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Another Big Bite

Another Big Bite

Tag Archives: new sew

DIY (Faux, No-Sew) Roman Shades

16 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in Fixing Up the House, I'm a Crafty Mo' Fo'

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before and after, boys room, diy, home, kids room, new sew, roman shades, sewing

Another Big Bite - DIY Faux Roman Shade

Finn’s room is coming along quite nicely.  And by “quite nicely,” I mean that nothing of interest has been done since I painted it.

Baby steps.  Baby steps.

Yesterday I busted out a roman shade for his window.  It is just for show.  Even though I love the look of roman shades, the process of opening and closing them twice a day is a pain-in-the-ass…  Since his blinds are in pretty good shape and not a wonky color (like my kitchen blinds were), I figured I would throw a valance up over the window to give it a little extra height and bring some more white into the room.

I fell in love with the greek key trim that I spotted at Hobby Lobby, and while I still think it is awesome, I’m a little on the fence about how I feel about it in Finn’s room.  I’m hoping once everything is pulled together, it won’t look so out-of-place.  Maybe it’s too girly.

Since the only thing I had to buy was the trim, I didn’t feel so bad about breaking the bank for what amounts to glorified ribbon… After my 40% off coupon it was $17.00; but everything else I used was lying around the house.  The white fabric is left over from Alice’s curtains and the length of 1×2 was raided from Nathan’s ever-growing scrap wood stash.

I made the shades about an inch and a half wider than the window.  I cut the fabric slightly larger than I needed so I could hem the seams with iron-on seam tape.  The fabric is only about two-thirds the size you would need to cover the whole window.

photo 1 (1)

To attach the trim, I ironed on fuseable seam tape (with the peel-off paper) the entire length first; it needed two strips since it was so wide.

photo (2)

Once I peeled off the paper, I flipped it upside down and ironed it from the back.  The trim would have melted under the heat of the iron.

photo 2 (1)

The mitered corners were the trickiest part, but were much easier than I thought they would be.  I made sure NOT to iron the trim all the way to the corner.  Then I folded the trim at a 45 degree angle backwards at the corner (away from the next edge) …

photo 3 (1)

And then folded it back in the direction of the new edge.

photo 4 (1)

Finally, I carefully flipped the whole thing over and ironed the hell out of the back.  (Even though none of that made sense in actual words, I hope the pictures made it easier to understand.).

photo 2 (2)

I cut a length of 1×2 just shy of the length of my shade.  I used an old-school manual saw and miter box, but if I would have had to buy a new piece of wood at Home Depot, I would have had it cut there (for free – if Nathan wasn’t around).  They also have a self-serve hand saw and miter box to use in the trim department.

Another Big Bite - DIY Faux Roman Shade2

I hot glued the top of the fabric to the back of the 1×2.  To get the folds, I whipped out my handy-dandy electric stapler (literally one of the BEST Christmas presents I have ever received – Thanks, Mom!!) and popped two staples into the wood where I wanted my folds to be.  I also stapled the top of the fabric just for good measure.

photo 3 (2)

To hang it on the wall, I marked a level line where I wanted the top of the shade to be and drove three screws through the wood.  I had a tiny bit of a sag in the middle of the fabric when I was done, so I popped a couple extra staples through the back of the fabric and into the wood.

I also hung Finn’s rhino head back up.  A few months ago, it leapt to its death and made sure to maim poor little Finny in the process.  After that trip to the ER, I decided to screw that bitch into the wall.  It. Does. Not. Move.

Another Big Bite - DIY Faux Roman Shade3

Another Big Bite - DIY Faux Roman Shade4

And wouldn’t ya know?  Finn hates it.

He thinks that he should have Spiderman curtains.  And I keep holding back from buying Spiderman sheets and pillows for two reasons… They are ugly AND I think he’ll be over Spiderman before I even send them through the washing machine once.  This second reason is mostly self-justification, though.  He has been totally into Spidey for over half of his life.  And that is a long time when you are four.

And Nathan wants the room to have a giant AT-AT from Star Wars in it.

I simply cannot win.  (This is why I do all this stuff without telling anyone before hand, I’ll have you know.)

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