• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Forum
  • Design Studio
  • Upholstery Jobs
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsors

The Hog Ring

Auto Upholstery Community

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

NYT’s First Reference to ‘Auto Upholstery’

April 7, 2021 By Nadeem Muaddi

The Hog Ring - NYT First Reference to Auto Upholstery

The New York Times reported a lot on the first production Model T, which was built in 1908. But it wasn’t until 15 years later that the iconic newspaper mentioned the phrase “auto upholstery.”

Interestingly, the NYT didn’t highlight a new interior design or fabric. Instead, it called attention to a social welfare program that was only made possible with the donation of auto upholstery scraps.

Laidlaw Company, a vehicle manufacturer in New York, had donated a truckload of wool, fur and other high-end textiles typically used in luxury cars to the Salvation Army — which sewed them into topcoats for little girls in the city’s poorest communities.

The program was such a success that the Salvation Army started partnering with other auto manufacturers to acquire even more scraps.

As far as we can tell, it’s the first time on record that auto upholstery was repurposed for clothing — a fairly common practice these days.

Here’s the story NYT ran on March 25, 1923:

Use Auto Upholstery for Children’s Coats

How remnants of automobile upholstery are being made into warm and attractive topcoats for poor children was revealed yesterday by officials of the Salvation Army.

The Hog Ring - The Hog Ring - NYT First Reference to Auto UpholsteryAccording to Mrs. Thomas Estill, who holds the title of Commissioner in the organization, the innovation was started about ten days ago, and within that brief period has developed into a thriving industry.

Scores of little girls have gone from the Relief Department to their tenement homes, she said, clothed in garments of the most expensive wool and of beautiful shades and patterns. In many instances the size of a remnant permitted the topcoat to be made of one material, but where the particular piece of cloth did not suffice, two and even three pieces were used in making a topcoat, and occasionally pieces of fur were added to the collar and sleeves.

“This new industry was started by a happy combination of a manufacturer’s generosity and Salvation Army resourcefulness,” Mrs. Estill explained. “The Salvation Army matrons make the coats and the innovation works a double blessing. Not only does it provide warm garments for children who have been shivering through the Winter’s cold, but it provides employment for a number of incapacitated old women who have been engaged by the army to do the sewing.”

She added that the industry started when the Laidlaw Company, manufacturers of automobile bodies at 18 West Sixtieth Street, decided that rather than discard remnants of the fine woolen materials that are used for upholstering expensive automobiles they would turn them over to the Salvation Army, in the hope that they could make some use of them. One of them communicated with Mrs. Estill, and she said: “Of course, send the materials down. I don’t know just at the moment what we shall do with them, but there isn’t anything in the world that we can’t put to some useful purpose.”

She said that when the company sent a truckload of the materials to the Salvation Army Headquarters, at 120 West Fourteenth Street, she summoned Staff Captain George Darby, who is in charge of the Relief Department, and he evolved the idea of making the remnants into topcoats for poor children. He employed several women to turn the materials into garments, and in a few days the Salvation Army had a new industry in full swing.

The success which the scheme encountered from the start caused Commissioner Estill to send urgent appeals to other automobile body manufacturers to turn over their remnants to the Salvation Army.

Filed Under: Archive, Industry History, Upholstery Meets Fashion Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Car Interior, New York Times, Salvation Army

Primary Sidebar

anal porno bangbros rus porno yaşlı porno konulu porno olgun porno porno izle sarışın porno bakire sex 69 porno

THR Sponsors

NC Sewing Machines
Miami Corporation - Right Rail Ad 3
  • Keyston Bros
  • Leather Craft
  • Hyde Leather
  • Albright's Supply
  • OEM+ Banner Ad - The Hog Ring
  • Douglass Interior Products

THR Favorites

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Sculpt Garage

Shop Profile: Brent Davison of Sculpt Garage

Sculpt Garage has only been in business for … [more] about Shop Profile: Brent Davison of Sculpt Garage

10 Questions for Sue of Fast N’ Loud

Thanks to a regular appearance on Discovery … [more] about 10 Questions for Sue of Fast N’ Loud

The Hog Ring - Sid Chavers Honors Shops with Stitch of Excellence Award

Sid Chavers Honors Trimmers with an Award

Sid Chavers is a legend in the craft of auto … [more] about Sid Chavers Honors Trimmers with an Award

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Tracy Weaver Recovery Room Hot Rod Interiors

10 Questions for Trimmer Tracy Weaver

We're excited to present to you the second … [more] about 10 Questions for Trimmer Tracy Weaver

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Airbag Tag

Sewing Airbag Seams with Durkopp Adler

For good reason, many auto upholstery shops … [more] about Sewing Airbag Seams with Durkopp Adler

The Hog Ring - 5 Rules for Bartering Your Shops Services

5 Rules for Bartering Your Shop’s Services

Lots of small businesses – especially those … [more] about 5 Rules for Bartering Your Shop’s Services

Categories

Footer

Recent Articles

  • Don’t Leave Power Tools in Hot Cars — They Can Explode!
  • Everything We Covered in July 2025
  • Greek Police Busted a Gang for Infusing Leather with Cocaine
  • The Polestar 4’s Seats Were Inspired by Sneakers
  • SEMA Awards $99K in Scholarships and Loan Forgiveness

Recent Comments

  • Edward Munday on Hidden Mouse Nest? How to Charge for the Extra Dirty Work
  • Jack on Keyston Bros. Acquires DLT Corporation
  • Brodie Smith on Aston Martin Just Introduced a New Convertible DB12
  • THE CAPTAIN on 6 Tips for Turning Callers into Customers
  • Dmei on Star Wars Seat Covers are ‘So Wizard’

Advertise With Us!

We're always looking for companies to collaborate with. Watch this short video about the benefits of sponsorship and then email us to say hi.

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in