How to Sew Roman Blinds
Roman blinds (or shades) are a fairly simple design. By making them yourself, you will be able to use the exact fabric you want together with this stylish look. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Fabric, 2-3 times the length of your window (depending on how gathered you want it).
- Matching thread
- Curtain rods (ones that can go inside of the window frame only)
- Screw eyes (1 per selected gather)
- Brass or plastic curtain rings (1 per every 5-6 inches of either the fabric length or the window length multiplied by the number of selected gathers)
- Cable Cord (roughly 2.5 times the length of the window multiplied by the number of selected gathers)
- Wall-mounted hook (1 per blind)
- Selected beads or charms (optional)
- Tassels, ribbon, cording (optional)
Instructions
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Design Choices
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Your first step is to decide how many gathers you would like in your curtains. The most common amount of gathers is either 2 or 3. You will need to multiply the amount of needed supplies by the amount of gathers you select for each curtain you make.
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Next, plan out what you would like the curtains to look like. Would you like tassels, ribbon or cording to be specially attached? What would you like to have the cording finished with? After you answer these questions and plan out your design, you will be ready to begin shopping.
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When shopping for your curtain supplies, be sure to choose good quality materials that will hold their style over time. Also, be sure to carefully calculate how many of each item you will need.
Begin
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Begin by washing and ironing your fabric.
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Measure out and cut the fabric to fit each window.
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Now measure out your cording according to how long you want the cording to be when the curtain is down. Be sure to calculate for the distance the cord will have to travel to run to the desired side of the curtain to make the pull-string.
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Once you have cut out your cords, tack the cord down at the base of each curtain at each desired gather point.
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Iron and then sew the folded top and bottom of the curtain, being careful to make sure the upper portion of the curtain has room to go over the rod. Also, be careful to keep the cords at the base in position as you sew over the folded bottom portion of the curtain.
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If you want your curtain to be gathered even when completely down (and you have the needed 3 times the length of fabric per window), tack a one inch gather at each point you want the gather to be placed on the curtain. Be sure to tie off the gather at the full length of your window.
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Next, hand sew the curtain rings onto the fabric. Sew one hook every 5 to 6 inches, starting at the base of the top folded portion of your curtains. The cording attached to the curtains should then be strung through the hooks and any finishing beads, charms or tassels attached at the end of the cording. Also, if you would like ribbon or tassels attached for over the gathers or to the base of the curtain, it is important to sew those items on at this point.
Mounting
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Now that the main portion of your curtains is done, carefully mount a curtain rod and wall hook inside of the window frame. Be careful to make sure the curtain rod is mounted in the front portion of the inside of the window frame.
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Before hanging up the curtain, measure out and place each screw hook behind the curtain rod, with the open-end of the hook facing towards the outdoors.
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Next, hang your curtains and place each cord over their own hook and through the remaining hooks. Each additional hook should have an additional cord running through it from the previous gather.
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To finish the curtain, tie a knot with the cords of each curtain to keep them together. Your curtain is then very easily raised and lowered by your own pulling.
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