How To … Make a Roman Blind
How to … make a Roman Blind
What you will need (the quantity you require will
depend on the desired blind size)
- Rufflette ivory or translucent roman blind tape
- Your chosen fabric
- Matching thread
- Rufflette white or translucent roman blind rods
- 5cm x 2cm wooden batten or blind track
- 2cm x 5mm lath
- Self adhesive hook and sew-on loop fastener
- Rufflette roman blind cord
- Rufflette quick release cord rings
- Rufflette wooden acorn
- Rufflette screw eyes
- Rufflette cleat and screws
Step by step guide to making your Roman Blind
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- Firstly, measure your chosen fabric. The length should be the intended drop plus 2cm for the top hem and 7cm for the bottom hem. The fabric width should be the desired width, plus 5cm for each side hem.
- Turn and press a double 2.5cm side hem and sew. Turn 2cm then 5cm bottom hem and sew, leaving one side open in order to insert the wooden lath to give weight at the bottom of the blind.
- Next turn and press a 2cm hem at the top of the blind and sew on the loop fastener. This is to attach the blind to the wooden batten or blind track when complete.
- With the hems completed, divide the fabric into folds substituting your own measurements where appropriate. Subtract 8cm from the blind length. Decide on the number of folds, then divide the fabric and mark with chalk. To do this you must work in half fold lengths - see example calculation below in conjunction with Fig 1.
Example calculation
Blind length - 152cm
Less 8cm - 144cm
Total folds desired - 5
The last fold is always a half fold
The remaining 4 folds - 8 half folds
Therefore the total number of half folds - 9
(The number of half folds is always an odd number)
144cm divided by 9 = 16cm per half fold
Therefore each full fold will measure 32cm
between the lines of tape and the bottom half fold
will measure 16cm plus 2cm extra.
- Cut the roman blind tape to the width of the fabric plus 2cm for the side hems and pin the along the chalk lines, leaving 1cm of spare tape at each end.
- Machine the tape along the blue sewing line starting and stopping 1cm in from the ends. Hem one end of the tape. Repeat to attach the remaining lengths of tape.
- Cut the roman blind rods 2cm less than the width of the blind and insert into the free ends of the roman blind tapes. Cut the wooden lath 1cm less than the width of the blind and insert into the bottom hem.
- Turn and Hem the open end of the tapes to secure the rods and the bottom hem. Rods are easily removed through loops for washing.
- To attach the cord, measure in 2cm from the edge of the blind and sew on Rufflette’s quick release rings across the bottom roman blind tape leaving approx 30cm gap between each ring across the width of the blind.
- Fasten the cord, which should measure 1 ½ times the window drop plus the width , to the bottom ring and thread upwards through the loops on the roman blind tape.
- Fix the wooden batten or blind track to the wall/window.
- Attach the blind by fixing the loop fastener to the front of the batten/track.
- Thread the cords through the screw eyes along the wooden batten or the cord guides on the blind track.
- To finish, thread the cord ends through the wooden acorn and attach the cleat hook to the wall.
Helpful Tips
Use a Rufflette Roman Blind Kit
The Roman Blind Kit is the ideal solution for making your own roman blinds. The kit comes with 10m Translucent Roman Blind Tape, Sew-on loop fastener, blind cord, quick release rings, a wooden acorn, a brass cleat and full roman blind instructions. It is suitable for making a blind to fit a window up to 183cm (6ft) wide by 183cm (6ft) drop.
Sewing your roman blind tape
Don’t forget, when sewing your tape to your blind the blue sewing line should be at the top of the tape.
Tags: Roman Blind Kit, Roman Blinds, Rufflette