I saw a similar offer on ebay a few month ago. They offered for 50$/stencil. I think it was a russian upholsterer-shop. But I cant find it anymore... annoying.
Diamond pattern and othe easy pattern I always make the stencils on my own (0,8mm transparency film) stencils - if i dont already made them.

I agree with Kruno. The Serabraid theads works quite good for handsewing. Smaller sewingmaschines can get problems with the thickness of the thread. So maybe you have to combine the threads.

do you searching for Porsche headliner for general or a special modell? A Picture may help. The standard perforated headliner vinyl cant be that problem. The Karmann Ghia Perforation is actually not available in Germany
KHM
MAH
or if you want to waste money...Cartex ( be careful! they try to trick sometimes with the ordered lenght)

Thx, but I bought it at Autoatlanta. 2,5 yds for 500 bucks :’( ...but the Customer will pay more for my service..so I dont care :-$ :D

I am a liar or rather i dont know my tools exactly :-! I just got the 24" blade. :D But a 31" is available.
I got 2 suppliers Diekraefe and Binder. The prices are nearly the same. If somebody is interested in an order I can manage a order if there are problems with language or international shipping.

I done two jag headliner. The first one we have taken out of the passenger front door. The other one was removed by my customer. He cut the board in the middle of the sunroof :-O to get it out. It doesnt look that bad when it was installed.
At my last headliner job I have to remove the complete center console to get it out. (VW jetta) (N) :s

Its a regular product (no bosch OEM - but also high quality) i can get from some of my supplier. I bought it years ago for cut off the foam of bigger motorcycle seats. But last year i get sick of changeing the blades so i bought the second gsg300.
I will make some pic and check out the price for it tomorrow.

A bandsaw is great if you have enough space in your workshop. I have 2 Bosch GSG300. One with a 13" blade and on with 31" blade for big jobs. I always have an eye on the german amazon warehouse deals. The last one i get under 300€.

We use silicone remover for cleaning out all marks our works left. Its a solvent which does the job but not harm vinyl and leather. And its cheap if you tab something from the big barrell of the painters shop on the corner ;)

Porsche 356c SC. Special at this Project ist the vegetable tanned leather with a fantastic soft grip... quit sure not the best choice for cars, but the customer knows it, but he wanted something nice to stroke :D

A brief introduction to my company: The company has existed for over 50 years and is the last of 5 that there was in our region for years (next saddler is 30 miles away). Nevertheless the company stood briefly before the ruin for various reasons. Although we have always delivered good work. In 2015 I bought 50% of the company. With this money we relaunched the company. We have renovated the workshop and I have undertaken the scheduling and all organizational tasks. In addition, we have started at strategic places in the advertising plaque, for which I do not have to pay money ... You do not believe how many gas station owners need a upholsterer ;) A proverb in Germany says "one hand washes the other"
We also started to use the social media. A homepage is however still in the structure and we have only a "web business card" linked to Insta and Facebook.
I can not say which of these things is decisive, but we are just as successful as never before. Each year, our sales grow by 50%. If you have a workshop size that is enough for you and deserves so much, you will be satisfied. But I think that without the social media a good growth is not possible. And all those who keep the mouth to mouth for the best advertising ... What is Facebook and Co? Then take a look in the cafe. How many talk? And how many have a mobile in the hand? I think the social media is mouth to mouth of the 21 century.
I have a quote from Pericles at the wall of my office is to avoid falling back into the old habits remind me every day:

"It is not a question of predicting the future, but of being prepared for the future"

Social media prepare work just like the work in the workshop, and frequently I'm annoyed and I am glad for every evening when my mobile is quiet. But the social media has helped me one of the greatest successes / developments... It has led me to YOU! A treasure of thousands of years of professional experience! How awesome ist that?!

We have a few suppliers over here, but most are not specialized on brands but rather on salable unit numbers. Many now also sell foam imagery in poor quality. There are still scattered vendors who have horsehair/coconutfiber pads. But most of them do not have an online catalog and I do not know if they are shipping internationally. If you need something special I like to ask.
KHM
E+H (pdf Side 71)
Antex Case

That depends entirely on the project.
All tarpaulins or other products from Technical textiles get a sign from my company. Nobody cares about it. But this is also common and every company does it like that.


Difficulty with other products ...

Classic cars:
When it comes to originality, you can not make an interior trim for a gullwing, get more than 10000$ from the customer, and then imprint your logo into the headrest - ok the gullwing has no headrest, but you know what I mean. Here I use the small stemp and put a discreet logo in the "heelpad" of the carpet - if the customer says later that he does not want it, I can change with little effort.

Motorcycle seats (or other interior and projects):
Motorcyle seats are the reason why I have dealt with the subject. Many customers appreciate the quality of our seats. So I wanted to have a logo on our seats for a long time. But I did not want to sew labels like Corbin does. Because I think that every project should always be a "complete artwork". I have discarded the labels. Because you need the right size, the right color, it must be guaranteed UV-stable and worth doing the stick also only from 10000 pcs. So I came to embossing. It is always matching in color and more discreet than a lable in the seam. For leather saddles, I have already found the solution - for vinyl i am searching for a good solution.
Basically, I think it is important to establish yourself or your business as a brand. If you managed that, I think it is relatively easy that the customers accept it. As soon as the customer is proud that he has YOUR equipment and not that of any saddler down the road. Your work must make the car something special. Here is an example ... This is no special craftsmanship or design performance. I've seen a thousand better seats from you than this one. So why should not we show where the work comes from? 8-)

Besides, my customers are totally crazy about the key chains. :D

I have recently made 3 different sized stamps for leather. However, you have to practice for a good result a little. Thick leather as for belts or similar is no problem. You only need pressure.


Likewise, vegetable tanned leathers are not particularly difficult. The most complicated are the chrome leather for the automotive industry. Here one needs absolutely heat and pressure:

and the thick leather also look better:

the best results I got with this machine. With this one you can make pressure and temperature well.
I think for vinyl you have to work with microwaves tool. So I have no experience - not yet. But I have recently found a company that produces such machines. I will keep you up-to-date.

West Trading BV is one of the best address for OEM Cloth and have a really good online catalog There are also Antex Case and Franz Josepf Döpper or finally you ask me - i will help where i can ;)

477/5000
This VW Rabbit was raffled last weekend at a festival. We have sponsored the interior and did some "other" stitching to get a bit of attention for our business. It is a combination of diamond quilting and folding technique. To get the black effect in the Alcantara we have glued the black under the purple Alcantara.
At the festival some people loved it, the others hated it - but they all talked about it .... Mission accomplished! ;)
What do the pros say? :-!

I am so glad that the forum is back. It offers us such great opportunities to learn from each other and to help each other. I love so kind of networking - unfortunately, my English is not so good. Therefore, I always need some time, but will help where I can