Today: Dinette/Lounge/Guest-Bed Upholstery Beginnings.
This is the part that scares me. Working with fabric - a whole new material - and some different tools.
And I'M fortunate enough to have DW to have my back! But even she - as long-term and skill-built as she is, what with her maternal ancestral teachings, and her own aptitudes and built-upon experience and skill (more hands-on - than this modern computer driven sewing - with quilting, clothes, etc.). But she's never done the industrial size machine stuff. Here's something new for both of us!
I'll get to the fabric, but the "build style" - that's been pretty strong in my head for quite some time now.
You know what we've always said - we want multi-function, small size, quality build, comfortable - and the first question that pops up in the mind is "Comfortable? In a u-shape dinette? Are you kidding me?", and that's usually followed up with evil cackling.
Yeah, that's a tough task. I saw a post here in TCs back ago, about just that very subject. Someone in it said the seat-back should be reclined about 20 degrees. And if your seat back ain't straight up and down, the seat itself will need to be tilted, or your butt will want to continuously slide off! Butt sliding, and straight backs are both uncomfortable. What to do?
I found this yesterday to help illustrate.
Well we decided to make our dinette cushions multi-functional from the start. Now a normal camper cushion is simply a
box cushion (we like this Sailrite website, both for purchases and instructional videos and such - watch pricing though). And that sort of cushion is just a block of foam with fabric tight around it. It gets its support from what it sits on. Pretty weak, in and off itself - structurally speaking.
And this
Fabric Calculator at Sailrite is so helpful. Note the cushion styles, "box, fold-over, and platform".
For us, we felt a preferred cushion style would be a platform bottom, that we could use as a surface that can be tilted and supported from behind and underneath to create lounging capability. Here's Sailrite's example of that.
Box Cushion on a Platform.
Also, by stapling to a platform bottom, you eliminate need for zippers, while making the piece more "upholstered-like".
But - it's still a tiny space, so a lot of lounging tilt just won't fit. Now with a tilt-able backing on each cushion, we can have three modes: Straight up Dining mode, Tilted Lounge Mode, and Flat Bed Mode.
We'll go through all of those as this thing progresses.
Lately I've been kind of moving back into stuff. After thinking though all the possible platform thicknesses, I chose to just go 1/4" plywood. Thick enough to "bridge" over under-supports (that whole tilt thing), thick enough to hold a staple, flat and rigid surface - instead of compressible foam, and thin enough so each cushion segment won't be TOO heavy.
Off we went to the home center.
We picked up carpet runner for the back side of the platforms, under $20...
And one sheet of 1/4" ACX, about $20.
And laid out the sizes of the boards, 1/2" smaller than the cushion, all the way around.
Marked them.
Gave each piece a good edge sanding, to round those sharp corners. Fabric and batting will be wrapping around them.
Then brushed 'em off good and laid 'em out.
Next was to roll out the carpet runner and cut pieces to fit.
I just used 1/4" T50 staples every 8" or so along the edges. No rounding over, because the material is too thick, and this is simply a "finished side" in carpet (instead of more painting and poly, or weaker fabric - as in box cushion, no platform, etc.) against the interior camper surfaces that are either poly finished or carpet as well. Sound deadening, thermal and shifting resistance, visually attractive, structural and supportive, etc.
This shows the finished platforms in place, but upside down for the visual. Once cushioned, these surfaces will be downward, toward the camper's other interior surfaces.
And keep in mind, those head and foot seat backs will be 5" higher, because they will be sitting on top of the seat cushion.
So far - so good. Now to start into this new fabric and upholstery experience with the easier "back wall" of the dinette. You know, as opposed to the head/foot seats and backs. It's the camper's side wall under the window, but I'm calling it the dinette's "back wall". The platform cushion there will be a fold-over style, just because the cushion is only 1.5" and is more of a "mounted-flat upholstered wall-segment" than anything else. It won't recline in other words. I'll do it first for the experience and practice. Next.
