Making a Roman Shade out of Vinyl Mini Blinds
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Fabric from Ikea
Posted by Hannah Smith
Vinyl mini blinds can be boring but they can easily be turned into custom roman shades to match any decor and fit any window!
Skill Level
Easy
Active Time
Half a day
Cost
$
- Vinyl mini blinds (any size)
- Fabric of your choosing (medium weight cotton works best)
- Strong fabric glue that dries clear
Materials
- Scissors
- Sewing Machine (optional for hemming)
Tools
Extend the mini blind as far as it will go and close it so it is one solid sheet.
Measure the dimensions of the blind from the very top slat to the bottom and the width of the slats.
Cut your chosen material to the dimensions you measured (add 1/2-1 inch to the measurements if you want to put a hem around the edges) **The material shouldn't be too heavy or it won't fold correctly when you open the shade. A medium weight cotton should be good for privacy and still allow some light through.
Hem the material if you want and iron it so it will hang flat.
Lay the mini blind on the ground and start cutting the slats out. You want to start from the bottom. Leave the very bottom slat, cut out 5, skip one, cut out 5 etc. Continue to the top and leave the very top slat (don't worry if the last spacing at the top is not exact, you want to leave the top slat no matter what) Basically, leave every 6th slat intact and make sure the bottom and top slats are left on. **Be careful not to cut the strings!!!
Lay a sheet or paper on the floor (so you don't get glue on the floor) and lay your prepared material front side down (you want to glue on to the side that will face out of the window)
Starting from the top put a good strong fabric glue (I used Aleene's Permanent Fabric Glue, available at Michael's) on the very top slat and press it to the top edge of the fabric.
Working your way down, glue one slat at a time. Make sure the strings are extended all the way between slats. DO NOT PUT GLUE ON THE STRINGS!! They need to be able to slide over the material or you won't be able to open or close your shade. *If you measured your material just right, it should just fit all the slats with the bottom slate being glued to the very bottom edge. Measure carefully!
Let the glue dry for a while and then you can hang your shade! Try opening and closing it. You may find that you have to guide it a little since the weight is different than the mini blinds. And there you have it! If you want to get fancy you can try sewing some little weights in to the bottom hem to aid the opening and closing.
