DIY Interior Color Stitching

[dawk]

I saw a DIY on a RSX forum a while back. They were using a needle and upholstery stitch to change the color of thier stitching on the seats. I thought it would be a good idea to change the color of my interior stitching and match my seats, steering wheel, boot, and ebrake (RED). I went out and spent $10 on needles (bent) and stitch. It took over 10 hours to finish but the result looked amazing. This a very easy DIY mod, just takes patience and time. Take a look and see:

[EAC]

Wow! That looks awesome!

[SFDreamer]

Oh wow! Never would have thought to do that as a DIY. Nice job, I am sure that was a very tedious process.

[Dtrigg]

Looks great. Could you provide more detail regarding how you did it?

Thanks.

[dawk]

Looks great. Could you provide more detail regarding how you did it?

Thanks.

Sure. It's simple.

1) Measure length of area stitched. Allow a foot of extra thread.

2) Tie a knot on one end. This will be the end of the thread and will act as a anchor at one end.

3) Double knot the needle on the other end. Allow a inch on "play". The knot may get loose and you will have to re-tie the knot.

4) Start the thread and needle at the last stitch of the area you are working on.

5) Pull thread all the way through until knot hits the last stitch.

6) Thread through next stitch. Keep going until the end of the last stitch.

You will have to keep the thread tight with finger because it tends to get wound up and will cause a knot in the thread.

---Take your time. This is a very mindless but careful DIY'er.

[AdvansCPAP]

Fantastic job! I always wanted to change the stitch coloring on the dash and doors. Once you're done threading it through, do you just tie a knot to keep it from getting loose? If that's the case, wouldn't that be ugly?

[dawk]

Fantastic job! I always wanted to change the stitch coloring on the dash and doors. Once you're done threading it through, do you just tie a knot to keep it from getting loose? If that's the case, wouldn't that be ugly?

Yup. But, you have to cut it very close to the stitch. You can't even tell there is a knot.

[EAC]

so you're basically weaving new thread into the existing thread?

[dawk]

so you're basically weaving new thread into the existing thread?

Yes

[Thunder]

Congratulation for your nice job! :-) you have pics of the " knot" ? , I do not know how to make

[MvM]

Amazing Job !!

Have been looking at cars with color stitching and always wondered how they did that. Never thought about just 'adding' the new stitch to an already existing one.

Have one question though. Did you do your seats as well? From the look if it, they are not the OEM seats right?

How do you prevent the new stitching overlapping the existing one.
What kind of thread did you use. Is it cotton or some kind of nylon.

Do you just weave the new stitching through (in between) the existing stitch or do you go completely through to the other side as well?
Did you do the dashboard inside the car?

So for so many question, but it looks extremely good to me so now I'm thinking about this too

[blodi]

Wow, that's really cool and seems really straight forward. Thanks for posting this! I also never thought about doing it that way. I see a project in my future!

[Track Addict]

All that mind numbing effort REALLY paid off. I can't believe how great it looks! Thanks for posting.

How do you still have fingers to type!?

[Bram]

Wow what an awsome job....I going to get this done on my car.

Thanks for sharing.


Bram

[Cozmo]

Thanks for posting this. I really want to do this to my car now. It needs more red stitching. :P

[s14_tat]

I wonder how much a upholstery shop will charge for that type of work.

[AdvansCPAP]

I did some research and found out using regular cotton thread frays and fades. Nylon or waxed nylon would be best as it is used for leather and does not fade or fray. It can be found on Ebay. Also using a curved needle (at Michaels leather craft section) will make it easier.

[MexiRicer]

Look tedious as hell but well worth it!! I would imagine it really difficult to make those super tiny knots at the ends though =/ You must have taken a sewing class in high school right ^_^

[DocL]

I agree that it looks good. However, I think it would have looked better if in this particular case it was done in yellow. Other than that, I don't think that I'd have the patience to do this myself.

[NSXclear]

I agree that it looks good. However, I think it would have looked better if in this particular case it was done in yellow. Other than that, I don't think that I'd have the patience to do this myself.

I think he was trying to match the stitching on his aftermarket red stitched seats. So I don't think he really had a choice unless he wanted red stitched seat and yellow dash/door panels.

But your right...it would've looked great in all yellow.

[omgnsxy]

Wow, this is amazing and looks great! Future weekend project in the works... Thank you!

[Dynamic-uzed-auto]

Thanks for sharing, this mod will save me from buying new seats because mine are fine I was just going to upgrade to leatherseats.com just for the stitching

[baynsac]

NiCe!! A quick question who did your CF wrap? Looks good.

[slamstrom]

Sure. It's simple.

1) Measure length of area stitched. Allow a foot of extra thread.

2) Tie a knot on one end. This will be the end of the thread and will act as a anchor at one end.

3) Double knot the needle on the other end. Allow a inch on "play". The knot may get loose and you will have to re-tie the knot.

4) Start the thread and needle at the last stitch of the area you are working on.

5) Pull thread all the way through until knot hits the last stitch.

6) Thread through next stitch. Keep going until the end of the last stitch.

You will have to keep the thread tight with finger because it tends to get wound up and will cause a knot in the thread.

---Take your time. This is a very mindless but careful DIY'er.

What type of thread and needle did you used? I assume the thread and needle can be purchased from a fabric store. Is my assumption correct? Thanks.

[arfnsx]

1. How much thread did you end up using?
2. Did you use the basic thread size?
3. Did you have to remove any panels to do this project or did everything stay in place?