Oh yeah, I’ve been working on this…
CURTAINS:
Curtains and a good window tint are a winning combination for staying stealthy or keeping privacy. When picking out curtain material I thought it was important to pick a fabric with some weight, to help insulate and keep inside light from escaping more than I wanted it to. I had made some curtains with a thinner fabric but after a while I realized they just weren’t cutting it. You live and learn. I then picked a wool aztec print fabric. Some color, something that went well with my wooden cabinets, and something that was more functional.
A sewing machine is a good power tool to know how to use. Luckily for me, my mother was always quite handy… making braided rugs, quilting, and sewing decorative flags for a long time. I sewed a very basic curtain. Measured all my windows out and gave myself a few inches on each side for hemming. An inch or so on all sides with an extra three inches on top for my curtain rods.
Here is a really great tutorial on sewing basic curtains: DESIGNSPONGE.COM’s Sewing 101: Curtains
I sewed some velcro onto my curtains and applied some velcro with adhesive backing to my doors. I did this so that my curtains followed the curve of the windows a bit better, and didn’t just hang straight down and NOT cover my windows. Some people like to do a top and bottom curtain rod to prevent this and I’ve also seen people string nylon elastic cord across the bottoms of windows to tuck curtains behind. There are hundreds of ways to do these things! Get creative and do what works for you!
I’ve been meaning to show these pics for a lil bit but it took a while to mop up all the drool on my computer. This is my buddy Tom’s ride. It’s a 1976 Dodge Tradesman B200 and it is a beaut. What really kills me is the interior. I would flip if I found a van like this in my hometown. I’m definitely gonna take inspiration from this and do up some extras on my Dodge.
It’s super rad to meet a ton of new people in the vanning community and share stories and tips. It’s helped a lot with me on my van progress.
If you have a sweet van and want to share pics please send them on over!
