DIY LINEN ROMAN SHADES

Have you ever ventured down the rabbit hole of blinds?  Let me tell you, the price tag on those suckers get real scary, real fast.

I have been admiring the classic, clean drape of Roman Shades for a very long time; but the hefty price tag on them was keeping me from taking the plunge.  And of course, there was the fact that my current horizontal slat blinds worked just fine.  In fact, they were more than just fine, there was NOTHING wrong with them….other than the fact that, well, I hated them.

So, in true Daina fashion, I decided to make some. Usually, I just go online and find a DIY video that someone else made and copy them…everything’s on the internet right? But in this case, I couldn’t find ones that I liked. I wanted something classic, something simple, something that looked high end, and I wanted them to be LINEN, and there was nothing that quite fit my vision. So I decided that I would make my own, and while I was at it, I would film a video of the whole process so that other people could make similar ones.

I reached out to Pure Linen Envy, a Canadian Company that sells beautiful, high quality linen, and from whom I had purchased linen before, to ask if they would be interested in sponsoring the fabric for these blinds. To my delight, they agreed!

So without further ado, let’s dive in. I made a full DIY video tutorial for this. You can pause the video at any time if you need to. Instructions are included below, as well as a set of PDF instructions.

If you try to make these, I would love to see. Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @dainabaer

Measuring Instructions:

First, measure the inside width & inside height of your window. This will be an inside mount shade, so make sure you have at least 1-2 inches of window sill inside the window in order to mount the header.

Write down your measurements:

Inside Height – 1/4 inch = ____

Inside Width – 1/4 inch = ____

Determine Segment Height:

Next, determine how high you want each of your segments to be. Roman shades fold up in attractive pleated segments. The bigger your segment height, the bigger the fold will be when you are pulling up the shade. Keep this in mind as you are deciding.

For reference, my segments were 6.75 inches high.

Inside Height of window – 4“ # of Segments you want

Determine CUT Height & Width

Cut Height = Inside height + 1 inch for each segment + 5.5 inches

Cut Width =Inside width + 1 inch

Instructions:

1. Lay out your linen and backing fabric and iron flat
2. Using the CUT height and width measurements, measure out your panel and cut it out
3. Measure off 1/2 inch on the LONG sides of the panel. This will be the seam allowance for the sides of the panel.
4. Fold over 1/4 inch and iron, and then 1/4 inch again and iron. You should not go over the 1/2 inch that you marked out.
5. Sew down those pressed lines. This will tuck away the raw edge of the linen and keep the edges from fraying, as well as finishing both sides of the panel.
6. On the back of the panel, mark off 4.5″ inches for the top hem.,
7. Using the measurements for the segment height calculated earlier, start marking out your first segment.
8. After each segment, mark off a 1 inch dowel line.
9. For the bottom or last segment, add 2 inches. Do not mark off a dowel line.
10. You should only have 4 inches left. This will be the bottom hem as well as the lowest dowel pocket.
11. On the back of the panel, pin the dowel lines together carefully; use lots of pins as this will help you sew the dowel lines perfectly straight.
12. Sew down the pinned dowel lines, creating a “pocket” for each dowel on the back of the panel.
13. For the top hem, fold over and iron 1/2 inch and zig zag the raw edge down.
14. Then fold over the next 2 inches and iron flat. This is the top hem.
15. On the back of the panel, lay out the velcro strips on top of the pressed 2 inch strip you folded over. Pin your velcro strips in place.
16. Sew down the velcro strips and the top hem at the same time.
17. For the bottom hem, fold up the bottom two inches and iron flat.
18. Zig zag the raw edge down.
19. Fold up the bottom hem two inches, making sure to keep the zigzag stitch on the BACK of the panel. Iron again, & then stitch along the top edge of the hem.
20. Now stitch about halfway up the SIDES of the bottom hem. There should be an opening big enough to slip the dowel in.
21. On the back of the panel, mark out the ring placement: 3 rings on every 2nd dowel line, starting with the 2nd last dowel line. (Do not put rings on the bottom hem/dowel pocket). 1 ring on each side and 1 in the middle.
22. Using a needle and thread, sew 1 ring on each outside edge, inset slightly from the edge, and 1 ring in the middle.
23. Cut a piece of 2×2 (or 1×2) wood slightly shorter than the inside width of your window.
24. Lay the header beside your rings and mark a spot for each of the three rings. Drill pilot holes at each mark.
25. Screw an eye hook into each of the 3 holes.
26. Staple the opposite side of the velcro onto the header board.
27. Lay out the Roman Shade, back side up. Put the header at the top.
28. Cut three cords (length = width x (height x 2) of shade)
29. Lay out the cords, stringing them through the cordlock, eye hooks & rings, tying the cord only onto the bottom rings
    • For the cord lock, feed the cords through the sides of the cordlock and between the two wheels and out the bottom
30. Screw the cordlock onto the header (remember, it’s laid out backwards, so when you go to install it on the window, it will be on the opposite side)
31. Slip the dowel rods into the dowel pocket.
32. Detach the velcro from the header and let the top hang down. Lift the header into place on the window.
33. Screw the header into the window frame.
34. Re-attach the velcro to the header.
35. Determine how long you want your cord to be, cut it and thread the cord tassel onto the bottom, tying a knot to keep it in place.
36. Use a lighter to seal the cord ends to keep them from fraying.
37. Step back and enjoy your beautiful new Roman Shades.

Thanks for sticking around, leave a comment below if you have any questions!