I’m working on upholstering the seat for Bultakenstein. For the foam padding, I am using 1-1/4” thick yoga mat I bought off Amazon. I also bought some pre-made diamond-tuck quilted vinyl for the seat face and standard black marine vinyl for the sides.
To put it all together, I bought a Chinese cobbler’s sewing machine for $110.
The tripod stand that comes with these machines is really poor, so everybody makes their own custom stand. Since I don’t have a lot of extra space in my workshop, I simply bolted mine to a thick 90-degree angle bracket I can clamp in my vice. It was quick, cost me nothing, saves space, and holds the machine securely.
It took a bit of tweaking, but I eventually got it running well, with smooth stitching and nicely balanced tension between the upper and bobbin threads. In this photo, the red thread is sewn through four layers of the marine vinyl.
I have trimmed the foam for the bottom of the seat and I’m currently working on a pattern. I have another piece of foam that will fit against the back of the seat cut-out that isn’t shown in this photo.