How to make Roman blinds

If you fancy something different from furnishing your window area with curtains, then why not consider using Roman blinds for the windows. These can not only sufficiently block out the light but can also serve as beautiful interior design accessories. However, they are not cheap and making your own is a good money saving option. This DIY guide on how to make a Roman Blind will show you how.

Measure the window area

In general, a Roman blind will be fitted either in the window architrave or directly above the window. With this in mind, having measured both the width and height of the window area, you should add approximately 20cm to the latter measurement.

The amount of material needed

There is a simple way of ascertaining how much material you will need to finish the job and that is to follow this simple formula: The width of the window divided by the width of the material. For example if the window is 2m wide and the material 1.2m, the result will be 1.66. This tells us we need 1.6 width of material. Next, assuming the height of the window is 2m (plus 0.4 m for allowance), you multiply 2.4 by 1.6. This means in total you will need 3.84 metres of material. This can be rounded up to 4m.

Cut the material

Cut the material into two 2m lengths and sew them together to make a total piece that will cover the whole window area.

The panels

Usually, the space between each of the blind shades will be around 30cm. However, the top one should be around 10cm extra because all the others will stack up behind it. So, divide the height of your material by 30 to find out how many panels you can make ensuring you have 40cm at least for the top panel

Peg the material

Mark the material 40cm from the top and draw a line along the width. Then mark a further point 30cm below that and continue drawing lines at intervals of 30cm until the bottom. You will now have two lines at 30cm intervals. Bring these together to form pockets and peg then with clamps. Sew the pockets together.

Make the hems

Hem both the top and bottom and then sew some Velcro tape at the top section and Velco one of the timber batons. Insert a baton into each of the pockets on the back and attach a ring to every other one.

Add the cord

You can now add the cord either to the left or right of the blind depending on your preference. Attach the blind to the architrave. You should now have a fully operational window shade.