vw bus curtains tutorial

it's about time i get this curtain tutorial up! i've been real sick lately so i figured i might as well make myself useful. this summer i sewed up some curtains for our westy, miss sunset. i pulled an all-nighter sewing these things. i just couldn't stop sewing. maybe it was the red bull, but i didn't sleep a wink! 

i also reupholstered sunset's insides if you want to see that tutorial here. i spent way too long searching the web for tutorials without any success, so hopefully my tutorials can help another person wanting to "pimp their own ride" too!

now, i will show you step by step how to make some simple vw bus curtains for your westfalia that didn't come with any. what a pity right? every bus should come with curtains so we can feel right at home in there!

you will need:

sewing machine

iron

shear scissors

measuring tape

pins

about 7 yards of cotton fabric

i bought more fabric than necessary just to be on the safe side. i got it on sale for less than $3 a yard. before you cut anything, be sure to wash and dry your fabric. i chose a sea foam green color because i thought it contrasted real cute-like with our orange bus! it even has an acid wash/tie dye look to it that makes it all the merrier.

i made my curtains according to these measurements:

cut size - 138"w x 24"l 
fin size - 132"w x 20"l 
sliding door: 1 curtain 
cut size - 54"w x 24"l 
fin size - 52"w x 20"l 
rear hatch door: 2 curtains 
cut size - 32"w x 21"l 
fin size - 30"w x 16"l 
all other windows - 6 curtains total: 
cut size - 32"w x 24"l 
fin size - 30"w x 20"l 

note, i did not make a curtain for the front window. instead at night we just put up a tension rod with a blanket draped over it. that way no sneaky peepers can see in! 

step 1: iron all your pre-shrunk fabric

step 2: measure and cut your curtain pieces-7 total

(1) 54"w x 24"l for sliding door

(2) 32"w x 21"l for back door

(4) 32"w x 24"l for remaining windows 

step 3: lay flat and iron hem 1" down (roll-over hem), then fold 1/2" of that under and pin along the edge. cut 1/2" at an angle off each corner to reduce bulk for sewing machine. fold remaining length 2" down and then 1" of that under and pin. this will be the side for the curtain rod! 

step 4: sew straight stitch along the hem, then the side seams. sew the top hem length last and be sure to leave side openings open for rod to slide through!

see? perfect for the curtain rod!

step 5: now that your curtains are done, it's time to make your curtain ties! with remaining fabric cut 7 1"w 13"l strips. they can be longer or shorter, however you prefer. mine are long enough to tie in a cute bow and about as skinny as a leather shoelace!

step 6: fold over seams 1/4" and iron flat. 

step 7: fold strip in half again and iron flat. from here on out sew straight seams to finish your ties! i just snipped the ends at a diagonal to finish them off, or you can tie a knot.

here's where things get tricky. for some odd reason our bus no longer had it's original curtain rods except for on the sliding door. so we had to improvise! this is the quickest and easiest solution we came up with.

you will need:

6 circle eye lets (8 if you have no curtain attachments)

2 wood dowels for the side windows (3 if you don't have one already on sliding door)

and 1 adjustable curtain rod for the rear hatch door window
gorilla (wood) glue

curtain installment: screw your eyelets in your bus where the old curtain rods used to be. if you don't have holes already, then you might want to look into getting snaps or velcro. slide your curtains on your wood dowels and hang them up! for the rear hatch window slide your curtains on the shorter adjustable rod and hang to ceiling eyelets. we couldn't figure out a way to attach the curtains to the actual door, so when we're driving we often take down the rear curtain rod. to attach our curtain to the sliding door attachment, we just unscrewed one end and slid it on. too bad it wasn't all that easy!

so, how does it look? now nobody will know what's goin' on in here! hehe.

here's how the finished curtains look with their ties. add a garland, throw pillow and blanket to make your bus more homey!

i could seriously hang out in here all day it's so cute! try your local fabric store and home depot for supplies. if i could go back, i wouldn't buy so much fabric and i would cut my pieces smaller. my curtains ended up being a few inches too long! other than that, we are happy campers. literally.