trailrunner -- my window shades

15 years ago

Hi Caroline! I took some pictures of the shades I made to try and give you a little more detail. I found directions on the internet. The shades in the bedroom were my first attempt. I used a light-weight brown linen with white cotton for a lining. They definitely have a casual, relaxed look.

I raise and lower the bedroom shades every day. If I take the time to arrange the folds, they look a little better. I don't usually bother. Here I fiddled with the one on the left but not the one on the right:

The cords for raising the shades are secured on cleats on the side of the windows:

I'd say they filter light more than block it out. This is at 11 a.m. with full day light on a gray day:

And here is the back of the shade. I sewed the little rings on the back individually, but you can also get fabric "tape" that has the rings and sew the tape up the back of the shade. The two nylon cords are tied to the bottom rings on both sides of the shade, threaded up through the rest of the rings, and the cord on the left is threaded through top rings to meet the right-hand cord. There is a little pocket along the bottom edge with a wooden dowel threaded through to keep the shape of the lower edge. The top of the shade is wrapped around a small board and screwed to the top of the window (I think you can see it in the photo above).

My second shade project was in the kitchen. I used heavier weight linen and a slightly heavier lining so they hold their shape and hang nicer. These are kept up pretty much all the time. I arranged the folds neatly and I think they look pretty good for a homemade job.

Let me know if you need any more info. Looking forward to seeing your bedroom when it's all done!

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Comments (7)

User
15 years ago
Wow those look so wonderful. You say there is a dowel at the bottom...yet they look like they curve a bit when they are raised. Am I misunderstanding ? Are they actually straight across the bottom ? I love the fact that the tape has the rings already attached and then it is sewn rings and all to the fabric.

My windows are 6 ft long by 3 ft wide...roughly. And I loved your WT since it shows the moldings around the windows....I have really wide ones too. Old houses you know :)

Where did you get the fabric and is it real linen ? I have a couple people that could do this. How did you measure for them and where were the online inst? That's all...don't want to pester you ! c
arlosmom
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes, there is a dowel at the bottom, but I only left a little tiny pocket so my dowel is really thin (maybe 1/4" or 3/8"). It bends into a slight curve. I wish I would have made the pocket a little bigger so that I could have used a thicker, sturdier dowel. Live and learn.

I did not use the ring tape. I didn't trust that I could get the tape to lay flat and straight without bunching when I sewed it. I also didn't want to sew tape on by machine because I didn't want the stitching to show on the front of the shade. So I sewed each of my rings on separately by hand to the lining, measuring an equal distance between them.

Yes, the fabric is real linen. I got it at a nearby fabric store that has both regular fabric and upholstery fabric. I know a lot of people also order fabric online.

I did my shades as inside mount because I didn't want to cover up the window moldings. Yeah, old houses are wonderful for their generous moldings.

I wish I had bookmarked the internet site that I used for my directions, but I didn't. I'll look to see if I printed up (and kept) the instructions. I just googled "making relaxed roman shades" and got lots of hits. This one looked pretty good. http://www.articlealley.com/article_673751_27.html

It's a pretty simple project. If you have people who can sew for you, just take them pictures of what you're looking for and talk to them about how they'd make them. Let me know if you need more detail from me. I'm happy to help.
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User
15 years ago
Thanks I saw a Martha Stewart diy link also. I will do some looking. I lvoe the linen so would want that with lining. Thank you so much for the time you took to share this. You have such a wonderful home. c
natal
15 years ago
I like how you put the cleats on the side. Do you have any trouble wrapping the cord in that position?
cooperbailey
15 years ago
I love your shades too. I have old molding that I hate to cover and I think I may try this out. I think both sets look great!
arlosmom
Original Author
15 years ago
natal, I don't have any trouble wrapping the cord around the cleats, but it's a little hard on the paint near the cleat. Fingerprints and wear-and-tear. I only notice close-up. The cleats could go on the front of the molding instead of the side, but they'd be a lot more visable.
natal
15 years ago
We have them in the master bedroom on the front of the molding. I did buy brass, so they look nice, but I like your idea.