Sew a DIY Roman Shade
Learn how to make a stylish and tailored looking DIY roman shade with this simple sewing tutorial. This is a great way to add a functional and beautiful window covering to your space!
Disclosure: The fabric used in this project was provided to me for free by OnlineFabricStore.net. This post originally appeared in 2016 and has since been updated.
Making window coverings yourself is a MUST learn if you want to add some personal DIY pizzazz to your home. You can add a pop of pattern or colour that infuses your space with YOU. I’ve shared lots of fun DIY window covering tutorials on my blog like no-sew fabric covered blinds, gorgeous lined drapes, grommet topped drapes, and super easy drapes. Today, let me share with you one type of DIY window covering that I haven’t shared here yet: a Roman shade.
Roman shades always look so lovely and tailored. They’re the perfect sort of window covering for a narrow window, a window where you want some privacy, or a window where you don’t want a drape that hangs to the floor. I made this pretty little Roman shade for our guest cottage kitchen which you can tour right here.
NOTE: This is NOT a good option for any window that a small child can access because of the string!
JUMP TO THE PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS
If you’d rather not sew, you might like these no-sew fabric covered shades that I posted about a few weeks ago. If you DO want a fabulous sewing project, you should definitely try this one out! The pleats and drape of this Roman shade make it looks extra fancy.
This gorgeous large-scale black and white plaid fabric is from OnlineFabricStore.net. I absolutely adore it! I’m tempted to get it in a couple of other colours for my own home. (Check out the coordinating toile I also found at OnlineFabricStore.net in the guest cottage bedroom here). This is one of my absolute favourite places to get fabric online. Their fabrics are beautiful and trendy, and I always love their superb customer service!
2020 update:
Watch this YouTube video below to see how to make a DIY roman shade:
Now, let me show you how I made this gorgeous Roman shade.
Materials:
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- 2 yards decor fabric
- 4 wooden dowels that are 1/4″ in diameter and are as wide as you want your shade
- A 1 x 2 piece of wood that’s as wide as you want your shade
- 2 brackets to mount the shade to the wall
- screws for wall mounting
- 2 eye screws
- thin nylon string
- 8 small plastic shade rings
- wood staple gun
- sewing machine
- needle & thread
Instructions:
Cut a piece of fabric that’s 2 inches wider than you want your shade to be, and 7 inches longer. Remember that you want your shade to completely cover the height of your window (and even a bit more) when it’s fully let down. I used Premier Prints Anderson Black fabric from OnlineFabricStore.net for this project.
Press the sides and bottom of the shade over 1/2″ to the wrong side. Fold another 1/2″ and press again. Sew these hems down with a sewing machine. Make sure to leave the two ends of the bottom hem open so that you can slide a dowel through it later.
Now it’s time to make the rest of the dowel casings. Subtract 3″ off of the remaining height of your fabric (for stapling your blind to your piece of wood later on) and divide that by 4. The resulting number will be how far apart you want each dowel casing. Mine were 14″ apart. Start measuring from the bottom, and mark where your dowel casings will be with a pin.
Fold your blind right sides together at each mark and pin. Sew a 1/2″ seam at each mark and then insert a dowel into each casing you’ve created.
Next, hand sew the small blind rings onto the blind. Sew one on each side of the dowel casing, about 3″ from each end.
Prepare the wooden hanger by screwing on the brackets about 1″ from each end, and screwing in the eye screws about 3″ from each end as shown.
Staple the fabric blind to the piece of wood by wrapping the blind around the thick side of the wood and onto a thin side as shown.
Finally, it’s time to tie on the nylon string that will pull the drape up and down. Use the photo above as a guide, and tie one end of the string onto the bottom right ring. Thread it upwards and through each ring above, through the right eye screw, through the left eye screw, and down through all of the remaining rings on the left. Leave at least 6″ of extra string and cut off the rest.
For the left side, tie one end of the string to the bottom left ring, thread it up and through each ring above, through and over the top left eye screw, and then back down through all of the rings on the left again. Leave extra string and cut off the rest.
Make sure to use good, solid square knots when tying the string so that it doesn’t come loose.
Mount your Roman shade above your window using the brackets.
Install a hook or screw at the bottom side of your window to hold the extra string and wrap the string around to keep the shade in the desired position.
And you are done!
Update: You can also mount this roman shade on the inside of your window by leaving out the brackets and securing the wood top directly to the inside top of your window:
Doesn’t that look so chic?!
Make sure to check out all of the other rooms in our recently finished guest cottage to see where else we put this fabric:
Let’s make it!
Sew a DIY Roman Shade
Create a stylish and tailored window covering with a couple yards of fabric and some inexpensive supplies.
Materials
- 2 yards decor fabric
- 4 wooden dowels that are 1/4″ in diameter and are as wide as you want your shade
- A 1 x 2 piece of wood that’s as wide as you want your shade
- 2 brackets to mount the shade to the wall
- screws for wall mounting
- 2 eye screws
- thin nylon string
- 8 small plastic shade rings
- needle & thread
Tools
- sewing machine
- wood staple gun
Instructions
- Cut a piece of fabric that’s 2 inches wider than you want your shade to be, and 7 inches longer. Remember that you want your shade to completely cover the height of your window (and even a bit more) when it’s fully let down. I used Premier Prints Anderson Black fabric from OnlineFabricStore.net for this project.
- Press the sides and bottom of the shade over 1/2″ to the wrong side. Fold another 1/2″ and press again. Sew these hems down with a sewing machine. Make sure to leave the two ends of the bottom hem open so that you can slide a dowel through it later.
- Now it’s time to make the rest of the dowel casings. Subtract 3″ off of the remaining height of your fabric (for stapling your blind to your piece of wood later on) and divide that by 4. The resulting number will be how far apart you want each dowel casing. Mine were 14″ apart. Start measuring from the bottom, and mark where your dowel casings will be with a pin.
- Fold your blind right sides together at each mark and pin. Sew a 1/2″ seam at each mark and then insert a dowel into each casing you’ve created.
- Prepare the wooden hanger by screwing on the brackets about 1″ from each end, and screwing in the eye screws about 3″ from each end as shown.
- Staple the fabric blind to the piece of wood by wrapping the blind around the thick side of the wood and onto a thin side as shown.
- Finally, it’s time to tie on the nylon string that will pull the drape up and down. Use the photo above as a guide, and tie one end of the string onto the bottom right ring. Thread it upwards and through each ring above, through the right eye screw, through the left eye screw, and down through all of the remaining rings on the left. Leave at least 6″ of extra string and cut off the rest.
- For the left side, tie one end of the string to the bottom left ring, thread it up and through each ring above, through and over the top left eye screw, and then back down through all of the rings on the left again. Leave extra string and cut off the rest. Make sure to use good, solid square knots when tying the string so that it doesn’t come loose.
- Mount your Roman shade above your window using the brackets.
- Install a hook or screw at the bottom side of your window to hold the extra string and wrap the string around to keep the shade in the desired position.
I love me a roman shade! I have bamboo ones in my house, but no I did not make them myself – I’m not that talented! I might be talented enough to make a fabric one though…? Thanks for the share! Love the black and white plaid. It’s both cozy and chic at the same time.
I’ve made 3 because of your easy instructions. Thank you so much. A great tutorial
Hi DIY Mommy,
Would it work for me to revise this roman shade, so that I inset into the window rather than on the outside of the frame?
It’s SO pretty!
thank you,
Sharon
Yes, you could adapt the roman shade to fit inside a window frame.
Beautiful job! It might be a good idea to add a room darkening liner for those of us who need to have privacy on our windows. I did this to my store-bought bamboo roman shades in my bedroom. What a huge difference it made. Now the whole world doesn’t have to see into my bedroom at night LOL
What a great idea, Joan!
Great directions, can’t wait to try this!
I love the look & your directions are very easy to follow. We have a wood cornice over a small bathroom window do you think there is a way to mount this inside the window, maybe a tension rod?
Thank you, Robin for the such kind words! You will have to give it a try and let us know how it works out!
If you put a third row of rings in the middle, the shade won’t sag in the middle.
Great tip Pamela!!
How would you thread the string through the middle row?
tie at bottom , thread up thru loops , thead thru left eye, down thru loops on right and proceed. as directed
Thank you for that advice,
Nice idea! So..If I try this, do u know the instructions regarding stringing through these new centre rings? I’m sure it’s prob an obvious answer but im just not seen no it. Yet. DIY mommy’s instructions on stringing this shade we’re actually the 1st time I ‘got it’ immediately as soon as I read it. I read many others over the years but just found the stringing instructions too confusing, so thx to her for writing it out well & easy to understand. ?
You know, i have a tinted bathroom window that’s been driving me nuts, its tinted so that others cant see in but they can see the silhouette of people when the lights on at night. Its a long window and drapes don’t look right in a bathroom, blinds are not an option either. I did want to use a roller blind but i couldnt find one long enough.
Now i find this idea of yours – and i like it. I think it would work brilliantly so I’m gonna get started on it tomorrow! Thanks.
We’re so happy you were able to find what you were looking for! Let us know how it turns out:)
Please tell me about the ceiling fixture. I love it and your design style.
You should of painted the board white before you used it so you couldn’t see the raw wood on ends. Like your idea but I have to make it so it can be taken down & washed. Couldn’t it be made with a bigger dowel to slide into top & have curtain rod hooks over window so rod would set in the rooks & sew on small circle things on back? I have glass door that goes from my bedroom to deck upstairs that I need something that covers door but I can raise to let in light & wash as I have 7 cats & 3 dogs in the house.
Attaching the blind withe Velcro to the front of the board and using Roman shade magnets and Roman shade magnet tape (to make little “pockets” to encase the magnets) will make it cord free and removable for cleaning.
I don’t like romantic shades….but they look great!
Thank you, Jessica
Your ‘guest cottage’ is at least twice the size of my “efficiency” unit in a low-income development, and I am so jealous of the quantity of windows, placement of them & doors, wood floors (!)…I wish I could move in.
Apart from all my jealousy, I seriously adore how you broke down the secrets of creating my own Roman shades. My (own) bedroom window faces another building so I get glare from our own security lights plus the ones opposite. I resorted to a light-blocking roller blind behind my regulation slat blind (fortunately the “reveal” is deep. But if I’d had this post back then…
Thanks for the kind words, Janis. Christina actually has a DIY on how she made a roller blind pretty. You should check it out ?.
http://thediymommy.wpsc.dev/make-a-no-sew-fabric-covered-black-out-blind/
The exposed board can be easily covered by neatly gluing on the fabric and encasing the ends. Paint the brackets to help them diseappear. I made Faux Roman shades that don’t need to close and no cords.
Where is your wreath from that hangs from the roman shade 🙂
Just wanted to thank you for the set by set instructions. I was having a hell of a time with the last part when you would have to thread the string threw. It just wouldnt work, but thanks to your directions I feel better now. Keep up the great sewing projects
Thank you for taking the time to put this instructionable together. It will be very helpful as I had no idea how to make one after my sister asked me to sew one for her bathroom.
Great post! You do it right and good luck! Regards
What’s up, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one is sharing facts, that’s actually excellent,
keep up writing.
Useful information! My wife finished it from your guide. Thanks for sharing
Hello! Thank you so much for these clear and good instructions! First diy video that I understood totally! 🙂 Now my roman shades are on my window!! I made them from linen 🙂
have a nice week. Satu/Finland
Love the tutorial! I have a question – are you able to see the dowels on the front when not raised? It seems with only a 1/2 inch seam to hold them in place they might be visible. Thanks!
Hi! Love your shade!
I am making dark out shades for our bedroom so they are heavy. My problem is they are folding starting at the top instead of bottom. I have 5 cords starting at the bottom going up and running through screw eyes attached to wood strips spaced 10” apart.
Love the fabric! I always cover my board with white fabric or paint it white so you don’t see the board on the ends.
It’s so wonderful..!!!
Very helpful tutorial and you have mentioned step by step how we can sew a diy roman shade for our home. The color and texture looks stylish and unique. Thanks for sharing this..
With a little more fabric, you could “upholster” the board, matching the pattern of course, to make it more finished. BTW I’m pinning this one!
I love your roman shades! And your tutorial to make them is so easy to follow that I might actually be able to pull a few of these off myself! Thanks so much for sharing this at Farmhouse Friday!
So pretty! Could you mount it at the ceiling and make your window look so much bigger? I’m going to give it a try!
I cant print the directions without ads on 2nd page covering the content ?
I love this, but I would probably use a tension rod at the top, that way I could take it down, remove the dowels and throw it in the wash.
I would spray paint the head mounting board in white or cover it with cheap lining fabric. The wood is too visible, otherwise it’s perfect.
Hi – this looks doable! I have a question – the window I’m trying to cover is about 7.5 feet long. Do you think this still works for that that long of a run?
I want to make shades for my 63 inch long windows.I need to line them for room darkening and sun protection. Would this be too much fabric to have it fold nicely? Would it be too heavy or bulky?
Thank you. Exactly what I was looking for. ❤️
Made it and I’m nit crafty. Sew basic. I was confused out to run strings. Once I figured ou t there are 3 separate strings made sence. Oh I ran 4 sets of cords. One up middle it h was good decision si ce just was 39,”
I have to make not one but two of these for small bathroom windows. You made the process seem much less daunting. Pinning for reference. Thank you
Such a great project! I was a bit intimidated at first, but very easy step by step instructions. I made a very cute shade for my daughter’s kitchen. I modified the pull system, but It turned out awesome. Thanks so much!
Instead of buying dowels, I used bamboo barbecue skewers, they work perfectly if your windows are 32 inches or less and there are a dozen per pack