Seat cover preserves the seats of your car, truck, van or SUV from unsightly stains and keeps them looking brand new. They also slow depreciation and can help you to get a higher selling price when it comes time to sell. They are easy to clean with a damp cloth or by removing and placing in the washing machine. They can also be customized to express your aesthetic preferences. They can ward off pet hair and sticky fingers as well as keep your kids and passengers from spilling coffee, tea or food on the factory upholstery.
Seat covers are mainly textile multi-layered materials and are subjected to a wide variety of mechanical loads even before their use in cars. The material selection, cutting precision and qualitative joining of the cut parts by sewing are all important factors in producing car seat covers that can withstand long term use. These factors are also relevant to the initial properties of the seat cover, such as comfort, dimensional stability and soil resistance.
Most seat covers are trilaminates consisting of a face fabric, a foam layer and a scrim backing. The face fabrics are designed for attractive appearance, while the foam layer provides a comfortable seat feel and the scrim backing fabric controls the stretch properties (Fung & Hardcastle, 2000). The fabrics used for car seat covers are often printed with specific design features and coatings may be added to improve some of their performance characteristics, such as flame resistance and abrasion resistance.