DIY Fabric Shades

Fabric shades work for any decor style, and are a great way to add warmth and color to a room. But no matter how you slice it, fabric shades are expensive - even the cheapest are 3 to 4 times the cost of vinyl blinds. Here is a great way to turn traditional vinyl blinds into a roman shade at a fraction of the cost. 

You will need: 

-Traditional vinyl blinds

-Fabric* 

-Plastic rings

-Scissors

-Needle and thread

-All purpose or fabric glue

-Tape measure or ruler

*To get the size of fabric you will need for each shade, measure the size of your window and add 4 inches to the width and 6 inches to the length. I used a lightweight linen so that the light could filter through it as much as possible, as my room is quite dark. The light weight results in a very casual shade, with the sides hanging loose. If you are looking for more privacy or a more structured look, you can use a heavier weight fabric or sew a cotton layer behind your face fabric.

First, lay out your vinyl blinds, extended to the full size of the window.

On each side of the blinds is a string ladder that helps to raise the blinds, and a central cord that runs through the center of each vinyl slat. Cut the rungs of the ladder only, being careful not to cut the central cord. You will be using the central cords in your fabric shade mechanism. 

Cut the central cords off of the bottom piece and remove all the slats. Keep one vinyl slat for later. Lay out your mechanism with the cords fully extended on your piece of fabric with the pull cord side of the vinyl blind mechanism facing up. The face side of the fabric should be face down on the floor. You are essentially reversing your blind/shade mechanism; whereas the pull cord was at the front of your vinyl blinds, it will now be behind your fabric shade. 

On each long side of the fabric, fold it over twice and either sew or glue it down. Sewing is better, but gluing is faster, so ... I glued. Each fold should be about 1 inch wide so that when both sides are done, the total width of your fabric is the width of your window.
Do the same at the top, and glue the fabric to the front face (the floor side) of the top mechanism, leaving the very sides, where the vinyl blind goes into the window supports, unglued.

Starting at the top, mark where you will be sewing your plastic rings and sew them down. Mine are spaced 10 inches apart. This is the most time-consuming part of the project, but worth doing for translucent shades because the plastic rings can't be seen from behind the fabric.

I wanted to have the very bottom of my shade always peek out from the bottom with the rest of the fabric stacking on top of it, so I left about 16 inches from the last plastic hook and the bottom of the fabric. Fold over the bottom of the fabric twice, again with a 1 inch fold, and glue that down as well.

Take your one vinyl slat and lay it about 6 inches from the bottom of the fabric. Thread the cords through all of the rings and through the sides of the vinyl slat. Tie a knot in each cord so that it does not pass through the opening. You can also use a button as a stopper. Glue the last slat down to the fabric, making sure not the glue the cord as well.

Let the shade dry completely before putting it up. It will go into the supports at the top of the window the same way the vinyl blinds did.