Cool. Did it lay well on the inside of the wheel? I'll probably have to do
this job to my Fiat at some point.
>>> Joe Curry <spitlist@gte.net> 02/09 10:13 AM >>>
I have. The wheel on Huxley is a Grant that was very much showing it's years.
I liked the size of the wheel so I decided to attempt a
leather covering similar to what I have on a couple of other case I have had.
I obtained a piece of leather from an upholstery shop
large enough to do the job as well as some black nylon thread they use for such
jobs. A fabric shop (notions, for you seamstresses
types) provided the curved needle I needed.
I measured the diameter of the wheel and cut the leather slightly smaller to
ensure a good tight fit and sewed the ends together with
the stitches on the back side of the leather.
I then stretched the loop of leather over the wheel with the seam in the
desired place (I chose the top, but many places opt for
putting it on the bottom. that was not practical for me because it put the
seam in the center of the lower spoke).
Using a piece of scrap, I was able to determine how wide the thing needed to be
to fit snugly around the wheel. Using that
measurement, I marked and cut the loop, leaving three flaps that extended up
onto the spokes to cover the attaching points.
After that, it was a pretty simple task to stitch, stretch, stitch, stretch,
until it was completed. Some clipping was required when I
encountered the flaps to get them positioned correctly. I left a bit of extra
leather there rather than come up short.
I am quite satisfied with the end result.
One other thing, I put some spongy material under the leather to both increase
the thickness of the wheel and to give a better grip.
Regards,
Joe
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