Tweaking the cover
Start the tweaking process in the front. Measure 6 inches down from
the bottom of the welting and mark reference points with chalk along
the front edge of the panel every 4 to 5 inches. The height you want to
end up with along the front of the cushion is 6 inches. The 6-inch height
is not a hard fast rule, but generally 6 to 6-^1 ⁄ 2 inches is appropriate for
this make and model. Heights for other cars may vary.
Then, starting at the center, pull the border down until the reference
mark on the border is at the bottom of the wood frame. Staple. (You will
have to remove old staples as you re-staple.) Now work out toward the
sides, pulling the cover down to the reference marks and stapling every
5 to 6 inches. Next, pull the side borders down and back and attach
them at the end and bottom of the frame with one or two staples. This is
done by eye.
Flip over the cushion and “beat” the cover with a bat of your hand to
help smooth out the cover. This will help take out any looseness. At this
point, the cover fit is starting to take shape.
There may be puckering on the front corners. This can be corrected by
pulling on the ends of the welting and batting/slapping the corner at the
same time. This will take up the slack in the welting at the corners,
which is causing the puckering.
Final adjustment of the front welt
With the cushion turned over, look at the front welting. You are after