Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Easy Tutorial for Beginner Sewist- Relaxed Roman Shade

Readers,


Sewing home decor is by far the most economical way to beautify your home.  Purchasing custom shades, blinds and panels is very costly.  I am going to demonstrate just how easy it is to sew custom shades on a very small budget.  Pictured above is a simple roman shade, non-functioning (or seldom used) since we have blinds already, but I will link up a site that sells the hardware for a fully functioning roman shades.



Supplies Needed:  1X3 soft plywood
                              Sew-On Velcro
                              Roman shade tape with rings
                              L-Brackets
                              Screw eyes
                              Lining and Fabric

 Step 1

Based on my size window width 37" I added 4"of fabric to both sides.  Since my fabric treatment is non-functional I only purchased 13/4yds of fabric.
I pressed half an inch on both lengths on the treatment for a neat and professional double-folded hem followed by a inch press.

double-folded hem
Step 2
On the top portion of your treatment fold down by pressing the raw edge and sew the soft side of the velcro over the raw edges. Ironing is very important to achieve a clean and professional treatment.

Step 3
Double fold a 2" hem at the bottom edge of your treatment.

Step 4



Add the roman shade ring tape 2" from the edge of your treatment, hand sewing only the plastic rings to the fabric (both the lining and the pretty fabric)

Step 5



Attached the cord to the bottom ring and feed through the plastic rings.  The cord length will be much longer on one side than the other since we will be feeding the cord through the screw eyes  to one side of the roman shade.

Step 6


My apologies for these terrible pictures.. I was shooting at picture at night time with a flash on!

Wrap your plywood piece (cut to size depending on your finished width of fabric treatment) with lining or right-side facing fabric, attaching fabric to wood with a staple gun.  Insert screw eyes 2" from the edge on both sides of plywood.

Step 7
Staple the rough side of the velcro to the edge of the piece, screwing L-brackets on the bottom edge of "valance"  Finished product looks like this...


Step 8
Screw the L-brackets to the wall... Mount at least 5" above the height of the window. Attached your treatment by velcro and feed the cord through the screw eye on both sides.  Now your cord should be on one side only.  Pull up your roman shade and adjust the folds by hand.  I fastens the cords to one of the screw eyes, since my shade is for aesthetic purposes only.  If you wish to have a functional fabric roman shade then I recommend these cord locks instead of screw eyes.

Step 9
Cut a dowel rod to the same width as the shade and insert through the opening made by the hem at the bottom of the shade.

Happy sewing and creating your own custom shades on a budget.

                                                            Sarah



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