I am sure someone has thought of it before so ideas of why it wouldn't work would be good before I get carried away!

Once again I have reached the point I am going to have to clean my VRS white seat covers.

I wondered whether I could aquire an old original cover, unpick the stitching to sperate the different pieces, use them as a pattern and then remake a seat cover in a new different colour.

I know it is not a small undertaking, I would need a steady hand and a good sewing machine and I would need to buy some seat fabric. I had thought of using the existing black sections and just changing the white bits. I am reluctant to use my current covers in case it goes wrong / I realise it was a good idea in theory but not in practice.

What have I not thought of?

Don't mean to be a downer but retrimming sounds like something that's harder than first looks.

However, if all goes well, you could always start your business in retrimming seats as I hear that can be quite lucrative .

I've been thinking along a similar line, but different.....

I was thinking more about mk2 vrs seats. They are the same seat shape aren't they, so, do skoda sell the actual covers alone? part number? or do you have to buy the whole seat?

I know one or two people here have removed the covers and stuck em in the wash and refitted, so if its possible to get the covers then the guide (there is one somewhere on here) could be used to replace with mk2 covers.

so, is it possible to get them?

edit.... second thoughts i see the rear head rests are different....

I can remember last year that someone re-trimmed their seats in a fake leather/ vinyl, but it didn't look great tbh. You may need to make a template. Would it not be easier to dye them instead?

You have pm

I've been thinking along a similar line, but different.....

I was thinking more about mk2 vrs seats. They are the same seat shape aren't they, so, do skoda sell the actual covers alone? part number? or do you have to buy the whole seat?

I know one or two people here have removed the covers and stuck em in the wash and refitted, so if its possible to get the covers then the guide (there is one somewhere on here) could be used to replace with mk2 covers.

so, is it possible to get them?

Fabia Sport seats would work too. come from the mk1 but all black i think

Somebody in the Octy section is doing this. He's putting Cupra leather on VRS frames. Worth a look. Sorry I can't give link as I'm on a mobile.

Thanks for the replies.

Having had a closer look there is an awful lot of stitching, some of which I suspect is for decoration but its hard to see how many pieces the covers are made up of (without taking them off).

I have also been told I need to be careful of the warp and weft of the fabric as it may stretch more one way but not the other so in essence the fabric is directional. I would have to be certain which way the different bits of fabric are running to get the stretch right. Its definitely more science than art and is sounding more complicated than I first thought!

Glad I didn't start butchering my seats, may have to have a rethink.

As said above, why don't you just die them?

Get some black Dylon and throw them in the washing machine.

With regards to the vrs logo, I'm not 100% but if you rub Vasaline into the stitched logo it shouldn't die it?

Dylon is unlikely to work on synthetic nylon based materials

as essentially they are made of plastic.

Was a bit of a hippy back in the day and did more than my fair share

of tie dyeing.

Dylon is unlikely to work on synthetic nylon based materials

as essentially they are made of plastic.

Was a bit of a hippy back in the day and did more than my fair share

of tie dyeing.

Ah fair enough, it's the only thing I could think of to use. I guess there could be others that make be more effective?

Double post, sorry :(

Bloody phone!

Edited 23 November, 201213 yr by MattH

You can definately dye nylon, I used to work in a place where they used to redye old zips and buttons into the latest trendy colours to up the price. Used to be big vats of dye steaming away. Perhaps thats a bit specialist though. You could perhaps test a tiny piece first, I have used the cheap Dylon stuff and it just dyes to a lighter colour, so black would probably be a shade of grey.

Its one hell of a job though!

Probably better just to buy some new seats from a car breaker.

I wondered whether I could aquire an old original cover, unpick the stitching to sperate the different pieces, use them as a pattern and then remake a seat cover in a new different colour.

That's how the seats were retrimmed in my 2004vRS - in leather - but it was done by a professional upholsterer not me. They looked virtually new after 6 years when I sold it. Nicer than the seats in my SE...