I consider myself to be a competent modeler at this point, so feel free to get complicated.
I DO NOT NEED the upholstery tacks.
I have PRO, and am not opposed to extensions, even paid ones. I actually have the paid version of clothworks which I use for beds and pillows, etc.
This is for a real estate client with which I work, who has enormous trouble reading plans, and has a warehouse full of very specific furniture. I model her items (closely enough) and then put them into specific models of new purchases or construction and let her walk though them in VR.
I’m not at my computer to make an example but I’d draw the perimeter of the leather and probably use Soap Skin Bubble. To keep it flatter in the center I might model only one quarter of it using straight edges for the center lines.
Well, for whatever it’s worth, here’s my quick and dirty, native-tools-only approach to making an organic shape like that. Upholstery.skp (1.1 MB)
There are scenes for each step with appropriate labels.
These are all great suggestions! Thank you for responding. I haven’t had a chance to sit at my computer in over a week, but I will try them all as soon as I do.