Designing On a Budget
Honestly, WTF- you can MAKE your own Roman Shades from Miniblinds? Color me intrigued because I'm poor. Okay not poor. But I treat my finances like I am and Roman Shades are expensive.
But leaps and bounds more beautiful than miniblinds. Bleh. I hate blinds with a passion. I'm a curtain girl all the way.
I digress. Back to the matter at hand.
I recently bought a house. It looked NOTHING like what I wanted it too but that didn't deter me. I had a vision. (Much to my husband's dismay.) This house has boatloads of windows- each with a miniblind.
When I was pursuing through pinterest I saw a DIY article on converting miniblinds to roman shades.
Fact about me: I'm a chronic DIY-er, as you will find out...
So I took the plunge. I ripped my miniblinds down and got snipping. Here's how it played out.
Step 1.
Lay out the blinds, fully extended and open. Step 2. Cut away the ladder cord – NOT the pull cord, which runs down the center.
Step 3.
Undo the pull cord to remove the blinds. There are 2 plastic caps underneath the bottom bar. Pop those open and phish out the knotted pull cords. untie the knots and remove the bottom bar.
Step 4.
Decide how many folds you want your shade to have. I did 3-4. Remove all but 3 or 4 blinds from the cords.
Step 5.
Put the bottom bar back on and reknot the pull cords. Replace caps.
Step 6.
Measure and cut your fabric so that it is 2 inches wider than your blind. (An inch overlap on each side.)
Step 7.
Lay the fabric face side down on a flat surface. Lay the blinds on top of the fabric. Separate the blinds so they are all evenly spaced along the length of the fabric.
Step 8. JESUS Katie, step 8?! I thought this was quick and fun? I know. You're almost there though- I promise.
The top bar should sit two inches below the top edge of the fabric. Take your fabric tape and stick it to the bar. Fold the fabric over it and press firmly.
Step 9.
Now you’ll tape each of the blinds to the backside of the fabric. DO NOT TAPE THE PULL CORD. You'll hate yourself if you do.
Step 10.
Tape along the bottom of the bottom bar and wrap the fabric over it.
You're DONE! You can hand that bad larry back up and marvel at your amazing, thrifty handy skills!
Fabric Cost: $14 (shower curtain from Home Goods)
Supplies: $6 Aleene's 29134 Fabric Fusion Tape
Project Total: $20.00 for 2 roman shades!
