[Mike Kelly]

Well, all the information is adding up . Various ideas and suggestions aree flowing. I visited a retired upholsterer today and he told me a few things .

1. Yes, the distance from the needle to the body ( throat ?), is important for handling large jobs e.g., CMP GS tops. But, seat covers, side curtains, bags and sunshine roof tops , are not that large and a average sized machine would be OK for those jobs.

2. A reverse function is desirable but not essential.. sew in either direction.

3. He said the Singer 'K' models are excellent. I was offered a Singer K, but they wanted 2k dollars ... a horse rug person.

4. It's best to have a large spacious work area, with tables to support the canvas. In the factories , the operator often sat within an island ,or cubicle, surrounded by flat tables . This is how then managed to sew huge tents. Check out the GMH 1944 colour film for an example of this.

I did have an original DD marked Blitz seat base at one time.. it had lace up covers from memory . During WW2, GMH had a large canvas sewing regime going .. they made myriad items . If you have an old pattern or sample, then it should be a straight forward job. In some cases you can pick open the seams and use the old canvas pieces as a pattern, trace them out on paper.

Mike