That's a great looking start to a cover. I've got and original Bolens one on my 900. They are indeed of a heavy material. If you make another cover you may even be able to get the Bolens husky decal imprinted onto the material. If you got sheets of material with the decal on them you could use them as the sides. If this comes out as nice as the seat on my 900 people will want them.

Bolens Tractor Protective Cover For Model 1254 Question
#16
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 10:42 AM
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#17
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 01:05 PM
Thanks for the pictures and the responses - were all the sizes red or were they available in black and other colours as well?
Hi, the seat cover you’re looking, I have one it’s a watreprrof seat cover. I got it cheap new. In the uk that is, can’t remember where though. Sam
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#18
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 01:07 PM
#19
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 01:30 PM
Got the side piece extended by sewing on a short piece that will go towards the front and then I cut out and sewed up a second side. Decided to make a curved 4" radius at the front and back top corners of the sides where they will be sewn onto the top piece. Marked the centre of each side at the top and started sewing there to join the side to the top and down the rear - used a piece of red piping to give the cover a little bit of form at the join. Once I had the rear half sewn I went back to the centre and sewed the front part. Got both sides sewn and then tried the cover on to see how it fit. I still have to match up the bottom of the ends to the sides and once they are then I can hem the bottom edge where the drawstring will go and then install a few grommets.
Edited by 29 Chev, April 11, 2018 - 04:56 PM.
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#20
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 05:10 PM
Found a bit more ambition this afternoon so I trimmed the end pieces and then marked the drawstring opening at the front. I had originally planned on making the bottom hem 1" wide for the drawstring but after checking out the grommets I picked up at the hardware store I decided to make the hem 1-1/2" wide so that the grommets would not interfere with the drawstring. Once I had the front opening marked out I cut out the material, folded the edge of the vinyl over and sewed the edge for strength. Once I had that done I started the task of sewing the lower hem and inserting the drawstring. I figured the best plan was to insert the drawstring as I sewed the edge rather than trying to fish the drawstring through afterwards. I used some 1/8" cord and just laid it in the hem as I sewed and that part worked well. The biggest problem was that the amount of material that made up the cover made it awkward to feed through the sewing machine but I eventually got the task accomplished. Then I loosely tied the ends of the drawstring together and moved on to installing the grommets.
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#21
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 05:29 PM
The hardware store had a kit that had a cutter punch and installation tool and about 20 grommets so I opted for that since I did not have a store bought installation tool. I decided I would use three grommets on each side and marked the hole locations. Then I used the cutter punch to make the hole for the first grommet and then I inserted the stem side of the barrel grommet from the outside of the cover. Then I inserted the inner washer part of the grommet and used the crimping tool to compress the barrel of the grommet. It did the job but took a bit of work and I was not overly happy with the way the inside part looked as the barrel was not formed uniformly as you can see in picture #9. I installed the second grommet and had about the same result as you can see in picture #11. The outside part of the grommet looked like a factory job but even though the inside is hidden from view I just wasn't happy with the result. Found the tool I made a couple of years ago to set some slightly smaller grommets I had and tried it on the third grommet I installed. I also switched from using the cutter punch to using a gasket punch which did a nice job of cutting through the two pieces of vinyl and did not require as much force. The homemade tool uses a 1/4" bolt to draw the two halves of the tool together - hold the bolt head with a wrench and use a ratchet and socket on the nut to draw the two halves together until the bolt tightens. I wasn't sure how well it would work since these grommets were larger but I gave it a try and it left the grommet barrel evenly crimped and looking nice which made me happy - the results are in picture #12. The homemade tool was then used to install the other three grommets.
Edited by 29 Chev, April 12, 2018 - 12:21 PM.
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#22
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 05:35 PM
By this time I was interested to see what the finished cover would look like on the 1053 so I opened the door and pushed the tractor outside into the cold. I could of swore I heard the tractor shivering so I started to put the cover over the rear as a few snow flakes were falling. Stopped to take a few pictures and then I finished pulling the cover on down over the front and took some more pictures.
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#23
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 05:38 PM
Very Nice !
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#24
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 05:58 PM
By this time I was interested to see what the finished cover would look like on the 1053 so I opened the door and pushed the tractor outside into the cold. I could of swore I heard the tractor shivering so I started to put the cover over the rear as a few snow flakes were falling. Stopped to take a few pictures and then I finished pulling the cover on down over the front and took some more pictures.
Poor thing! Move it outside into the cold and didn't even start it!
Cover looks good!
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#25
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 06:41 PM
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#26
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Posted April 11, 2018 - 08:04 PM
Wow great job stew!
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#27
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Posted April 12, 2018 - 12:20 AM
Like a glove!
- 29 Chev said thank you