Hi, I'm Clara from Online Fabric Store.
Roman shades give windows a clean look that goes well with many styles from traditional to modern.
There are many ways to make roman shades.
With this method, there's minimal stitching visible on the front.
If you're going to be raising and lowering the shade a lot, it's worth using a cord lock and pulleys so it operates smoothly.
So let's get started.
The materials you'll need are: drapery fabric, I'm using P. Kaufman pavilion fretwork tropical blue,
drapery lining, I'm using Roclon rain no stain white drapery lining, wood dowels, a 1x2 wood board,
a metal rod or slat of wood, blind cord, thread, a cord lock or a cord cleat, pulleys or eye screws,
rings, 5/8" stitch witchery, a hand sewing needle, pins, a ruler, scissors, a fabric marker,
a pull end which is optional, and also a staple gun, iron, drill, and screws.
Cut the 1x2 or a board of similar size so it will fit inside the window frame.
This will be the finished width of the roman shade.
I also painted the wood to match my trim, but you could leave it unfinished or wrap it in the lining fabric instead.
The dowels should be 1 inch shorter than the board.
These are 3/8ths inch dowels, but 5/16ths of an inch works well too.
The bottom of the shade needs to be weighted so it can be lowered easily.
Use a thicker dowel, a slat of wood, or a metal rod cut to the same width as the dowels.
Cut the drapery fabric to be 3 inches wider than the finished width of the roman shade and 5 inches longer.
My shade will be 37 inches wide and 44 inches tall when finished,
so I'm cutting the drapery fabric to be 40 by 49 inches.
To be safe you can add another couple inches to the height because any extra fabric can be trimmed off at the end.
Cut the drapery lining 1 inch shorter than the finished width and the same height as the drapery fabric.
With right sides facing, pin one side of the drapery fabric and lining together.
Sew down the length with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
Line up the other side, pin, and sew.
Center the lining on the back so there's an inch of the drapery fabric on either side and pin the bottom.
Sew across, again with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
Center the drapery lining again on the top and pin down the sides.
Next, figure out the spacing for the dowels.
This will differ based on the height of your window, but generally 8-12 inches between the dowels works well.
The amount below the bottom dowel should be half the distance between dowels plus 1 inch.
The amount above the top dowel is less important, but it should be at least as much as the spacing between dowels.
My window is 44 inches high, so I decided to space out the dowels 9 inches,
which leaves 5 and 1/2 inches at the bottom and 11 and 1/2 inches at the top.
With the wrong side of the drapery fabric facing up, measure up from the bottom for the location of the first dowel.
After the dowels are added, the bottom will be hemmed up 2 and 1/2 inches so add that amount to the bottom, plus the seam allowance.
For me, that's a total of 8 and 1/2 inches.
Measure and mark the distance for the rest of the dowels.
Fold the fabric in half and mark the other side as well.
To make pockets for the dowels, cut 2 inch strips of the lining that are the width of your shade.
Cut enough for each dowel.
Fold the pieces in half and iron.
Then sew the raw edges together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Take the stitch witchery and lay it on top of the strip.
With the iron on the steam setting, hold it above the stitch witchery so it melts slightly and sticks to the fabric.
Extend the markings for the dowels to the edges.
Lay the strip across the fabric so the area between the fold and seam is centered on the markings.
You can use a straight edge to straighten the strip before pinning it in a couple of places.
Iron to bond the stitch witchery to the fabric.
Repeat for the rest of the strips.
By using stitch witchery instead of sewing, there won't be any visible stitches on the front.
Next, insert the dowels.
Clip the bottom corners and turn the shade right side out.
Starting with the bottom, carefully pull the dowels up through the top opening.
Poke out the corners and iron the edges.
Fold the bottom up 2 and 1/2 inches and iron.
You can sew across with a regular straight stitch,
but if you don't want the thread to be visible on the front, use the blind hem stitch on your machine.
Pin so the points are facing down and the other end is overhanging the edge.
Fold the hem under so the end of the fabric is showing about 1/4 of an inch.
Attach the blind hem foot which has an extra dividing piece to guide the fabric.
Position the fabric so the fold is against the left side of the guide.
Find the blind hem stitch on your machine.
There may be several variations.
I'm using number 11 on this machine.
When you start sewing, it will stitch on the right side for a number of stitches,
and then jump over to the left side for 1 stitch.
This way most of the stitches will be hidden on the back,
and the few that are on the front won't be noticeable as long as the thread matches.
Next I'm going to sew on the rings that will guide the cord.
There will be a ring near the ends of each dowel.
You'll need to leave enough room on the edges so the last cord can go through the pulley and cord lock if you're using them.
Put the pulley and cord lock together with them sharing a screw hole.
Measure from where the cord will come up through the pulley to the end of the cord lock base.
This is 2 and 1/2 inches for me, so mark this distance from the edge of the shade on both sides.
For most shade widths, you'll also need a ring in the center, so mark that.
Repeat this for all the dowels.
If the shade is wider, you may need more rings per dowel.
Thread a hand stitching needle and go through the lining and the ring a couple of times.
Then you'll want to attach the ring to the dowel and drapery fabric, not just the lining.
Bring the needle out the front and back in on the other side of the dowel then through the ring.
Go around the dowel once more like this.
Tie it off and repeat for the rest of the rings.
Sew the sides of the hem either by machine or by hand.
Leave a small opening at the top of one of the sides.
Slide the metal rod or heavier piece of wood through the gap and finish stitching.
Next attach the mechanisms to the bottom of the board.
Place the board near the top dowel and mark where the rings are.
Position the first pulley so the cord will come through where the mark is which is a little of the center of the pulley.
Mark where the screws will go and repeat for the middle pulley.
Place the cord lock at the end of the board.
Make sure it's facing the right direction.
On this lock, the straight side should be facing in
Mark the holes, then place the final pulley so it's overlapping the cord lock and mark.
Drill pilot holes at each of the marks.
Also drill all the way through the board in at least 2 places, this is where you will attach it to the window later.
Screw all the pulleys and the cord lock to the board.
Or you can use eye screws instead of pulleys, and a cord cleat instead of a cord lock.
Measure up from the bottom of the shade and mark the height of the window.
Line up the top of the board with the marks.
Wrap the fabric around to the back and staple it to the board.
Cut off any extra fabric and hammer any staples that didn't go in all the way.
Starting at the bottom of the shade at the opposite end from the cord lock,
string the cord up through the rings and across through the pulleys.
Pull the cord through so there's a couple of extra feet after the cord lock.
Cut and tie the cord to the bottom ring.
Repeat for the middle rings, and the rings at the other side.
Now there's 2 cords running though the second pulley, and 3 through the pulley next to the cord lock.
On the cord lock, the cords will go between the attached roller and the loose roller.
Tilt the cord lock so the loose roller is away from the other, creating a gap.
Thread one cord through the gap and through one of the slots at the bottom.
Do the same for the other cords so they each go through a different slot.
If you're using eye screws instead, thread the cord the same way, just through the eye screws instead of the pulleys.
Trim the cord to a length you'll be able to reach once installed.
You can either knot the ends together, or use a pull end.
You can also use a cord condenser to combine the 3 cords into 1.
If you're not using a cord lock, you'll need to attach a cord cleat to the side of the window to tie the cords to.
Screw the board to the window frame and the roman shade is complete.
You may have to train the fabric to create neat folds the first couple of times you raise it.
After that, you'll have a professional looking custom roman shade.
Thanks for watching this OFS project.