Yesterday we talked about how to start making a Roman Shade.  We talked about sizes and then sewing on the Roman shade Tape with rings on the back of the shade.  Today we continue:

The top of the shade is then wrapped around the 1×2 header board (that is the length of the window) until the shade was the length that I desired.

There are several ways to mount a Roman shade.  One recommended way to get length industrial Velcro that is the size of the window, and place it on the shade and the window where you want the shade placed.  This way you can take the shade down when needed.

Another way to hang the shade is to get Curtain or Shade Brackets from the store that will hold your header board.

I decided to just attach the shade with wood screws through the header board directly into the window casing.  I did this because my children have pulled the other curtains and blinds off the wall and broken them.  I wanted something that would stay up longer.  I decided I could spot clean or steam clean any mess I needed to.  I also picked darker colors so they would look nicer longer.

I placed the Shade just inside each window, until the header board was flush with the wall and screwed it into the casing.  I screwed it directly through the wrapped fabric of the shade.  You have to be careful with that or the screw will catch the fabric and twist funny.  If this happens, just unscrew, reset the fabric and screw in the screws again.  The shade is now hanging in the window and awaiting stringing.

Then next step is to decide if you want the pull string to be on the right side or the left side of the window.  Due to the furniture arrangements in each room, Leatha’s is on the right of the window, and Cameron’s is on the left.   I have added a stringing guide to help you see how to string the roman shade for a pull on either side.

In order for the shade to be pulled from one side or the other, you need to use some screw eyes to run the string through.  The screw-eyes are placed in the board above each column of Roman shade tape and one in the wall outside of the window so that you can pull the strings just outside of the shade.

Nylon cord (available where you get the shade tape) is then tied to the bottom ring of each column of the Roman shade tape.  I threaded the Nylon cording up each column of tape going through each ring on the way.  At the top of the shade, where the shade meets the Header board, the thread went through the screw-eye on top as well as the other screw eyes all the way down to the tie off point or cleat.



A tip for threading from Justin: it seems backwards but saves you from cutting the string the wrong length.  Start at the outside where you will tie the strings to the cleat.  Thread the strings through the screw eyes  and down the farthest set of rings on the shade tape.  Tie the string to the bottom with a square knot.  Pull the shade to the bottom of the window and then cut the string on the other end.  Repeat for all of the strips of shade tape you have.  This way you will get the right lengths of string without measuring and cutting first.

In order to get enough cord you will need to do some math.  You will need the height of the window times the number of strips of tape that you have.  You then need to remember that the furthest cord will go from the bottom of the window to the top, all the way across the top of the window and down the side to the cleat.  Just to make it easy I did 5 times the width of the window.  This plus 5 times the height gave me more than enough cord to work with.  Our window is 46″ high and 58″ long.  46X5=230 inches, 58X5=290 inches.  We needed 520 inches of cord which divides out to almost 14.5 yards.  That is what we bought.

We still have some cord left over from Leatha’s shade.  Again, this cord is cheap, I would rather have too much than not enough.  We were a bit short for Cameron’s shade and had to splice together 2 pieces of cord.  this worked fine, but there is a knot in the string that gets caught sometimes.

(This is a great photo showing how Cameron’s Shade is threaded)

****To keep children from accidently hanging themselves on the pull cord of the Roman shade, it is recommended that you braid your cord into one thick cord, and only leave the cord as long as needed.  Also when the shade is open and the cord is at its longest, use a Cord Cleat to tie up the cord out of the reach of small hands.

Here is what the finished roman Shades looked like, after they were done.

(Cameron’s Shade Closed)(I made the solid blue curtains also)

(Cameron’s Shade open; see how nice the shade gathers!  It looks great!)

(Leatha’s finished Roman Shade)

(Leatha’s finished look with Roman shade and her Curtains.)

Leatha wanted a more stylish look, so she has the longer curtains in her room.  The white muslin fabric was given a little “Bling” with some studded gems.  Basically I bedazzled the curtains, for the flash she wanted, and she loves it!

I hope you enjoyed this post this week. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.  Next I will be working on a quilt for my own bed, and some more baby quilts for the website!  I already have 6 baby quilt tops in the works!!!

Thanks again for reading my craft corner!

Brenda

Tags: crafts, roman shade, sewing