Okay...

Well, I've done it, though at the moment it feels like a pyrrhic victory.
Many intrepid DIYers have set out over the years to "restore their pleats -will be documenting the process" only to never be heard from again.

Thanks to Ykobayashi I decided to give this a crack. Picked up a yard of muslin and a sewing awl and got to work. Warning, this is not for the faint of heart. Undertaking this repair may provoke an unmitigated stream of existentialism.

If you've removed a seat skin, you'll be familiar with this:



Rotted fabric, etc, etc, etc.



Started with a seam ripper, removing as much of the old stitching as possible.



The awl, the muslin and some heavy duty polyester thread. :



A cubic yard is about three times the amount you'll need, but if you've any experience with sewing, you'll know it's better to err on the side of caution.



The needles that came with the awl were a little too bit. They completely obliterated the muslin and I didn't want to needlessly stretch the vinyl. In the end, I used a standard sewing machine needle
The sewing awl is quite a delightful device. Very proto-sewing machine. It takes a while to find your technique however. On the skin in question, there are 8 rows of thread to replace.
the first row took me around 80 mins. After the first 10 mins, I decided this was a horrible idea, a complete waste of time and a picture of masochism.

After completing the first row, efficiencies began to materialize.



The second row took 40 minutes. The third 28 mins. I finally settled on 21 minutes a piece for the five remaining rows. Again, this is a complete and utter waste of time.

After finishing the first two rows, I decided to test things. Not to make sure it was worthwhile (it wasn't) but to see whether the tension in the new muslin would be enough to overcome the tension of the vinyl. I used a ruler to insert the felt "sausages":



Lo and behold...



Here's what the back looks like, with two bits of felt now inserted:



The outer most columns I was able to finish with a sewing machine as these stitches are not visible. You're basically stitching into vertical seam so you have to sandwich the lot. It's a little awkward. You can then seal the entire thing off and trim it up.



And after... 5 hours maybe? :



The original backing covers the foam on the wings, but as that foam is glued to the vinyl, covering seemed superfluous. Also, that would have required more time with the awl and I could not abide that.



And finally:




Again, this is total waste of time. If you're into repetitive tasks and dopamine feedback loops, give it a shot. I've never knitted, but this process was spiritually akin. You put some headphones on, or some bad Tv, or make a phone call you've been avoiding, etc, and stitch away. You get there eventually.

The thing is, these skins are so old and faded that even if you paid someone to restore the stitching -and they'd be making new holes, which I think would affect the integrity of the seat- color them with some palomino spray... you'd be pretty close to paying for new skins.

That said, I did nail it.




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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.