Make a Roman blind

Prima online 19.02.2007

Blinds are a stylish and economical window cover – all you need is a kit, fabric and thread

Roman blind over window To make:

Measure the area to be covered by the blind, either inside or outside the window recess. If it is going inside, make it 1-2cm narrower than the recess to allow for smooth operation of the blind. Add 6cm to the width for side hems and 10cm to the length for top and bottom hems. Cut out the fabric. Cut the lining to the same length but 8cm narrower than the fabric. Make sure both are perfectly square. With right sides together, pin and stitch lining to fabric at sides, taking 1cm seam allowances.

Turn right side out and press. Press under 1cm, then 4cm across bottom of blind and stitch. Press 5cm onto wrong side across top of blind. Check the length of the blind again before trimming away the excess to leave a 2cm turning. Stitch the sew-on Velcro strip close to the top of the blind.

Divide the blind length by the number of rods required plus a half for the bottom section. Our blind has five rods so we divided the length by 5½ to work out the position for the rods. They can be between 20 and 40cm apart, depending on the length of the blind, with the bottom section being half this depth. Mark these positions accurately across the wrong side of the blind. To make the pockets for the rods, cut strips of lining 9cm deep by the width of the blind plus 4cm. Press 2cm onto the wrong side on all edges. Press in half lengthwise.

Pin and stitch both open edges of the pockets to the wrong side of the blind where marked, thus closing and attaching the pockets at the same time. Stitch rings to the bottom of each pocket 7cm in from each side, with extra rows evenly spaced so there is no more than 60cm between them. Cut the headrail to the width of the blind and attach the blind to the rail. Insert the screw eyes underneath the rail immediately above the vertical rows of rings, plus a further screw eye 1cm from the end of the rail on the pull side. Tie cord securely to the bottom rings and thread up through the rings and screw eyes as shown, leaving 30cm ends. Attach all cords to the thicker pull cord using the connector supplied. Attach the acorn to the bottom of the thick cord. To fix the blind to the wall or window recess, pull back the blind and drill through the headrail with the Velcro attached and screw in place. Replace the blind. Attach the cleat to the wall to secure the pull cord.

You will need:

fabric - we used Susie by Laura Ashley (0871 230 2301) - and lining, allowing an extra 9cm of lining for each rod pocket (see step 1 to calculate the amount of fabric needed)
matching thread
Pretty Frills Roman blind kit from John Lewis (020 7629 7711)