If your house is like ours, you have a house full of ugly old blinds. Today I decided to do an up cycle and create an updated set of roman shades from some of my old blinds. I was surprised to find it was a simple and easy project that even a person who can not sew could accomplish. This project took 4 hours from start to finish.
Step 1- Gather your supplies.
Fabric
Fabric glue
Slide ruler
Paint brush
Hem ruler
Blind(can be large or mini)
Hot glue gun
Hot glue
Craft scissors
Fabric scissors
Pen
Scrap paper
Iron
Step 2- Determine fabric needs.
Measure the inside of your window (where the blind would hang).
Formula for calculating fabric-
Measure the length and width of the inside of the window. Subtract 1/4 inch from both of those measurements. Take the answers and add 2 inches to both. That is how much fabric you need for one window.
Step 3- Prepare your blinds. Remove all of the cage ropes that control if the blinds are open or closed and hold the slats in a specific location. Do not cut the rope that runs through the center of the blinds that pulls them up and down. You need these cords to move the shade up and down. Remove all but 6 or 7 slats. Keep the thick bottom of the blind.
Step 4- Fold down a 1 inch hem all the way around the fabric. Use the iron to press it down.
Step 5- With a brush use fabric glue to glue down the 1 inch hem. The fabric will now be the exact measurement you got when you measured the window.
Step 6- At the corner, clip a triangle off to keep the corner from being too bulky.
Step 7- Lay the fabric pattern down (make sure if your fabric has a correct direction that it is going the right way). Place the blinds on the fabric. Glue the top of the fabric to the top of the blind. Use the hot glue for this. Then glue the bottom of the fabric to the bottom block of the blind.
Step 8- Space the slats evenly down the fabric. To assure the shade lays correctly, make sure the cord comes from behind of the blind slat and through to the front in the middle then goes back under the next slat. Then take fabric glue and glue the slats to the fabric. Do not glue the cord down, you need the cord to move so that the blind will move up and down.
Step 9- Let it all sit for 15-20 minutes to dry. Add hot glue to any edges that seem loose.
Step 10- Test the shade and make any corrections you need to make.
Step 11- Install the shade and enjoy. Once you get your measurements these blinds take approximately 1 hour each to make.
