I'm trying to teach myself how to re-wrap GTA interior pieces in vinyl or leather like factory. I've figured out how to do the correct baseball stitch, that actually seems to be the easy part. The hard part seems to be getting the pattern just right, so the seams meet end-to-end perfectly. Too loose and it will wrinkle, too tight and the ends will have a gap between them. I've just about got the GTA 5-speed shift **** pattern perfect using purely trial and error. I'll post up a PDF of the pattern once I get it right. I have an extra GTA steering wheel, which was factory wrapped in leather, but in awful shape. About half of it was already ripped off, but I managed to carefully remove the rest of it using a seam ripper. I plan to try and make a pattern using what's left of it, but I'm sure it will still take a while to get right.

Has anyone else ever done this kind of work before? If so, is there an easier way to make patterns other than trial and error? I've been using some scrap whisper vinyl I have laying around, but it takes time to stretch and work into place. I'm thinking of using t-shirt fabric or something else thin just to get patterns fitting well. Any tips are appreciated, I'm just learning as I go, and using what little info I can find using google.

 

I wouldn't use T-shirt material if I were you. The fabric stretches to easily and you will end up with templates that are way to small to be used. It would be more trouble then it's worth IMO.

I would stick to some cheap leather like stuff for the trial error template making and then pay the $$ for the actual leather when it comes time to make the real thing. Then again maybe the thickness of the material will make a difference too. Now you have me wondering...

Mike