Mexican blanket seat covers, or upholstery, are super cool in the right hot rod or custom and we dig them. In this cool video from Jefferson at Red Dirt Rodz, he’s going to show us how to make one without even having to sew! All you need is some hog ring plyers, hog rings, and a little time and you can make this simple project happen on a Saturday. And it will dramatically change the look of your hot rod or custom. Check it out.
Video Description:
Jefferson El Presidente Bryant shows you how to take a typical Mexican blanket and work it into a proper seat cover without needing a sewing machine, using just a hog rings. This is a classic style for Hot Rods, Cruisers, Trucks, Jalopies, Muscle Cars, Buggies, and even a bright yellow surrey with the fringe on top. This technique works for any material, but it is not perfect as there are at least two folded seams on each section of the seat.
There are many types of blanket styles used for this, but the main types are:
Mexican Serape
Navajo (This is commonly referred to as an “indian blanket”, but this style belongs to the Navajo Tribe, let’s honor their legacy with the right name.)
Pendelton Blanket
Saddle Blanket
Obviously, you would never use an actual vintage trade blanket for a seat cover, instead, you can buy reproductions for this purpose. We used a pair of Serape blankets from Speedway Motors for this seat, you can also find these blankets across the country at truck stops as they are very popular for keeping in a car for emergencies. This is actually the genesis of using this style of blanket for a seat cover, as the upholstery started to wear on early cars, the owners would drape a blanket over them. These blankets were often heavy woven blankets that were kept in the car and used for warmth in the winter because early heaters were not very good.
Anyone can do this project, it is very simple. You just need some patience and some good hog ring pliers.
Truly the most vomit inducing thing any car owner could do is toss one of these in his or her car, tell me one other thing that says I don’t care about my interior like these floor mats. No idea why this would be encouraged unless you have shares in the company……next it’ll be bringing fuzzy dice and the crying kids things up again……..aarghh……….