How to Sew Roman Blinds step by step pictures

Times ago, I sew roman blinds for the kid’s bedroom, and now I just hanged the kitchen ones. I like roman shades, they look modern and add a nice finished touch to any room.

Sewing your own blinds is much easier than you may think. The two main reasons why I like to sew my curtains is that it’s definitely the best way to save money and still have a custom design by choosing the fabric and adding some funny details, for example in my son bedroom I glued some little car buttons on the edge of the blind. I found a great useful guide you can read before starting sewing curtains.

For a cost-friendly project, you can also make your own curtain rods, see some inspiration in my DIY curtain rods post.

[ THIS POST PROBABLY CONTAINS AFFILIATES LINKS, OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY IS REALLY BORING, BUT YOU CAN READ IT HERE ]

Today I will explain how you can sew your roman blinds. I make them removable, which means you can easily take them off to wash them. I will suggest you wash the fabric before starting cutting and sewing, so your blinds won’t shrink when you wash them. It a quite long tutorial, I hope to provide clear explanations. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment if you have any doubt.

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How to make roman blinds

Materials you will need:

Nice fabric
Matching thread
Plastic rings (or brass rings)
1/2 in. wooden dowels
1 x 2 wood plank
velcro
blind cord
Rope cleats

To make your DIY easier, you can use this DIY Roman shade hardware kit (plus pulleys look fancier than eyescrews:)

The first step, take the measurements. Definite the finish roman blind dimension (red square), think to leave more fabric on the top part, you need some space to fold the blind above the window. You need to add 1 inch on each side for the seams, and you need to add extra high for each dowel you will use in your blind (green lines).

Example: the finished blind need to be 50 inches wide x 40 inches high. Adding the seams, the fabric dimensions must be 52 inches x 42 inches. You need to add 2 inches for each dowel, in this case, 6 dowels: 2 inches x 6 = 12 inches to add on the height. So the fabric piece to cut is 52 inches x 54 inches.

The number of dowels you will need will depend on the window dimension. I suggest placing one every 6-10 inches. Calculate to place them in a uniform manner along the entire height.

Take the fabric, fold the vertical edges and sew them.
Fold the top edge and sew a piece of velcro all along. This will allow you to take off the blind if you want to wash it.

Take a ruler and trace the lines to make the fold where the dowels are gonna be slide in.

For this blind, we place a dowel every 6 inches ( = your measure on the pic). Starting from the top (just under the velcro), take the measure + 3 inches. It this case 6 in. + 3in.= 9 inches. Trace a line at 9 inches, and a second one, parallel, at 2 inches distance.

Leave 6 in. (= your measure) and trace a line, and the second one at 2 in. And so on until the bottom edge.

The measures must fall just on the edge, if it is not, start again by modifying the distance between each dowel fold (= your measure)

Fold the blind through the inside following the lines, both lines must be on top of each other. Pin and sew on the line.

Repeat to make all the folds. To make the bottom fold, where you will slide the last dowel, you just need to fold the edge. When all the folds are made, iron your blind.

Hand stitches rings on each fold, at more or less 1 inch from the edge. Do it on both sides.

Now that you finished to sew your roman blinds, it’s time to hang them on the wall.

Screw the 1×2 wood trim on top of the window. I place it at 7 inches above the window, but it will depend on your folds dimensions.

Screw 2 eye screw (hook) on the lower part of the wooden trim. I make 2 blinds, so in this case, I will need 4 eye screws (2 for each blind).

If you like too, you can paint the wood to match your wall color. Glue velcro on the upper part of the plank. You can use adhesive velcro, or a glue gun to fix it.

No need to mess up with glue if you use strong velcro adhesive tape to hold the blind.

Attach you blinds on the plank, just put both velcro sides ( the blind one and the plank one) on top of each other and press.

Ensures that the shades are straight, the good thing is you can easily remove them if needed. Cut the 1/2 wooden dowels, 1 inch smaller than the blind width, sand the edges and slide them into each fold.

Almost done, to open and close the blinds, you have to pass 2 pieces of rope into the rings and eye screws.

First rope (green line on the pic): start with a knot, pass the rope into each ring, and both eye screws (green line on the pic).

Second rope (red line): make a knot with the lower ring, pass into each ring, and one eye screw. Pass the rope into the second eye screw and joint both rope pieces, adjust the length.

Both ropes should be slightly tense so that the blind opens and closes right, finish with a knot.

To attach the rope, and leave the blind open, fix a rope cleat on the window side. For some reason, I couldn’t find them at my hardware store, so I made one in wood and paint it white.

And done! I hope it will help you to sew your own blind. For my kid’s bedroom, I made blinds lined with blackout fabric.

You can see some pics of the blinds in my son’s bedroom in the post talking about How to build a headboard with a few planks. If you look closely you will see the little car buttons (because he likes cars and not trees).

In conclusion, learning how to sew roman blinds may seem daunting at first, but with a few simple steps and some helpful tips, you can create beautiful and functional window treatments for your home.

From choosing the right fabric to mastering the techniques of measuring, cutting, and stitching, we have covered all the key elements to make this project a success.

As the saying goes, “Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love.” So go ahead and add your personal touch to your windows with these DIY roman blinds.

Now, it’s time to put your skills to the test and get started on your own creative journey. Happy sewing!

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