How to Construct Roman Shades
Roman shades come in several styles including classic, flat and relaxed. Classic and flat Roman shades have clean lines when they are lowered and crisp folds when they are raised. Relaxed Roman shades are not as stiff; they have a relaxed swag across the bottom and tend to puff when they are raised. They are also the easiest style of Roman shade for beginners to construct. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Fabric
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Ring strips
- Self-adhesive Velcro
- Wood strip
- Screw eyes
- Cording
Instructions
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1
Select fabric for your shade. Heavier materials like decorator or upholstery fabrics work best for making relaxed Roman shades.
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2
Measure and cut two fabric panels to fit your window, adding 1 inch around the perimeter to allow for seams.
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3
Lay the fabric panels face to face, pin them and sew a 1-inch seam around the perimeter; leave a 6-inch opening along the top of the panel so you can turn the fabric. Reverse the fabric so that the seams are hidden. Stitch the 6-inch opening closed. Iron the fabric panel so the seams lay flat.
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4
Cut two ring strips to fit the length of your panel. Attach each one to the back of your panel, 5 inches from the outside edge on either side. You can stitch the strip in place or use fabric glue if your strips do not have adhesive backs.
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5
Cut a 1-by-1-inch wood strip and a strip of Velcro to fit the width of your shade. Attach the Velcro strip to the wood strip and along the top of your Roman shade, on the back side. Attach one screw eye to the back of the wood strip to line up with the ring strips on your shade. You can also attach hooks to the wood strip so you can attach your shade to the window frame.
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6
Cut two strips of cording twice the length of your shade. Tie a strip of cording to the bottom ring on both sides of your Roman shade. Feed one piece of cording up through the rings on each of the sides. Feed each piece of cording through the screw eye that's in line with the ring strips. Tie the cording together and feed both pieces through whichever screw eye is closest to the side where you plan to raise and lower your Roman shade.
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Tips & Warnings
Embellish the bottom of your fabric panel with fringe for design interest.
