It’s done!

On the top of the case I glued the new fabric over the top of the old fabric. This is definitely a better way to do the job as it avoids all the damage to the foam under the fabric. The top was much easier as it is much flatter, so apart from a couple of darts at the ends of the bow pockets it is just one sheet of fabric.

Conclusions

Overall I’m happy with this job but it isn’t quite as neat as I’d like. This is partly due to the design of the case – it was manufactured by machine and isn’t designed to be repaired. I much prefer the colour and feel of the new fabric.

There is still the issue of safety of the instrument inside the case. I feel that this should be ok. Copydex worked well as the glue and is water-based so shouldn’t outgas. The fabric is very soft so should be ok too. Thus the replacement materials should be better than the original materials but it isn’t possible to be totally sure.

There are a couple of places where the Copydex soaked through the fabric – generally where I pressed the fabric while it was wet. Overall I think Copydex was the right decision. The major disadvantage was that it takes a while to dry, thus it is necessary to do a bit of work and then leave it overnight for the glue to dry properly before doing the next stage.

The Velcro straps are intended for cables and aren’t particularly easy to use. However, they are much softer than the original straps which should avoid damage to the instrument. They are also a nice colour 🙂