It only took us nine years! Yes, it has only taken us nine short years to get a shade up on the irregularly sized window in the kitchen, above the sink. Finally after never quite finding what I wanted anywhere, we just went ahead and made our own d.i.y. roman shade. I don’t know what took us so long, because it turned out GREAT and cost us less than $20.

The problem, as is generally the case with me, was that I knew EXACTLY what I wanted. Making the actual problem the fact that the world rarely complies with having said thing available. Because of the window not being a standard size and then being sandwiched between two cupboards, it required a blind, or pull up shade. And because our kitchen is predominantly black and white, I wanted some pattern and colour. However I did not want it to look too busy or cute. Tall order I know. Hence the 9 years. Hence making a d.i.y. roman shade our best option. To make matters worse during certain times of day, the sun comes through this particular window so strongly that when it hits the stainless steel sink it creates a blinding reflection. This is handy if you hate dishes as much as I do and therefore have a convenient excuse as to why all dishes must wait for sundown. But alas, also a little ridiculous.

All It Took Was A Little Inspiration

When my sick kids pushed me to the edges of my sanity and left me grappling for a project for my seemingly endless days stuck indoors, I got busy with this curtain project.

Intending to do this project years earlier, we had nearly all of the supplies here and there around our place already. The fabric was from Ikea and a leftover from another design project a couple years back. So we actually made the shade for free, with a days worth of blood (mine – I cut my finger), sweat (my husbands – mainly from his fever probably) and tears (sick kids complain A LOT). However to the best of my memory everything tallied, worked out to about $20. Steal of a deal, right?!

The main roman blind tutorial I used came from here. But I would be lying if I said I followed it exactly. I did not line my curtain. It was a thick, almost canvas like fabric (and I will do many questionable things to get away with less sewing). I also used curtain gathering tape that I had on hand to sew on for the rod pockets. However I did use the ratios suggested from the original tutorial, adjusted for my curtain size. We also screwed small metal eyes (screw eyes) through the tape and directly into the wooden dowelling, rather than sewing on little plastic rounds by hand.

D.I.Y Roman Shade

This Project Required

Fabric of choice and cut to size, with seam allowances for hems (we were working with a 43″ window in a 46.5″ x 46.5″ space)
4 Pieces of 1/4″ Wood Dowelling – cut to size (about 1/2″ less than curtain width)
Thread In Matching Colour
Pins
Curtain Gathering Tape (or 4 fabric strips cut to size)
A length of 1″ x 1″ wood for attaching the curtain to the wall
Upholstery stapler and staples
Drill and drill bits
Screws
15 Small Eye Screws
4 Medium Eye Screws
Thin Nylon Chord
A lighter (for singeing the end of the fraying chord)
Sewing Machine
Tape Measure
Fabric Pencil
Fabric Scissors
Iron and Ironing Board

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Want another great D.I.Y. project?! Then check out how to make your own reading corner, literary sign post or rock pillows!