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By GiriX1000
#12648
Hi all,
Need some guidance. Working on a suspended headliner. I have watched the video in the course. Making and sewing the individual panels of the headliner is no problem. What is causing me problems is the center panel of the headliner is just one large piece of fabric with the 4 listings simply sewn to the panel. The stitch is exposed when the headliner is installed. The problem is trying to sew this stitch so it is straight and keep the listing lined up so that the listing pocket is the right dimension as original - 3/8” (I am using pre made listing). I don’t know if I should be sewing on the exposed side (side that will be seen in the car) of the fabric or on the backside (faces roof)...so far I have only tried the back side. I have tried different guide lines to line up the listing and in turn hope to get a smooth straight stitch on the exposed side but no luck. I feel my best luck might be to mark the line with chalk and sew the exposed side of the fabric but am not sure how to keep the listing in the right place as it will be on the bottom and hard to see. This seems similar to sewing pleats in concept just with the addition of the listing.Image.
Image
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By preston.rea
#12649
Forgive me if I misunderstand what you are questioning. The stitching I see on the exposed side of the headliner appear to be where the seam is pulling apart exposing the thread that was originally sewn from the back. I have never seen a headliner with the thread exposed on the inside of the car. I find that using a double sided tape to hold everything together while sewing helps keep things straight. You can resew the listing to get what ever dimension you need. Good luck on your project.
By GiriX1000
#12650
Hi,
Thanks for the response. The stitching is definitely exposed inside the car. No evidence of any missing stitches or stretching and it is the original headliner I removed from a 51 Chevy. It is simply one stitch through the fabric that holds the listing. The other panels are sewn together as you would expect for a suspended headliner. I don’t really need to replicate it as original however I am interested in the technique in how to replicate this. Interestingly I looked at an import car with a suspended headliner and it was done in this same way, it’s just not that noticeable unless you really look. Ultimately I think it is probably much more practice but there are some good tips out there such as sewing the listing to size once it is stitched to the fabric...I had not thought of that.

Aaron
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By BigRig
#12652
Look at your Chevy stitch line is is perfectly straight? I would really guess they sewed that on through the backside of the fabric.
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By trimmer2
#12653
I line up the stitch line on the face with one on the back Then line up the listing with the correct allowance and tape it in place(both edges) then sew it from face side You could sew it from back but I like the way the stitches look sewn from face Hope this makes sense Most of the older cars sewn this way used a blind stitch machine but thats a whole different way and you need the machine
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By John
#12659
I would just make those normal seams instead of the exposed stitches. That would be easiest and look better. However if you need to keep it original then I would try what Trimmer2 suggested.
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