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Monday, September 10, 2012

DIY Roman Shade

It's been almost two years since we moved into our house, and I feel like we are still unpacking and updating here and there.  It is such a work in progress.  When we moved in, our kitchen windows were adorned with the below Home Depot (not knocking it!) bamboo roman shades:



We've all either seen them, or had them at one point, and they are a very cost-efficient way to provide shade.  I've been staring at them for almost two years trying to decide how to replace them without breaking the bank.  I appreciate custom shades, but honestly at $700+ (depending on fabric and shape) per window and 4 windows, there had to be a better way.  Enter the DIY roman shade.  One shade cost me $30 in fabric and glue and took about 30 minutes to complete.

Picked out a playful stripe.....mixes well with the greys in my home, and really wanted a stripe.  Love the yellow polka dots too.  This was actually in the children's section at the fabric store, but I kept coming back to it.  Picked up some spray glue, but ended up not needing it.  

First step was to cut the fabric so the stripes matched up vertically across.  I cut the fabric face up to make sure the pattern was even.  

Ready to go

Flipped over the shade 

Used staples to attach fabric to bottom rod and cut excess fabric


Instead of Fabri-Tac, I decided on Scotch Maximum Strength Adhesive....it isn't as sticky as Fabri-Tac, and dries quickly.  I pulled the sides tight and glued to edge of the shade's lining.  

Cut fabric to match up the stripes on the top of the shade


All finished.  Considering that it truly is a "recovered" shade, I think it looks pretty cute ;).  I have three more windows with shades that will be recovered this week.  Will post pic when they are finished.