As a basic rule of thumb, I never reuse the old belly cloth when
completing a restoration.  Presence of the old dirty, ragged cover on
an otherwise clean, gleaming instrument is clearly a tacky oversight.
People do look under and they should see a new. clean, properly fitted
cover.

My personal preference is a good quality quilted vinyl upholstery
fabric of a color similar to the piano.  The face has the appearance of
leatherette, although likely made from vinyl.  The underside is a thick
sponge like material that crushes easily on edge hemming and will pass
safely through most any sewing machine.  This provides not only a
pleasing appearance, but also helps to add additional silencing for
slight motor and vacuum noises.

Locally, I've been getting my material from a large discount fabric
house called 'Fanny's Fabrics'. In there, they have extra wide rolls of
quilted vinyl upholstery material with a thick polyfoam backing, in
black and a variety of shades of brown. Surprisingly, this very thick
material passes through my 1900 Singer treadle sewing machine with
ease, using an extra long stitch setting to minimize risk of tearing
along the stitch line.

If you still have the old belly cloth, making a new duplicate is a
breeze. If not, try very hard to make your new one while your
instrument is up on its side. If on its feet, the job becomes a
monumental aggravation burning up an entire day for a job that
shouldn't take more than 2 hours.  If on its feet, give serious thought
to rounding up a few friends and tip the piano up on its side for
couple hours.

If you do not have the old belly cloth, then the job is somewhat
tricky. Start by bringing your sewing machine close to the piano, for
you will be making dozens of trips between piano bottom and the sewing
machine.

I've found it safest to do it in segments, starting with the flat side,
then the stack edge, and finally fitting in the complete curvature,
portion at a time. It's a fussy job that must be done with care to
ensure neat, clean results.

Don't bother trying to salvage the old snap fasteners off the old belly
cloth.  New replacements are readily available from same source as
fabric, or at a local tent and awning store, at very modest cost.

Where I have trouble is finding replacements for the male snap
fasteners screwed into the wood rim of the piano.  I've had to make do
with #4 - 5/8" flat head screws with the conventional male fasteners.
If anyone has found replacements for these, it would be nice to know.

Unless you first do that initial flat side of the grand piano rim,
complete with all its snap fasteners, it's almost impossible to trace
out an outline. Now, with that flat side in place, use a bunch of
sturdy map tacks to pin up the entire cloth. A washable felt pen outline
at this point should provide enough fabric for a 1" rollover on all
edges..

The 1" rollover (hem?) is necessary not only to make a nice, neat edge,
but also to provide a strong enough base for the snaps, to withstand
frequent removal over many years. Without it, you are certain to tear
out a snap or two within a few short months.

And finally, I've found I really don't need to cut a hole in the new
belly cloth for the power cord. There has always enough slack to allow
the cord to be inserted at some edge point convenient to the nearest
wall outlet. All too often, the original hole in the cloth leaves the
power cord hanging fully visible, naked, arid indiscreet.

I have no doubt there are others among us who use different fabric and
a different technique, and that fine.  What I've outlined here works
for me, and if others have found better products, sources and
techniques, I would hope they post them here for benefit of all.

Once again, the Internet at its finest.

Regards,

Terry Smythe                   smythe@mts.net
55 Rowand Avenue               smythe@freenet.mb.ca
Winnipeg, MB, Canada  R3J 2N6  (204) 832-3982 (voice/fax)
http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~smythe