How to re-upholster vRS seat bases

I imagine this is a potential problem for ANY Fabia vRS owner, but certainly fatties like myself will suffer from it sooner or later! Basically, the seat base frame on my driver's seat has worn through the foam such that you end up with bare metal pushing into the backs of your legs through the fabric. I did consider taking pictures, but to be honest, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably shouldn't attempt this!

First off, cut some dense foam to the approximate shape of the fabric panel that the frame's pushing through. An old camping mattress did the job for me, and you will end up with something vaguely resembling the 'visible' bit of a man's tie.

Next, use a seam ripper to cut through the seam running across the top of the side bolster. Start about an inch or so from the 'front' end of the seam, and work back until you're four or five inches from the 'back' (this is particularly important on the seatbelt clasp side!) You will also need to use the seam ripper to tear the black fabric that backs the top-stitching either side of the seam, although this is only really for decoration, so don't worry too much.

Now pull back the flap of fabric so you can see the foam underneath. You should find that the seat frame has pushed fairly cleanly through the foam, so re-form it as best you can and then stick some gaffa tape over the tear to hold it in shape. Now put your foam under the flap of fabric, and hold it in place with some gaffa across the top.

And here comes the fun part - ladder stitch your seat back together! You may find a curved needle helps, and Gutermann colour 299 seems like a decent match. I doubled the thread over, but beware of snags if you do this.

Clearly, how well the repair works is dependent on how well you can sew, but there's no reason why you shouldn't end up with something passable. And it's not as though you can see any mistakes when you're driving the car!

Then you can continue driving in comfort...