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VDR928 · 09-14-2018, 01:37 PM

New to this forum... My husband and I drove 3,000 miles from NC to CA to pick up our Airstream in August. Yep, she was the one! We did our research but bought her on a Facetime walk around and many conversations with the owner and her finance co. We sent the payment from our bank (they gave us and her the 3rd degree and we were all for it). It all worked out great and we loved the trip! We brought "Dory" home (named after her former owner who was so sweet and honest) and have been enjoying her (ok, ummm WORKING on her, ever since)! We have washed, waxed, changed out the fresh water tank compartment cover (no key and it needed changed), and I have sewed her all new drapes. Someone was asking in the forum a few weeks back and it was very easy but really time consuming. I bought the fabric from Ikea and pre washed it, lined it with blackout fabric, sewed a continuous velcro closure down each inner panel, then sewed in magnets to keep the velcro folded back and out of sight when not in use. General snaps from Home Depot fit the Airstream snaps perfectly. We love the finished look! Dory is a long time dream and we are heading out on our first real trip in a few weeks. We have been reading, reading... especially the "oops" thread!! LOADS of great information and we are so thankful to have the forum!

pmclemore · 09-14-2018, 01:46 PM

Just beautiful. Wonderful job - you should have many happy years to go.

Pat

VDR928 · 09-14-2018, 09:12 PM

Thanks, Pat. It is a long time dream of ours so we really hope so!

Ladyfish · 09-14-2018, 09:19 PM

Great job on the new drapes! I've picked out my fabric; but this is a winter project. We have more get done on our "new to us" 1988 Excella 29. Thanks for the photo's.

ejami5 · 09-16-2018, 03:40 AM

Thanks so much for the inspiration to make drapes to replace the stock ones on my Flying Cloud. I really like the pleated look and as Ladyfish pointed out, it can be a winter project. Wishing you and yours many safe and fun trips.

NinaKay · 09-17-2018, 10:50 AM

Beautiful and I love the color scheme. Our first RV was a VW Pop up camper. Standard transmission and no air conditioner. We traveled in it until we outgrew it (after two children). We purchased a used 1977 Argosy. I made drapes for it and yes indeed it was a time consuming project. Child number three arrived and after she outgrew the port-a-crib we had to sell our Argosy. We have since owned pop up trailers, trailers with slide outs, a bunk house and a 5th wheel. As retirement approached we decided to start shopping for a used airstream. It had been a dream to own one for 40 years. We purchased a used 2012 27FB International Serenity a few years ago. We had been shopping for many months and like you found exactly what we wanted. We had been told it might take a year to find that perfect fit for us and that we might have to travel many states away from our home to purchase one. Luckily we found one 40 miles from our home. We absolutely love traveling in it. I love the drapes in ours, but would prefer to have the black out lining. I have been thinking about replacing mine. You have inspired me to drag out my sewing machine and take on another project. Your photos are excellent, but I would love to see photos showing the inside lining. I have read the forum everyday since we began shopping for an Airstream, but this is the first time I have posted. Hopefully I have posted correctly and will be able to find this tread again when you answer!

VDR928 · 09-19-2018, 12:26 PM

NinaKay, You must be an expert in RV'ing by now! I wish I had your knowledge!! I know your kids loved traveling to all those places. So happy to hear you decided on an Airstream for your latest vehicle. I am also happy to hear I inspired you to change out the drapes! I used Twill tape on the top gliders and elastic on the bottom, as I saw in a video where the elastic gradually loses it's stretch and this way the top does not sag. I tried to take a few photos of the inside but they really did not show much. I do hope they help! I ordered the blackout liner from Amazon (from JoAnn's) and I think it was called RocBlock. I also sewed magnets into the heading and footing to keep the velcro strips held back during the day. I made velcro tiebacks, but if the drapes stay back I may not even need those. I reordered heading THREE times from Amazon because I kept running out (11 yard spools.... I used the Buckram heading in the top and bottom so used a LOT!)) I am a newbie here, too, so I understand about finding your way back to this thread. Now I need to learn to repair screens.....

She's about to get there... worked on the awning cleaning yesterday!