anyone have upholstery experience?

[peytonracer4]

i have patterns available for e30 seats. i'm seriously considering destitching them and cutting out pattern from custom material and creating custom seats myself.
the thing that has stopped me is: what material do i use? i have quite a bit of material on hand but i'm not really sure what properties are needed for seats. i'm guessing slight stretching is needed. not really sure what thickness is good and not really sure what material will be comfortable and durable.
any help is appreciated.

[Cletonius]

What kind of material do you have?

I would think for seats you'd need something with a backing that's UV tolerant and has good wear characteristics. Stretchy but not enough where it would loosen up over time.

If you were going to use vinyl I would think at least service grade, preferably expanded. Can't sew that stuff very well on a home use machine though, definitely no welted edges.

Edit: I'm still learning so I'm basing my reply from what I've read in upholstery books.