Season One, upholstery upgrade

During season one I learned how to upholster sailboat cushions and to quote SailRite’s Matt Grant, "It's Easy".

I didn't hate the upholstery fabric in our Catalina 30, but it was in disrepair and sadly I had no choice but to update our interior fabrics. Water leaks took a toll and many of the cushion covers were torn or threadbare, had stuck or frozen zippers, and all were mildewed. I thought I might be able to salvage them with simple laundering but that wasn't the case. The smell alone from the mold and mildew was more than enough to encourage me to sew new.

The idea of taking on this sewing project was intimidating. I knew it was going to be challenging and I was most hesitant about the prospect of installing zippers. Fortunately, I didn’t allow my inexperience to dictate my decision to proceed with this project.

The process began with hauling all the cushion’s home, a task that was extremely uncomfortable for this asthmatic allergy girl since the car ride was an hour and a half. I removed all the cushion covers and began the task of restoring and salvaging the foam, surprisingly I was able to salvage all foam in the salon and I only needed to replace the foam for the quarter-berth and V-Berth. #foamfactory

I treated the salvaged foam in multiple steps:

• I created a vinegar spray and sprayed my cushions, working on spots with a handheld brush. Some of the cushions were in worse shape so I used a bleach spray and or soaked them in a bath, I then sucked the water out with a shopvac, placing the foam in a large trash bag and sucked them dry.

• Once dry I sprinkled my foam in baking soda

• I laid all the foam out to bake in the sun for a week, flipping on a rotational schedule. My mom had a low metal roof that was easy to access, and we used it as our sun baking platform.

• I vacuumed all the baking soda out of the foam.

Surprisingly these tactics worked, the foam was restored to a clean and fresh smelling reset.

I purchased an exterior linen texture fabric from Hobby Lobby, 100% Polyester, it was 50,000 Double Rub fabric, rated for 500 sun hours. I love this fabric, it is durable, it feels great, and it is a appropriate for this application. A 50,000 double rub rating is commercial grade, double rubs are a way to measure the abrasion resistance and durability of a fabric. One back and forth motion counts as one double rub. This fabric should stand up to the wear and tear of sailboat use. Next, the sun hours rating is a lightfastness rating, 500 sun hours indicates that the fabric should withstand 7-14 months of exposure to heat, humidity, and UV rays in an external environment. This fabric is being used as an interior upholstery and so far, it looks great.

Next, I purchased my zipper materials and thread from Sailrite. I became an avid Sailrite video viewer and use of the fabric calculator to estimate fabric and plan my patterns. Sailrite has all the tips and tricks you need to tackle a project like this, I tackled one cushion at a time, taking my time as I slowly worked my way through the pile of interior cushions. I am more than pleased with the outcome and the upgrade to our boat is immeasurable.

For this project I used a heavy-duty singer sewing machine, a tall thread stand, sewing wonder clips, Gingher sewing scissors, rotary cutter, basting tape, cutting mat, and my acrylic ruler.

Don’t avoid this project, upfront it was intimidating but in reality it wasn’t that hard. Just pace yourself, utilize the Sailrite resources, and invest in some simple tools. You won’t regret the effort.