Question about sewing with pvc.

Margaret52129

A poser from my DD. She is wanting to make wipeable seat covers for her dining chairs (she's got 2 young boys + one on way) for ease of cleaning. She asked me if it was possible to make them with the pvc material you can buy for tablecloths. I said it was, but it got me thinking if I'm right!

Can you sew pvc? I'm wondering if it will slip when being stitched together as it would be hard to pin/tack it together first - do you have to put tissue paper between them to stop that happening?

I'm sure I've read it somewhere that it's a bit difficult to do, but not impossible. I'd like to help her as it will save on cleaning costs big time as her covers at the moment are dry clean only (although she has washed them herself) but they don't really come out that clean TBH.

Any suggestions would be most helpful. Thanks in advance.

Margaret

Softstuff

You can sew it, I made a wallet out of it once, it's a big pain in the bum to do though! You can pin it together relatively easily (shiny side to shiny side), just make sure you're always sewing only 2 layers and that there's always a matte side facing up and a matte side facing down on your machine, otherwise it won't go through the machine at all, the shiny stuff sticks to the foot and to the teethy things below (very technical ). I'd keep it as simple as possible by design, just two squares sewn together if you can.

There's plenty of advice for making things with it online, just look under "oilcloth".

Finefoot

I used a staple gun to cover my chairs with the PVC, was just not happening with the sewing machine.

globalds

would it be cheaper to buy a couple of plastic garden chairs and stack them away when not being used?

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-9329.aspx?utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=GSF_NormalFeed&utm_campaign=GSF_TescoDirect&utm_content=207-9329

£2.38 each atm

esmf73

have to agree with the staple gun - am about to try it myself!

GreyQueen

You can sew PVC ie tablecloths but it is a bit of PITA.

I'd put a really heavy-gague needle into the machine (a 100) and even then it might break. This kind of sewing is really more the province of industrial sewing machines rather than domestic ones.

You wouldn't need to use paper to stop it slipping as it'd be more likely to stick to itself. Also, re pinning, the holes would be there forever, unlike in most fabrics.

I'd second (or third going) the staple-gun route.

flippin36

My mum has sewn PVC to make shopping bags - she finally found a way to make it easier. She put a layer of tissue paper (she used toilet paper once) to stop it slipping then pulled the tissue paper away from the seam after it had been sewn. A bit fiddly getting all the tissue out but much easier than struggling with the PVC.

jetbag

I bought some oilcloth to make an apron with, after reading this thread I think I will just cut it to size and shape then sew on the tape for neck and waist ties by hand. I won't now bother hemming it all around.
looks like you all have saved me from a nightmare, thank you.

Margaret52129

Thanks for the info. I'll pass these onto my DD. Unfortunately a staple gun won't do as they are separate tie on cushions that she wanted to make a cover for, square but about 1.1/2"-2" thick.

Might be as well if she looked around to buy some as it doesn't seem to be that easy to sew.

They are moving to a new home and she was hoping to match the seat covers with the tablecloth/curtains etc. The curtains were NOT going to be pvc by the way! LOL Oh well, back to the drawing board!

Margaret

ragz_2

Thanks for reminding me, I started covering my seats with PVC tablecloth (bought from The Range) last year, I managed one! TBH it was the staplegun's fault, it wasn't strong enough so I had to do it with tacks and a hammer which took AGES! Then when DH sat on the seat a load of them came out. I think I covered it too tightly, when the cushions are sat on they go a lot flatter, not sure how that made it come undone though.

I expect you could sew a simple envelope style cover for the cushions out of the pvc fabric, could even do it by hand.

alltrustgone

I made a lightproof cover from a thick pvc-type fabric - mine had a matte finish - for a paper storage rack about 5’ high which is housed in the conservatory, so it can be done, but it was a b****r to sew. I’d second a large size needle, tissue paper if pvc is shiny. I didn’t pin, just aligned edges and stitched a short distance, repeat this for length of seam. Also use a long stitch length and keep the speed down ( and the patience up). The trickiest bit was machining on the hook and loop patches which keep the cover closed and lightfast – very far from my neatest work – but it did get done, even through all that thickness/resistance.