leatherette, can it be repaired/reconditioned?

[C6Dave]

Having just bought a car with an original split screen interior in green, the front seats are showing signs of cracking in the leatherette

I know leather can be refinished but have no idea about leatherette

Can anyone provide a definitive answer to this as I would rather repair and keep the original seats rather than have them recovered

[mike.perry]

Most of the early cars were upholstered in Vynide which was an imitation leather, although real leather does appear to have been used on some cars. This tends to wear on the seams. The trouble is that the material becomes so worn that if you try re stitching it then the stitches pull through the material. You can get away with it on the rear seat which is seldom used but you will be wasting your time on the front seats.

[C6Dave]

It's not the seams that have gone, it's the facing on the backrests. I'll try and add an image later today so you can see what I mean.