How much fabric do you need to retrim car seats?
The question that comes before every order. Working figures below are for cloth 150 cm (59 in) wide, with an explanation of where the spread comes from.
Working figures
| Job | Metres | Yards |
|---|---|---|
| Full set of seats, saloon | 8–10 m | 9–11 yd |
| Large car, estate, van | 12–16 m | 13–17 yd |
| Two front seats | 5–6 m | 5.5–6.5 yd |
| Rear bench | 3–4 m | 3.3–4.4 yd |
| Centre inserts only, whole interior | 2.5–3.5 m | 2.7–3.8 yd |
| Door cards | 1–1.5 m | 1.1–1.6 yd |
The full-set figures come from our own counter: that is what trim shops actually take for a saloon and for a large car. The per-part breakdown follows normal trade practice and may differ from the patterns of your particular vehicle.
Why the range is so wide
Four things sit between “eight metres” and “ten” for the same saloon:
- Seat shape. A sports seat with pronounced bolsters swallows noticeably more than a flat bench.
- Cutting scheme. Combining cloth centres with leather bolsters uses about half the cloth of a full fabric retrim.
- Pattern direction. A check is cut on the straight grain and cannot be turned sideways, so some of the roll inevitably becomes offcut.
- Seam matching. Moving panels around the roll so the pattern lines up across seams can cost the better part of a metre.
Rule of thumb. For a fine pattern take the lower end of the range; for a large check take the upper end and add a metre. A spare metre is cheaper than a second order, because a later batch may not match the first exactly.
How not to over-order
- Ask your trimmer whether they are combining materials or trimming entirely in cloth — the difference is roughly double.
- Settle the scale of pattern before ordering: it drives the matching allowance.
- Get the sample set and hold it against the car, so you do not spend metrage on a colour that fights the interior.
- Check the stock figure on the article you want. It is printed on every page of the catalogue; if it is tight, say so before cutting starts.