no-sew roman shades

Two weeks ago I revealed my $150 {family room make over}.  Remember the new shades that were painstakingly made on my kitchen island?  All six of the little beasts. 

I received some requests for a tutorial so I went into my blogging folder and found some pictures I snapped while I was making them.  Lucky.

HOW TO MAKE NO-SEW, STATIONARY ROMAN SHADES

1.  Cover a flat work surface with some form of heat protection from an iron (I used striped ticking)

2.  Cut your lining out the exact finished length and width you want your shade to be

3.  Cut your fabric out two and a half inches bigger than the lining on the sides and bottom

*Note- my shades are the length of my window and one and a half inches wider than my windows on either side

4.  Layer the two fabrics with the shade material underneath the lining

5.  Fold the bottom and sides of the shade fabric two and a half inches over the lining, and iron it down.

 6. Purchase some fabric tape at your favorite craft store (I got this Peel n Stick from Hobby Lobby).  Run a long strip of it down the edge of the fabric you just pressed, iron the tape to the fabric.

7.  Peel the white tape protector off  of the clear, sticky tape. 

8.  Fold the fabric under a half inch or just until the tape is tucked under and no longer shows.  Iron the tape again on high heat with steam.  You might have to hold it down for a while if you're working with heavier fabric

The sides and bottom of the shade are finished, but the top of the shade will still be loose

And here's where I stopped taking pictures.  It must have been 1 in the morning and well, maybe I was bitter at the fact that I had to make 6 of these little fetchers. I was probably done snapping pictures of this fabric I'd been staring at for the last 3 days and so this is where it ends.  I'll explain the next part in detail and give you a few more pics of the finished product, ok?

Next comes the rings.  If you're smart you'll find someone who owns a T-ring gun and it will save you hours of sewing little gold rings on the back of your shades.  If your making one, not so painful.  If you're doing six, excruciating!

9.  Fold the shade on your flat work space the way you want it to be when it's hanging, and make small marks on the folds where you'll eventually sew the rings in place.  It's easiest to mark one row (start with the right or left side) first and use it as a guide to mark the other rows.

10.  Lay the shade flat and mark the back (with an erasable fabric marker) where you'll sew all the rows of rings. 

Example: rings would be sewn at the cross sections

*Note- I sewed five rows of rings up and four rows of rings across on my shades.  The folds in my shades are approx two and a half inches apart and the first row of rings is sewn approx.

nine inches from the bottom.

11.  Fasten the rings to the shade. If you're planning to sew them on, use a curved needle and clear thread. 

12.  Clip the rings together using a plastic ring or a zip tie. 

13.  Use a wooden dowel to brace the back of the shade so it doesn't collapse in the center.  I made a skinny cover for it and fastened it to the shade with rings. 

14.  Go to Home Depot and have a 1.5 x 1.5" board cut the exact width of your shade.  Cover it with the same shade fabric and a staple gun and then staple the top of the shade to the board.

I trimmed my shades with 2 and a quarter inch pewter, gross grain ribbon, taped on the sides and bottom. 

Happy no-sewing!