Updating Roller Shades with Fabric
Roller shades are a great way to add privacy and light control to your windows at very little cost. The plain white ones allow you to do something flashy with draperies, and some of the newer styles are striped and patterned, so they have personalities of their own. You can even make them yourself out of beautiful decorator fabrics so that they coordinate perfectly with your room. And all the parts are available in kits, or you can tear apart old, well-worn shades. If you use an old one, just be sure to make a mark on the barrel showing which direction the shade falls. Here’s how to make your own:
Materials and Tools:
old roller shade (for parts) or a new shade kitfabric of your choicefusible interfacingiron and ironing boardscissorsstraightedgematte knifestaple gunseam sealanttape measure
Steps:
1. Determining whether your shade will be mounted inside the casing (which most roller shades are) or on the casing to cover the trim when extended. Measure the window’s length, inside the casing or outside (which would include the casing), and add 12 inches to your measurement. Measure the width in the same fashion and add 2 inches to your measurement. Cut the fabric and interfacing to your measurements.
2. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric following the manufacturer’s instructions. Then, using a lightweight pressing cloth and an iron on the “wool” setting, start ironing in the center of the interfacing, applying steam and pressure in one spot for 10 to 15 seconds, and work toward the edges, overlapping sections as you press. When you’ve completed pressing on the interfacing side (by then you’ll feel as if you’ve been ironing forever), turn the shade over to the fabric side and repeat the same steps.
3. To cut the shade width down to size, measure the barrel from the old shade or a new one cut down to the size required for your window. Don’t include the pins on the ends in your measurement. Your finished shade width should be 1/8-inch shorter than this dimension. Trim the width of your fabric using a straightedge and a matte knife. Then seal the edges with a seam sealant.
4. Turn the bottom edge of the fabric under 1½ inches and stitch or fuse to form a 1-inch casing for the wooden bottom slat. Then simply staple the top edge to the barrel, keeping in mind the direction the shade should fall. Finally, roll it up and install it.
