Easy DIY Curtains and Sliders

[markodile]

We made some curtains for privacy when camping. [photo 1 below] My wife sewed them, and we used a simple buttonhole system to hang them. With this approach the curtains fold up very compactly (for storage) as there are no clips. And I can put up all four curtains in under two minutes. We have buttonholes on top and bottom edges, and button them top and bottom except for the one over the door, which has no lower slider track.

The buttonholes simply fit over the heads of machine screws mounted in the curtain tracks. These serve as the buttons. [2] I used 1/4-20 weld nuts in the tracks to mount the screws/buttons. [3] They are inexpensive and fit really well – just loose enough to slide easily. I got mine some years ago from Rockler.com, but couldn’t find them there today. But you can find them easily; search Amazon, or Zoro [4] where you can get 50 for $6.51, for example. Note that I am tightening the screws enough to hold them in place. If left loose the screws would likely rattle out.

The ones that fit my 1992 Exceed are 1/4-20 weld nuts that measure 1/2-inch wide by 13/16-inch long. I suppose they are pretty standard. The screws I used are 1/4-20 threaded (obviously), 1/2-inch long (threaded length), and the heads are about 9/16-inch diameter.

For the right-most “button” for the curtain over the sliding door I used a thumb screw [5, 6] so I can easily loosen it and slide, and lock, the curtain open when I’m going in and out. Without a screwdriver.

I realized you can mount a lot of things in the tracks using 1/4-20 weld nuts [7, 8, 9]. In top left of [7] you can see the nuts and screws I used. In [8] I show a large eye-bolt… probably too large, but maybe useful? For an inexpensive slider you could just bend a loop in a piece of wire, then bend out the tail ends on the backside [9] to hold it in place; not lockable, but might be useful if you want your curtains to slide.

 

[Sputnik]

Good solution. I find the slider hooks to be kind of awkward to use, as they hang up on the screws in the curtain tracks when opening and closing the curtains.

 

[sck_nogas]

That's friggin brilliant! Certainly beats the 3D print your own ones. Though if people need those, I can 3D print for you, if needed.

 

[markodile]

I had another idea. Same machine screws used as buttons on the slider rails. But instead of buttonholes, sew on short lengths of shoelace, as shown below [photo 1]. You would sew about where I drew the red line. The loop on top serves as the buttonhole when hanging the curtain. Now if you want to enjoy the view, simply gather or roll up the curtains and tie them up with the free ends of the laces [2, ignore the paper clip].

The only disadvantage I see to the shoelace version is that the buttonholes work pretty well to secure the bottoms of the curtains, using screws on the lower tracks.

Could do: (a) buttonholes top and bottom, and just sew on the laces without loops on top, just for tying them up; or (b) use laces with loops on top and button holes on the bottom (more work, but best of both approaches); or (c) or don't do anything on the bottom, in which case the curtains will hang free, and get in your way at times.

 

[smappelbaum]

For the right-most “button” for the curtain over the sliding door I used a thumb screw [5, 6] so I can easily loosen it and slide, and lock, the curtain open when I’m going in and out. Without a screwdriver

Great idea and execution! We’re looking to do the same, but enjoy being able to leave the curtains up and slide them.

Can you confirm that the curtains slide in the tracks when using the 1/4-20 weld nuts and thumb screws? If so, we’ll likely do this on all 5 windows with tracks.

 

[markodile]

Great idea and execution! We’re looking to do the same, but enjoy being able to leave the curtains up and slide them.

Can you confirm that the curtains slide in the tracks when using the 1/4-20 weld nuts and thumb screws? If so, we’ll likely do this on all 5 windows with tracks.

The weld nuts slide easily in the tracks. Not tight, but are large enough that they won't fall out. You would want to tighten each screw enough to keep it from vibrating out, when you are on the road. Otherwise I predict you will have screws falling on the floor, getting lost etc.

I'm only interested to have the curtains in place when I'm camping. But if you want to keep them up all the time it wouldn't be hard to devise a way to secure the curtain to the sliders without using screws, for the slider(s) in the middle of the curtain. Then use a thumb screw at one or both ends, for locking it open or closed (using the screw) while leaving the (one or more) middle sliders free floating.

Good luck. Show us your result!

 

[TwistedCliff]

I just did my first set of curtains and found it pretty easy to make the sliders from wood. The profile is pretty straight forward. Made from some scrap birch I had in the shop I made several long rods with the profile, shaved those down to 3/4" and then cut 5/8" individual sliders off the rod. Touched the edges with a sander and drilled a hole in each for the curtain hanger and I was in business.

They slide OK. I could improve them a bit more with a bit of rounding and some BA wax on the inside to reduce any binding but as they are it only takes me 5-10 seconds to open or close a curtain section. For something that will spend 99+% of the time in the open position I likely won't fuss with them much more.

A test drive did not produce any rattle noises.

 

[DeliKit]

It is no exaggeration to say that these 1/4-20 weld nuts have changed my life!! Wow, thanks @markodile for the tip, I'm so so pleased! I have also discovered that standard tripod screws are also 1/4-20, and they're small (1/4 threaded, 1/4 smooth) with wide heads and a little half-ring that folds out to make them easy to attach and also to pull. I can cinch them down to lock them in place, or leave them loose so that they slide smoothly but still stay attached well (which works particularly nicely for the large hanging fly screen to cover the entire open sliding door)!

Even though I'm still at the prototype stage in some respects, it's all coming along well. I'm making both reflective curtains (silver on one side for summer, black on the other for winter) as well as fly screens. One large sliding fly screen for when we're keeping the main sliding door open, and another large one for when we have the rear hatch open (that one'll use tiny neodymium magnets, since there's no sliding curtain rail in the back, though I've seen an option somewhere to add a rail there). I'm doing a set of fly screens and reflective curtains for each of the sliding windows too (other than the right rear window, which in my van is covered by a cabinet as part of its camper build-out).

Thought I'd attach a few photos of how this is all coming along! Also all the links to my materials. The aforementioned weld nuts no longer seem available on Amazon, but Zoro sells them directly (via their website and eBay):

Zoro Select Tab Weld Nut, 1/4"-20, Steel, 1/2 in Wd, 13/16 in Lg, 1/32 in Ht, 50 PK 1LAJ9 | Zoro

Order Zoro Select Tab Weld Nut, 1/4"-20, Steel, 1/2 in Wd, 13/16 in Lg, 1/32 in Ht, 50 PK, 1LAJ9 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com

For the mounting screws, I ordered 5 packets of these (so 25 total, assuming 5 per track... that was the perfect number since I'm not doing the rear right window, and the center left window lacks a bottom track):

https://amzn.to/478dKj3

For the fly screens, I ordered 10ft x 33ft of this, which I double-up to prevent no-see-ums as well (it's been great for airflow and light shade, and we enjoyed our first fly-free dinner in the van last night)!

https://amzn.to/454srlb

For the blackout/reflective fabric, I ordered 6 yards of this. Note that reviews are mixed, but this is basically the same "fabric" as you find in those pop-out windshield covers. It's very thin, but it doesn't fray or tear. You can see creases in it, but I care not, since the light thin aspect (while still completely blacking out sun) works to my advantage, making it easy to fold the curtains totally out-of-the-way when not in use.

https://amzn.to/3QlNrQn

Oh, and the grommets! I feel like I'm going to put grommets on everything now!! I ordered 3/8 inch grommets with a plier tool for making them easily. I've been able to avoid sewing completely, between picking fabrics that don't fray, and using these grommets! This tool is now listed as unavailable on Amazon, but there are plenty of similar 3/8 inch grommet tools around:

https://amzn.to/3DByaTU

I have quite a bit of extra material now (and so many grommets)! Anyone need some custom L300 reflective curtains or fly screens?!

 

[DeliKit]

So for the fly screens, since we’re moving especially the main sliding door curtain a lot, I reinforced it today with lightweight linen fabric along all the edges (with grommets). I borrowed “pinking shears” in order to make the zig zags that, apparently, stop the linen fabric from fraying (the fly screen fabric naturally doesn’t fray, but because it’s light/soft/stretchy, it can pull away from the grommets without fabric reinforcement). Anything to avoid sewing!

I also redid the sliding window screen on the driver's side (pictured in the last photo). Haven’t finished the side edges off on that one yet, but I plan for grommets that’ll hook into neodymium magnet side hooks, like for the main large sliding door curtain. That'll hold the stretchy fly screen taut as well as flush with the interior (so no flies)!

Check out the way the side curtain moves in the videos! Wanted it to be super-easy to slide, plus I want all the screens to work even when the big sliding door (or sliding windows) are opened or closed (everything’s installed neatly on the inside).

You know... I could make these pretty as well as functional. Right now I'm totally all about functional, but the fly screen comes in black too, plus the fabric could be any color (and the edges of the linen fabric really *should* line up... they do in the side sliding window, but I didn't trouble about it when I did the main fly curtain for the sliding door). Anyhow... sure is a nice change from trying to remove rusty screws on this vehicle!!

 

[DeliKit]

So, continuing in the saga of all the things one can do in life with weld nuts, magnets, and grommets...

I've improved the blackout situation further, doing the rear hatch with these tiny neodymium "pawn chess piece" style magnets:

https://amzn.to/44Pq0TU

Coupled with these rubber grommets (at least, they should be these... I just ordered these, since I was using up some 40-year old stock that my father had lying around... these are 1/8" inside diameter, 11/32" outside diameter):

https://amzn.to/4599zlm

I also used a different grommet plier tool with 1/4" silver grommets. This tool isn't as nice as the one for the 3/8" grommets linked above, but it does the trick still, and doesn't need to be as powerful for the small grommets... I planned on returning whichever of these tools I didn't use, but I've ended up needing both sizes (I think there are tools where you can change out the heads for different sizes, but those were twice the price, and I really thought I'd be good with one size... never mind, there are so many things that are better with grommets!):

https://amzn.to/3qg8r0c

So what's neat about this setup is that I don't need to add a custom sliding curtain track above the rear hatch. These tiny little magnets fit easily through the 1/4" grommet hole, and then the rubber grommet slides with just the right amount of difficulty over the head and settles into the thin part, so that it becomes a way to have magnets in the silver/black fabric... wait for it... with no sewing required! I really do dislike sewing!! And together the two pieces create something very easy to grip.

The magnets are plenty strong enough to adhere very well to bare metal. There's this little ridge of metal around the top and sides of my rear hatch, where they attach so easily. There's no similar metal area along the window base, so I just left the silver/blackout fabric longer there, so it dangles down a bit beyond the window (my camper bed then clinches it in place when the hatch is down). What's sweet about this setup is that the "curtain" stays on when opening and closing the rear hatch, and yet it's quickly removed to go driving and see out the back. It's mostly luck that I ended up with magnets that are just strong enough that they're not going to come off easily if one bumped into them somehow, but just easy enough to release... it's super-quick to remove the curtain. And they attract to metal such that the rear curtain almost attaches itself when one gets it near the window edges. The magnets are also not so strong that they all stick to each when the curtain's removed... I mean, they will if they're close, but they don't all immediately run towards each other like with larger neodymium magnets!

As a bonus, I realized that I could attach my rear window blackout curtain easily to my sliding door blackout curtain with these tiny magnets. You see, the silver grommets are also magnetic, and I really sleep so much better with no light inside the van whatsoever. So what I did was put the 1/4" silver grommets down each side of the curtains where they naturally meet. On the rear left window (the edge nearest the sliding door opening) I put three of these chess-piece-style magnets in, with the rubber grommets over them to keep them as part of that side curtain. Then when I bring the left side of the center (sliding door) blackout curtain near these, they naturally attach to the silver grommets placed at the same height. Hopefully the last few pictures will make this clearer! I also added a hooked magnet at the bottom, but it's not particularly necessary.

To some extent, these are all still (functional) prototypes, so you'll see things not lining up totally perfect. They're so so much better than the old sliding curtains that my van came with though! All thanks to those weld nuts, which slide so nicely along the tracks (I also changed out all the screws inside my curtain tracks to countersunk ones... it wasn't strictly speaking necessary, as the weld nuts are super-thin and already and slide along well, but with the new screws there's even less chance of accidentally getting slightly hung up on a round-headed screw inside that track)!

 

[DeliKit]

I now feel as though I own a completely clandestine van, with all these reflective blackout curtains on every window! Using the same technique as above for the rear hatch (thin silver/black fabric, 1/4" grommet holes, chess-piece-style tiny neodymium magnets, and 1/8" ID rubber grommets), I fashioned some custom covers for the driver's and passenger's front windows, so that there's no chance of sunlight ever peeking in unless desired. The nice thing about these is how quick they are to put up and take down. Gently tugging removes them easily, and they snap happily into place when putting them up. I can also pull them down partially to let some light in while we're hanging out in the camper area, while still protecting the dash from the sun. Thought I might as well post a photo of how this looks too, in case it inspires anyone else! The bottom just dangles down, but it doesn't get in the way of shutting the door at all. And even the relative slamming that goes on to close the front doors does not dislodge any of the tiny magnets securing the cover on the inside portion of the metal (I'm attaching them to the metal surface closest to the glass window, rather than on the outer metal edge where they'd run into the door seal otherwise).

 

[rennrot]

We made some curtains for privacy when camping. [photo 1 below] My wife sewed them, and we used a simple buttonhole system to hang them. With this approach the curtains fold up very compactly (for storage) as there are no clips. And I can put up all four curtains in under two minutes. We have buttonholes on top and bottom edges, and button them top and bottom except for the one over the door, which has no lower slider track.

The buttonholes simply fit over the heads of machine screws mounted in the curtain tracks. These serve as the buttons. [2] I used 1/4-20 weld nuts in the tracks to mount the screws/buttons. [3] They are inexpensive and fit really well – just loose enough to slide easily. I got mine some years ago from Rockler.com, but couldn’t find them there today. But you can find them easily; search Amazon, or Zoro [4] where you can get 50 for $6.51, for example. Note that I am tightening the screws enough to hold them in place. If left loose the screws would likely rattle out.

The ones that fit my 1992 Exceed are 1/4-20 weld nuts that measure 1/2-inch wide by 13/16-inch long. I suppose they are pretty standard. The screws I used are 1/4-20 threaded (obviously), 1/2-inch long (threaded length), and the heads are about 9/16-inch diameter.

For the right-most “button” for the curtain over the sliding door I used a thumb screw [5, 6] so I can easily loosen it and slide, and lock, the curtain open when I’m going in and out. Without a screwdriver.

I realized you can mount a lot of things in the tracks using 1/4-20 weld nuts [7, 8, 9]. In top left of [7] you can see the nuts and screws I used. In [8] I show a large eye-bolt… probably too large, but maybe useful? For an inexpensive slider you could just bend a loop in a piece of wire, then bend out the tail ends on the backside [9] to hold it in place; not lockable, but might be useful if you want your curtains to slide.



Reviving an old thread here...how did you insert the weld nuts into the tracks? Did you need to remove the track or slightly bend the track in order to insert them? I have the weld nuts but I can't figure out how to get them into the track without brute forcing it or using a hammer. I

We made some curtains for privacy when camping. [photo 1 below] My wife sewed them, and we used a simple buttonhole system to hang them. With this approach the curtains fold up very compactly (for storage) as there are no clips. And I can put up all four curtains in under two minutes. We have buttonholes on top and bottom edges, and button them top and bottom except for the one over the door, which has no lower slider track.

The buttonholes simply fit over the heads of machine screws mounted in the curtain tracks. These serve as the buttons. [2] I used 1/4-20 weld nuts in the tracks to mount the screws/buttons. [3] They are inexpensive and fit really well – just loose enough to slide easily. I got mine some years ago from Rockler.com, but couldn’t find them there today. But you can find them easily; search Amazon, or Zoro [4] where you can get 50 for $6.51, for example. Note that I am tightening the screws enough to hold them in place. If left loose the screws would likely rattle out.

The ones that fit my 1992 Exceed are 1/4-20 weld nuts that measure 1/2-inch wide by 13/16-inch long. I suppose they are pretty standard. The screws I used are 1/4-20 threaded (obviously), 1/2-inch long (threaded length), and the heads are about 9/16-inch diameter.

For the right-most “button” for the curtain over the sliding door I used a thumb screw [5, 6] so I can easily loosen it and slide, and lock, the curtain open when I’m going in and out. Without a screwdriver.

I realized you can mount a lot of things in the tracks using 1/4-20 weld nuts [7, 8, 9]. In top left of [7] you can see the nuts and screws I used. In [8] I show a large eye-bolt… probably too large, but maybe useful? For an inexpensive slider you could just bend a loop in a piece of wire, then bend out the tail ends on the backside [9] to hold it in place; not lockable, but might be useful if you want your curtains to slide.

Reviving an old thread there...I bought some of the weld nuts (plus thumb screws, etc) but I can't figure out how to "insert" the weld nuts into the rails? I tried removing the rails but they come off with the plastic trim around them and the rails are capped at the end so I can't insert the weld nuts that way. Another option that I haven't yet tried is to gently "pry out" the lip of the rail in one small section to make the opening wide enough, insert the weld nuts, then pry back the lip to be like it was before. I can't figure out a way to get the weld nut into the rail any other way. Any advice anybody could offer?

 

[markodile]

Reviving an old thread there...I bought some of the weld nuts (plus thumb screws, etc) but I can't figure out how to "insert" the weld nuts into the rails? I tried removing the rails but they come off with the plastic trim around them and the rails are capped at the end so I can't insert the weld nuts that way. Another option that I haven't yet tried is to gently "pry out" the lip of the rail in one small section to make the opening wide enough, insert the weld nuts, then pry back the lip to be like it was before. I can't figure out a way to get the weld nut into the rail any other way. Any advice anybody could offer?

Hi. I definitely inserted my sliders in the open end of the track (not prying out the lip). Since the tracks are set into the plastic trim the ends are not really open. I think I removed or loosened the screw nearest the end of each track (screw holding track to vehicle), and gently pulled the track up to expose the open end of the track. I didn't have to remove the whole track, just lift up the end a 1/4 inch or so. Mine is a '92 Exceed -- other models may be different?
Good luck.

 

[DeliKit]

Reviving an old thread there...I bought some of the weld nuts (plus thumb screws, etc) but I can't figure out how to "insert" the weld nuts into the rails? I tried removing the rails but they come off with the plastic trim around them and the rails are capped at the end so I can't insert the weld nuts that way. Another option that I haven't yet tried is to gently "pry out" the lip of the rail in one small section to make the opening wide enough, insert the weld nuts, then pry back the lip to be like it was before. I can't figure out a way to get the weld nut into the rail any other way. Any advice anybody could offer?

Do you have a photo of these end caps? Mine didn't have those, though I did have to unscrew every last screw in the tracks, in order to pry the metal track from the plastic trim into which it was otherwise embedded.

By the way, I also had that idea of gently (and not-so-gently!) prying out the lip of a rail (because in one spot, the screw I needed to access was inaccessible behind cabinets that a prior owner had installed). I found that the track metal is far stronger than I imagined! I ended up cutting off some plastic trim with my Dremel tool on that end instead (and then my father crafted a new metal end cap for the track).

 

[markodile]

Mine doesn't have end caps. I think I unscrewed the screw shown in this picture (in the track), and maybe the next screw along to the left (out of frame) so I could pull the track out enough to insert the sliders.

 

[rennrot]

Do you have a photo of these end caps? Mine didn't have those, though I did have to unscrew every last screw in the tracks, in order to pry the metal track from the plastic trim into which it was otherwise embedded.

By the way, I also had that idea of gently (and not-so-gently!) prying out the lip of a rail (because in one spot, the screw I needed to access was inaccessible behind cabinets that a prior owner had installed). I found that the track metal is far stronger than I imagined! I ended up cutting off some plastic trim with my Dremel tool on that end instead (and then my father crafted a new metal end cap for the track).

Actually my track might be the same as yours. I didn't take it all the way off - I just removed two of the screws to be able to pry it out a bit and take a look at the ends, and saw they were embedded in the plastic trim (no "cap" per se like I mentioned in my post). I will try to remove it and pry the metal track out from the plastic trim like you mentioned. I was afraid I might break something doing that but sounds like you were able to do that without too much trouble. Thanks!

 

[DeliKit]

Actually my track might be the same as yours. I didn't take it all the way off - I just removed two of the screws to be able to pry it out a bit and take a look at the ends, and saw they were embedded in the plastic trim (no "cap" per se like I mentioned in my post). I will try to remove it and pry the metal track out from the plastic trim like you mentioned. I was afraid I might break something doing that but sounds like you were able to do that without too much trouble. Thanks!

My memory is kind of coming back to me, as I think I remember doing the same: removing a couple screws and it feeling like somehow the track wouldn't come up out of the plastic (mine has that fuzzy gray velour-covered plastic, but it otherwise the same as pictured above). It just took more screw removal... that metal in the track is very sturdy and stiff! But it moved right out once I'd removed enough screws (although I do believe it'd been done before by a prior owner, so it's possible my experience won't be quite like yours).

One thing that I was reminded of in that photo above: the heads on those screws stick out a bit and sometimes impede the sliding of the weld nuts. I switched all my screws over to counter-sunk screws. It didn't fix the issue perfectly, because they didn't sink perfectly flush, but it definitely did help, and so my weld nuts rarely get hung up on screws anymore (that sounds like such a strange phrase to utter, anyway!)

I found that M5 16mm screws did the trick, but I had to buy a whole set of 815 screws in order to find those (maybe I'd have found them at a hardware store, but I used Amazon)? And I could have gone without changing the screws too, but mine (thanks to its prior owner) was already missing some screws in the tracks, so I figured I'd change them all out and improve the situation while so doing!

 

[rennrot]

I finally got to looking at this and as @DeliKit said, I needed to remove all of the screws to get some movement of the metal rail inside the plastic trim. I was able to get one end "exposed" and slide the weld nuts in with no problem. Thanks again for the help and tips. Now I just have to repeat for 6 other rails, make some curtains, etc. and I'll be set. Maybe some pics to come when I finish this project up - I'm trying to get the curtains done before the April 8th eclipse when I plan to drive to Texas and might have to do a night or two in a Walmart parking lot.

 

[mattbandrew]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering what you all do for the rear window to get privacy?

Thank you.

 

[TimB]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering what you all do for the rear window to get privacy?

Thank you.

One very simple option is to use a sheet of foil-backed foam. This sort of thing, about 6mm thick and rigid enough to be able to support itself without 'flopping' down...


If you cut it to the shape of the rear window glass area, making sure it is a nice tight fit around the edge so that you have to push it past the slight 'bump' of the rubber screen surround, then it has enough rigidity to stay put against the glass, held in place by the bump. It's easy enough to store away when not in use (I slide it down the side of the rear seat).