hold out for the real deal! Hopefully, I can start doing some upholstery work with it.

Here are some practice projects in leather.

Scissor case and new stitching on old key chain tag:

[Grover]

I too am a fan of having the stitching show on the top side of the binder. However, I've found it's pretty challenging. I've tried a couple of different approach, shown here on some scrap test pieces I did; in both cases the binding is just vinyl trimmed to the appropriate width vs. purpose built binding. On the right sample, I do a first pass with the vinyl face down against the carpet. It is then flipped back on itself (causing the visible folder edge on the inside) on then top-sewn just 1/8" or so from the fold. On the left side, this is done in a single pass, and then whatever trim to the side of your sewn line is trimmed off with a razor blade. This is apparently how folks such as Jaguar and perhaps even BMW did it back in the day. This second approach is MUCH easier when going around bends. The former route is really tricky (at least for an relative newbie amateur such as myself) to feed at the correct speed and tension without the carpet "cupping" in the corners. Good luck!!

 

Regarding your original question, I never have really loved the original carpet patterns, particularly around the pedal box and firewall, so ended up making my own and then cutting them out of German Square Weave wool. As Esty says, it is not cheap, but I love the look and feel of it. I've subsequently added a custom heal pad for the driver's feet. In retrospect I'd do a couple of things differently if I were to do it over, but it was a great experience and project. 

['76mintgrün'02]

Beautiful!

Do people take off their shoes when they ride in your car?

I would.

[stricht8]

That stitching is quite nice! I also like the red stitching on your sample. Square weave wool is really a beautiful material.

I tried and tried to find the exact carpet material as original but was unable. There are some carpets that are similar but not the same so I decided to just do what I wanted and chose the best material with a period look. Square weave wool just fits the bill and is an upgrade so to speak.

[esty]

really nice Grover...i love the your design

[nbcbird]

I also installed my carpet using the original as a template. I had an upholsterer stitch vinyl binding on the sides. After leaving a little excess on the top (under the dash), I installed the horizontal (lower) section first, and then positioned the carpet up the footwell as best as possible. It will bunch up and form folds--you need to cut a slit in the carpet in the center of the fold so it will form two flaps. Simply place the flaps on top of each other an cut thru both sections at the same time. Remove the bottom excess section and the two flaps will join together without a visible seam. It sounds more difficult that what it sounds, but it is virtually impossible to see any seam--the carpet pattern will help hide the seam--particularly if you are using a random loop style carpet.

I am not a big fan of the vinyl trim stitched round the openings for the brake/clutch/gas pedals. It will eventually wear thru. I have found using a soldering gun with a spade tip can melt the carpet loops and secure the edges--run around the outer 1/4 inch of the pedal slots. It looks almost exactly like the factory OEM version.

Edited February 5, 2015 by nbcbird

[bmdubl02]

Beautiful!

Do people take off their shoes when they ride in your car?

I would.

A good question….After I installed my (Esty) carpet kit it was too nice to put dirty shoes on, and would put a towel down. Got tired of that quickly, so I had Esty make me matching mats to put yer feets on. Problem solved.