DIY Tri-Stitch Shift Boot

[bsiciliano]

I like the look of the Tri-Stitch Shift Boot, but I could not justify the price of it. I figured I could do it myself. Well, here it is, at a cost of $12 and about 3 hours of time. You can use the same instructions for the e-brake boot. It will take a little longer because there are more stitches.

What you will need:

1. Needle - Use a thicker needle to go through leather. You can buy a leather needle. I used a needle for sails which did the trick.

2. Thread - The hardest part is matching the colors. I went to the sewing store and brought my M-Power Zip Up. I matched the colors to that. I also used a slightly thicker thread to make the stitches "pop" a bit. You can use a thinner thread. Personal choice.

3. Small screw-driver.

4. Glue - to reglue the base to the boot. I acutally used Krazy Glue which worked fine.

5. Option - A Thimble. Seriously.



Step #1 - Remove the Shift Boot. I will not repeat the instructions, but they can be found here http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312715

Step #2. Remove the base from the leather. It is glued on, but a I just pried it off with a tiny screwdriver. Start with the tabs and then work your way around from the corners.





When it is off is should look like this:



Step 3. - Remove the stitches. Be sure to go under the stitch and be careful not to poke a hole in the leather. The stitches will need to be removed from both the outside and inside of the boot.



Step 4. - Sew. Use the holes left over from when the stitches removed. The trick is to start from the inside of the boot with the SECOND hole and sew it backward to the first hole. Then go underneath up through hole 3 and back through the hole. Then up through hole 4 and back through 3 and so on. Sometimes it can be hard to push the needle through the leather, that's why I suggested a thimble. Also if it is really hard, check to make sure there is no black thread stuck in the holes. See the pictures below.



And Backward through previous hole...



Step 5. Repeat otherside with light blue.



Step 6. Now zig-zag the dark blue. Note that these stitches DO NOT go through the holes (other than at the two ends), just under the light blue and red thread in an every other pattern. Note, I chose not to pull the zig-zags tight (like the steering wheel), but you can. Again, preference.



When it is done, it should look like this:



Step 7. Repeat on the other sides.

Step 8. Re-glue the boot to the base. Use a nail file or sandpaper to rough up the base an little so the glue grips. I used Krazy Glue and it worked fine.

Step 9. Re-install and drive.

[And1M3]

Wow very nice and detail write up.

[Lorde]

You forgot Step 10: Sell for $365.

[ortho281]

I have the IND tri-stich knob and E-brake. Very nice job! The threads you used looks a bit thicker than mine. Other than that, looks the same to me.

[bsiciliano]

Originally Posted by Snig

You forgot Step 10: Sell for $365.

I'm taking orders at $50 and a case of New Castle.

Originally Posted by ortho281

I have the IND tri-stich knob and E-brake. Very nice job! The threads you used looks a bit thicker than mine. Other than that, looks the same to me.

Thanks. The threads I used are thicker. I did that on purpose to make it stand-out a little bit more.

[Giggs]

dude nice job. I've got $50 and a case of New Castle for you, but no M3 :P

[MA///M3]

I too have the IND tri-stich knob and E-brake boots. I agree I paid way too much for them. You did a really nice job. I do not have the skill nor the patience to accomplish something like this.

[LucWerkz]

Thanks for this. Was about to pull the trigger on IND's package but then this made me remember both my wife and my mom are experts at sewing.

[e92livin]

Wow good job man!!

[chris s]

Nice work!

[GRUESOM3]

Nicely done, I've been meaning to do this ever since I got the car but wanted to do it on spare parts first

I wonder what the seats would look like all done up in tri stitch

I would also not use crazy glue, maybe 3m super90

[m3monkey]

Looks sweet bro, great write-up!!

[ussoldierforhire]

One of the coolest DIY I've seen. Thanks for sharing.

[chris s]

Originally Posted by Red_Baron

Thanks for this. Was about to pull the trigger on IND's package but then this made me remember both my wife and my mom are experts at sewing.

+1, that price tag has been a bit of a deterrent. Granted it looks factory, but this isn't far off for a fraction of the cost and a little time.

[bsiciliano]

I've gotten some feedback that people are interested so I'm bumping it back up.

[JPH704]

Originally Posted by bsiciliano

I've gotten some feedback that people are interested so I'm bumping it back up.

People are interested in purchasing. Are you starting to sell these? If so, add me to the list

Someone needs to do a group buy on these.

[bsiciliano]

There are no marketing plans in the works, but maybe I will establish a "core" exchange program come Jan 1.

Now that it's fall, this is the perfect project to tackle while watching football on Sundays.

[Sandye90m3]

Maybe I can get my mom to do it for me lol, or my grandmother?

[khanhdom]

still going to offer this?

[Konig]

Sorry to bump an old thread. Can these photos be re-hosted? I'd like to give this a shot.

[husks002]

Second this ^

[Konig]

I decided to take a crack at this tonight and wanted to share photos of my efforts. I recently installed an M5 shift knob/boot so I have the stock boot laying around for practice.

I started by picking out the thread for the job, which was harder than I expected. Matching the M colors was a bit tricky since I didn't have an official BMW pattern to compare against. It also didn't help that I was at Joanne Fabrics at 9pm and couldn't compare the thread in daylight.



I picked an embroidery thread because it was thicker than the machine thread. The thinner threads didn't seem to give the right look. You stitch one bank in red, the other in light blue, and then the dark blue goes between those two. Dark blue doesn't thread through the boot itself at all.



This is the pattern described by the OP, it's really quite simple. This view is from the inside of the boot, and the dashes represent what you're doing on the back (visible) side. If the holes are numbered from start (1) to finish (n) you're going 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 3, 5, 4, etc.



This is where I ended up after a short trial. The thread doesn't look bad, but it's thicker than I like so I'll be re-evaluating my options. I'll keep everyone posted.