Do-It-Yourself Roman Shades

Roman shade style window treatments in windows of a living room.

Roman shades sound fancy but they have been constructed by home crafters for a very long time. The shade is a simple and effective way to create a window covering. Because the shade is a flat panel, and it is designed to cover just the window area, the amount of fabric being used is much less than that used for conventional draperies. If the crafter is using insulating fabrics or blackout fabrics, this type of shade can also be very energy efficient. After making the first shade, making additional shades becomes much less intimidating and soon your house will have attractive shades that look very expensive but are really a bargain.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Decorator fabric
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Tailor's chalk
• 1/4-inch wood dowel
• Saw
• Needle and thread
• Plastic rings
• 1 by 1-inch board
• Long screws
• Screwdriver
• Hook and loop tape
• Cording
• Screw eyes
• Cord condenser
• Acorn
• Cleat

Instructions

1. Measure the height of the window and add ten inches for pockets, seams and hems. Measure the width of the window and add two inches for side seams. Cut your fabric to size.

2. Fold the side edge to the back by half an inch and iron. Fold the fold to the back and sew with a sewing machine using a hem stitch. Repeat this for the second side and the top edge. Fold the bottom edge to the back by half an inch and iron. Fold the fold to the back by three inches and sew using a hem stitch.

3. Place the fabric face down on the work table. Measure eight inches from the bottom edge. Draw a horizontal line across the back width of the fabric using tailor's chalk. Moving up the fabric, measure two inches from the line and draw a second line. Continuing up, measure eight inches and draw a line then measure two inches and draw a line. Continue in this manner until you reach the top of the shade.

4. Fold the fabric face sides together between the two inch apart lines. Sew a seam with the lines directly over each other, on the line. Repeat for all of the two inch apart lines. Draw a vertical line two inches from each side the length of the shade. Measure the distance between the vertical lines. Divide by three. Measure from the left vertical line toward the right using this measurement and draw a vertical line. Measure from the new vertical line toward the right using the same measurement and draw another vertical line.

5. Cut quarter inch wood dowel rods the width of the shade minus two inches using a saw. Insert a dowel in the bottom pocket and each pocket created by Step 4. Sew the ends of each pocket shut using needle and thread. Sew a small plastic ring at each dowel rod pocket where the vertical lines touch the pocket. This will create four vertical columns of rings.

6. Cut a one by one inch board a quarter inch shorter than the width of the blind using a saw. Screw the board up to the underside of the window casing using long screws and a screwdriver. Cut hook-and-loop tape the length of the board. Attach the adhesive hook side to the top front of the board. Sew the loop side to the back top edge of the shade.

7. Cut four pieces of cording twice the length of the window using scissors. Tie one cord to the bottommost plastic ring. Thread the cord up through the bottom of the ring vertically above it until you reach the top of the shade. Repeat for each cord. Press the shade to the wood board at the hook-and-loop tape. Screw a screw eye into the underside of the board just above each top plastic ring.

8. Thread each cord through the screw eye above it. Screw an extra screw eye to the bottom of the board beyond the last screw eye on the side of the shade where you want to position the cord. Thread each cord through each screw eye toward the extra screw eye and through the extra screw eye. Lower the shade. Measure eight inches from the extra screw eye and attach a plastic cord condenser. This is a simple device that converts the four cords to one cord. Measure the single cord to the windowsill. Cut the cord. Slide an acorn onto the cord and tie a solid knot. An acorn is a small cup that covers the knot.

9. Attach a shade cleat to the window trim well above the reach of children. A cleat is a two headed bracket made of metal or plastic that you use to wind the cord around to hold the shade at the height you desire.

Tips & Warnings

• Pre-launder and iron your decorator fabric. This will prevent the shade from shrinking later.

• You can reuse old curtains, add lining, add fleece inner lining, add blackout inner lining along with ribbons, and trims to enhance your Roman shades. Insulated shades will reduce your utility costs. Blackout lined shades completely control light in bedrooms.

References

• Terrell Designs: How To Make Roman Shades