reupholstering vw bus tutorial

 this summer we got a new vw bus that needed some extra work.

it's a '73 westfalia so we wanted it to be cute and cozy inside.

which means curtains and matching upholstery! 

i looked all over online for tutorials on how to sew bus curtains and how to reupholster a vw bus,

but didn't have much luck. 

so i am sharing with you how i did it, just in case you ever get a westy!

 pretty much all you need is a staple gun, scissors and about 7 yards of fabric to be safe.

our bus also had custom work done previously which called for some improv.

we bought about ten yards of upholstery fabric from the sale section that ended up being $3 a yard. 

and yes, we have a lot extra so don't be surprised if you start seeing it in other things i make.

step 1: remove cushions from your bus and lay out fabric flat on floor wrong side up. we did not see a need to pre-wash fabric.

step 2: cut the fabric around your cushion like a stencil, but be sure to leave at least 1" allowance.

step 3: staple time! sit on your cushion and wrap the fabric around the sides and staple allowance tightly. don't forget to make french corners!

it ended up being easier than we thought, just time consuming.

the project took us basically all day to complete.

we ran into some hiccups and learned a few things NOT to do as well.

1. sit on your cushion before stapling! if you don't then it will cause excess fabric when you do sit on it. we learned this the hard way.

2. we recommend a thicker fabric so the staples won't rip through as easy if you need to adjust anything.

3. if we could do it again we probably would have gone with a patterned curtain and solid upholstery. obviously we aren't professionals, so we discovered later that many of our lines were not "in line". stripes are tricky! no matter how good or bad a job you do, a solid color will hide mistakes.

4. try to be as consistent as possible. we noticed some seat cushions were pulled tighter than others, which created an awkward un-evenness. don't wanna sleep on that! 

and there you have it!

we are pretty dang proud of ourselves.

it was a productive day and fun learning experience! 

and how awesome it is to say we pimped our own bus. 

for finishing touches i made a shag carpet inspired garland to hang in the window above the table.

i added a throw pillow. drew hates throw pillows but he is just gonna have to live with them. remember the pillow i made a while back? well, the flannel complimented the bus's new interior and has the led zeppelin song "since i've been lovin' you" embroidered on it. it was meant to be.

then i remembered this blanket i had made for drew's birthday out of all his old band tees.

the other side of it is tie dye fleece.

seriously, everything came together perfectly.

next time i will show you how to sew and install bus curtains!

i just have to finish sewing the ties. this project has been a bit more difficult.

so what do you think?