The BEST DIY Method Roman Shades Using Existing Blinds

I'm in the process of reclaiming our 3rd bedroom. It has been a junk/storage room for nearly the entire tenure at our home, and I grew sick of having to lock the door when company came over, save they saw the mess. 

Fresh paint on the walls (a dramatic taupe), spare bed turned into a daybed, lots of pillows, and I'm that much closer to a pretty place that can be an office/hangout area. But the windows really needed something, being covered by the cheap plastic builder blinds.

Because this is not our final home (I hope!), I refuse to spend $$ on nicer blinds/window treatments that I would have to leave with the house. I happened upon a  several blogs that showed how to re-purpose old blinds and create a Roman shade.

The problem is, I wanted a liner on my fabric to make it thicker, (I don't trust my neighbors), and most blogs recommending to re-purpose blinds by no-sew gluing are not designed for heavier, thick fabric. I actually finished the shades and had to redo them because the plastic couldn't take the weight and the shades sagged in the middle. I nearly cried. They looked awful. So how to salavage them?

Using a dowel rod supports the middle! There are blogs that have you gluing the dowel rods onto your fabric, but I was so sick of glue that I decided to use this suggestion. Make a pocket.

My windows are 61" L x 34.5" W. Also, while the aforementioned blog used only 1 piece of fabric, I added a backing on mine to make it more dense, and therefore decided to sew the hem rather than use iron on adhesives.  


I needed:
-*10 yards fabric for 2 windows (5 for pretty fabric outside, 5 for lining). $17 at Walmart for 6 yards fabric + $2.99 at Goodwill store for king-sized sheet that I cut up). 
-Fabri-Tac glue. $3 at **Joann's Fabrics with 50% off coupon
-Your old blinds.
-sewing machine.
-yard stick. 
-dowel rods. Amount depends on the # of folds you want (I used six 5/16" at 36"). $3.54 at Joann's Fabrics with 30% coupon 
-needle & thread matching fabric.
-plastic rings 3/4". $2.15 at Joann's Fabrics with 40% coupon
 
TOTAL: $28.68

*Disclosure--I habitually buy too much fabric. 6 was too much, and because I had some left over, I'm guesstimating amount needed based on that).

**I'm not trying to make a plug for Joann's, and am certainly not making any money from them. Go anywhere you want. I just hate reading blogs and never knowing where to get materials. This is just one option.
     
1) Measure your windows & shades. Using my formula, 34.5 +1+1 (hems either side) = 36.5" wide total. Length takes more calculation. I did 3 folds (pockets) in mine with a 1/2" seam. So... 61+1+1 (hem top and bottom)=63+(1+1+1 pocket folds) =66" long total. If you want more folds, you must add in 1" in length per one.

I swear this is the hardest part. Tread carefully.

2) Put front and back pieces together (the way you want them to look when mounted), fold over a 1" seam, pin and sew. I never iron, but you can iron the seam first to make it crisp before sewing. Repeat for all sides.

And you end up with....

 



3) For the life of me, I couldn't get my pull cord to work unless it sat IN FRONT of my fabric. Not the ideal, as I would of prefered it hidden, but oh well. I measured and cut a small hole through my fabric with sissors near the top for the cords to go through. If you want to be fancier, use the button hole option on your sewing machine for a finished edge. Or you might not have to do this step at all if your pull string is in a different spot. 

4) Take down your shade. Time to rip it apart. If you hate these things as much as I do, this process can be oddly therapeutic. However, we DO NOT want to cut the thicker pull cord running through it, but the ladder cords. Good picture of that here. Cut them out plus the plastic blinds. All we really want from these ugly things is the hanging hardware with pull strings intact (because who wants to install shade hardware? Not this girl!). 

The pull cord is a bit twisted up as my toddler was loose on a rampage, but all you have left is the top to mount, the thick pull strings, and the base.

5) Back to your fabric. Measure out where you want your folds. I like the cascading look when pulled so the space from the top to the first pocket was 20", then another pocket 10" below that, then the last pocket 12" below that. Mark your folds with a pencil on either side, pinch and pin. 

6) Sew pockets. Staying at the 5/8 mark on my sewing machine made for a big enough pocket for a 5/16" dowel rod to go through.

Sewing!

7) Put the dowel rods through. If you have extra that dowel needs to be cut off, mark it and then pull it out and cut.

What the pocket looks like with the dowel rod inside.

What it looks from the other side--pretty!

8) Time to hand sew! Honestly, it wasn't so bad. Took me about 2 minutes per ring and I'm a noobie. Measure where your pull strings are and mark on your shade. Mine was 7" from the edge.

Get out your needled and thread and sew on the ring, attaching it to the fabric on your pocket.  

9) I didn't want to detach my thicker pull cord from the bottom, so I cut the rings instead, put the string through, and put a dab of glue on each ring to reseal the cut. Not ideal, but it works.

10) Glue on your fabric to the top and bottom portions of the shade. Let it dry for 2-4 hours minimum. Hang it up and admire your work!

Drying...

And done! 

This picture makes everything look so dark--but the shades really are a nice color and look against our gray walls.

Have fun!

 

Win me back, Sherlock.

I don’t really know what to think about Sherlock’s Season 3 The Empty Hearse. 

Well, actually, that’s a lie. I’m trying to be nice, because to be critical about a show I love so much, (and has so rarely miss-stepped), is remarkably unpleasant. So here is the truth--The Empty Hearse is rubbish.

Hold on you die hard fan. Read.


Let me say that I consider myself a very level-headed aficionado of the BBC’s reincarnation of Sherlock. I’m not into cosplay, I don’t salivate over every interview and movie of Benedict Cumberbatch, and I even bristle at the idea that any girl would submit to calling herself a ‘cumberbitch’ for that matter. (Have some self respect, Ladies!) I digress. 

From the first few minutes of A Study in Pink, I loved Sherlock. It’s one of the few shows that treats its audience (with few exceptions), as an intelligent bunch who deserve top notch entertainment, in sharp contrast to the predominately serialized crap we Americans are fed on TV. 


This is why I am so disappointed to see Sherlock sinking to the lowest denominator in The Empty Hearse. It’s like Mark Gatiss sat down with a list of the Sherlock fandoms and just checked off every one as he wrote the script. SherlockXMolly? Check. SherlockXMoriarty? Check. Shirtless!Sherlock? Check. Remind the audience ONE MORE TIME that John isn't gay? Check. 


One could argue that The Empty Hearse is winking at Sherlock's massive popularity and rabid fan base. I’m sure that was the intent. A 1.5 hour love letter to the fans. But shouldn't they have taken the high road rather than submit to blatant fan service? Sherlock shirtless as a humorous and effective part of the plot in season two worked. His poor treatment of Molly, and eventual recognition of his cruelty/apathy, worked. His genius at war with Moriarty worked. These were just scenes that flowed beautifully with the overall plot. These were the scenes that led to the fandoms. So why on earth did The Empty Hearse have to capitalize on the stuff of teenage girl fantasies, rip away the sophisticated plots and motivations from the characters and degrade them into realm of bad fan fiction? I feel insulted.

The whole beginning feels disjointed due to the setup of these 'fantasy' outcomes of how Sherlock survived juxtaposed with his reintroduction to John. I believed John somewhat, but he isn't particularly violent in the other seasons despite suffering PTSD, thus to see him punch Sherlock repeatedly doesn't quite feel in character either. And once we finally get around to the (boring) plot, it is a rehash of V for Vendetta with Sherlock behaving like an ass. Gatiss must prefer this manipulation of John's emotions, because he wrote the same thing in the Baskerville episode, easily the weakest and most un-Sherlock episode of the entire series. Sherlock and John had reached a level of mutual respect and understanding, so this behavior actually erases both seasons worth of progress in their friendship. 

The greatest flaw of The Empty Hearse is that the resolution we all wanted--how did Sherlock survive?--is missing. The greatness of Season Two's The Reichenbach Fall is that Sherlock wears the face of a man who knows he is facing his doom, and he faces it bravely. I needed that emotionally charged moment on the roof where he might really be saying goodbye to John before a leap. The sociopath learns to love. Now he pays for it. I don't mind that Sherlock escapes his doom. In fact, the moment between him and Molly made my heart go pitter-patter. I knew he would survive. But in that assumption, I was certain the Sherlock creators would tell us in season three. It's not about meeting fan expectations, after all. It's their story. They should have had the resolution planned all along. Has Sherlock become so big that they can't maneuver like they used to for fear of fan disappointment? Did they give a damn before?

I am honestly nervous to watch the second episode of season three rather than excited. It's a horrible feeling to adore a show and wonder, "gee, what will they screw up now?" Maybe Gatiss and Moffat should just bite the bullet, kill off Mary and have John make out with Sherlock and live happily ever after. After all, that's what the fans want, right?