Picture this: You’re nestled in your van as snow falls silently outside, but instead of shivering next to cold metal doors, you’re wrapped in cozy warmth thanks to your custom-made insulated curtains. Sounds dreamy, right?
Quick Stats: 🕒 Time: Weekend project (16-20 hours total) 💰 Cost: ~$156
🔧 Difficulty: Moderate 🌡️ Result: Significant temperature improvement
While our Outside Van came with insulated rear doors, we quickly discovered that metal is, well, still metal – and sleeping next to it in winter isn’t exactly a toasty experience. After searching high and low for the perfect solution and finding only expensive, one-size-fits-most options, we decided to take matters into our own hands. The result? Custom-fitted, super-insulated van curtains that transformed our winter van life experience.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through our journey – including our mistakes and lessons learned – so you can create your own professional-grade insulated curtains without the professional price tag…
The Perfect Fit: Why Custom Insulated Van Curtains Matter
❗Key Benefits of Going DIY:
- Perfect Fit Guarantee: Every van is unique – create curtains that match your exact specifications
- Premium Materials Choice: Select industrial-grade materials that outperform standard options
- Cost Savings: Save 40-60% compared to pre-made options
- Complete Control: Design features specific to your needs (like garage access)
💡 Pro Tip: Before starting, set aside time to measure twice.
Accurate measurements are the difference between a professional finish and a frustrating fit.
Your DIY Insulated Van Curtain Journey: Step-by-Step Guide
Phase 1: Planning & Prep (4 hours)
Essential Materials Checklist:
Primary Materials:
- Cordura Fabric (4 yards)
- Warm Window Insulated Shade Lining (2 1/2 yards)
- Polyester Grosgrain Webbing (25 ft)
- Black Nylon Webbing 1" (20 ft)
- YKK® #5 Black Continuous Molded Tooth Zipper Chain (12 ft)
- YKK® #5 Black Style A Double Non-Locking Delrin® Zipper Pull
- #5 Black Metal Zipper Top Stop
- YKK® Side Release Extreme Temperature Buckle Black
- 15mm Stainless Steel Snaps Marine Grade
- Foam Pipe Insulation
Tools You’ll Need:
Check out our video that covers the planning and preparation process
Designing Your Curtains
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid:
1) Forgetting to account for wall curves
2) Measuring from inside only
3) Not test-fitting pattern pieces
Measurement Guide: Based on the size of the curtain and the differences in every manufacture it’s impossible to provide a single pattern that will work for every van. Instead, I’ll walk you through the process of creating a tailored pattern for your van. The minimum measurements you’ll need to take to create the pattern are below. Take your time to get accurate measurements since they are key to getting snug fit!
- Interior Wall Width
- Measure form a minimum of three points: top, middle, bottom
- To account for curved walls
- Interior Rear Wall Height
- Measure form a minimum of three points: left, middle, right
- To account for sloped ceiling
- Cutout Locations
- Measure the location and size of any cutouts you need to make for outlets, vents, etc.
- Bed Height
- Measure the bed height for placement of clips if you want to be able to roll up the curtain to make your garage accessible
Pattern Making (2 hours)
Materials Needed:
- Graph paper
- Brown construction paper
- Measuring tap2
- Scissors
Process:
- Create a scaled drawing on graph paper
- Transfer to full-size pattern
- Watch Out For: Remember to mirror-image patterns for matching sides
🎯 Success Check: Your pattern should:
- Lay flat against van walls when test-fitted
- Include all utility cutouts
- Have clearly marked orientation lines
Phase 2: Sewing the Panels (12 hours)
Cutting Out the Fabric: Before cutting out the fabric I drew up a layout of the pattern pieces on graph paper to ensure I minimized the amount of fabric I would use. For any of the pattern pieces that have cutouts be sure to cut one with the right side up and one with the right side down.
Attaching the Zippers: Attached the zippers to the inside of the side panels and each side of the center panel.
Check out our video that covers the sewing process
Insert the Insulated Fabric: Attached the Window Insulated Shade Lining fabric to the inside of the center and side panels.
Attached Clips and Webbing: If you want to be able to hold the curtain in place when rolled attached clips and 1” webbing to the center panel at the bed height and ceiling height (if you’d like to roll the curtain fully up to the ceiling.
Attached Foam Roll: When I initial created the center panel it was difficult to evenly roll up the curtain. So I made a pocket to attached a foam tube to the base of the center panel.
Attached the Top: Attached the center and side panels using the zippers and then sew the top panel to all three.
Phase 3: Installation (2 hours) and Cost Breakdown
Installation: The installation is when I first discovered mistakes I made with creating the pattern and my installation method. There were gaps in the edges of the finished curtain and the cutouts for the outlets didn’t properly line up resulting in and imperfect fit. The screws on the snaps I selected were too long and when I attempted to install them it caused the walls to pull out from the van.
💰 Material Costs:
⏱️ Time Investment:
Plan for a full weekend project, especially if you’re new to sewing. Here’s a breakout of how long it took me to create the curtain.
- Planning and Preparation: 4 hours
- Sewing the Panels: 12 hours
- Installation: 2 hours
There was a bit of trial in error including the sewing process so if I were to sew another curtain, I would estimate I’d be able to complete the sewing phase in closer to 8 hours.
Effort: Moderate. Basic sewing skills are helpful, but even beginners can tackle this project with a little patience and helpful how to videos. Even with years of sewing experience I still use how to videos to figure out the best way to complete my sewing projects. One of my favorite resources are Sailrite’s how to videos https://www.sailrite.com/learn/learning-to-sew?ref=WMW. They are a great resource to understand the different options to sew zippers, box cushions and many other projects you may want to tackle for your van, RV, boat or home.
Insulated Van Curtains: Final Thoughts
Version 1.0 Needs Improvement:
The fit isn’t what I envisioned. I made multiple mistakes that resulted in the imperfect fit.
- My pattern didn’t perfectly match the subtle curve sides of the van – the final curtain was too wide at the top and not wide enough at the bottom of the curtain.
- I didn’t remove the upper cabinet near the back door and I wasn’t able to make accurate measurements.
- I attempted to make all the measurements from inside of the van. I should have opened the rear doors and taken measurements from the outside.
- I should have test fit the curtain while I was sewing it and waited to make the cutouts for the outlets until I test fit it in the van
I used snaps to attach the curtain to the rear wall but I didn’t account for the depth of the screws on the snaps and they pushed the fabric covered wood panels out from the wall.
The Verdict:
While buying pre-made curtains might seem like the quicker option, the benefits of DIY far outweigh the effort even when version 1.0 didn’t come out as planned. With the lessoned I learned look out for a future post on version 2.0 where I attempt to correct the mistakes I made with version 1.0.
Even through version 1.0 didn’t have the prefect fit it still helped to keep us warmer in the van during our winter camping trips. Check out our video below of our first winter van trip with the insulated van curtains installed. If you’re ready to conquer the cold and elevate your winter van life, grab your sewing machine and join the DIY adventure!
