[Healeys] BJ7 Arm rest

[Peter Svilans]

Frank,

Attaching the armrest to the tunnel carpet is a bit tricky.  Yes it is sewn in
place, but if you start in one place and just sew all around, you will sew a
twist into the armrest because the pile or nap of the carpet lays down as you
go, making  the armrest flange travel sideways, distorting  the shape.

The armrest itself is not what it seems.  The sides are not parallel, there
being a half inch taper, narrowing towards the back.  It is not as deep as is
often seen, the original Dunlopillo foam pad being only 3/4" thick, not the 1"
or 'way more which seems to be often seen these days.

The border strip of the armrest is folded over 3/8" at the bottom edge to make
a stitching flange.    I glue this flange first,  so as not to "fold as you
go", which can get awkward on the turns.   The armrest cover is stitched onto
the carpet unstuffed, as it needs to be squashed flat as you go 'round.    It
is best to stitch it to the carpet before the large carpet strip on the left
side is sewn to the main carpet, as there is a very thick seam created at the
joint, which interferes with the armrest's left edge, which comes quite close
to the bulky seam.

Mark the location with chalk (2.5" back from the ashtray).  Then temporarily
fix the cover to locate it properly on the chalk lines, using heavy duty
staples,  dots of  cyanoacrylate glue, or short sections of stitching to be
removed later.   Keep a watch out for what the pile is doing to the overall
shape.  Then stitch the armrest flange to the carpet  all around 1/8" from the
edge ( with your industrial walking foot machine- mine sews through plywood
).

The carpet is then carefully slit from the back, in the form of a lengthways
line with two "Y" slits on either end  (like the well-known "which line is
shorter" optical illusion), and the foam slab is inserted.  The slits are then
sewn shut by hand  fairly loosely with a heavy thread and curved needle.

That's how the original carpet was done.  And done very well, by girls who did
it all day long and got really good at it.  Hats off to the ladies.

Best regards
Peter