Roman Shades

This post has been 2 months or more coming. I have been wanting to make roman shades for quite some time but I watched way too many youtube videos before making the first move except for the purchase of the fabric 2 months prior to the first stitch! I have a GREAT fabric source in Boga Chitto, Mississippi at a place or places, should I say ,called The Cotton Patch. They have small buildings of bolts and bolts of fabric at ridiculous low prices! They also have ribbon, tassels, and any type of fringe you can imagine. I must say that I learned so much during this project. It is one of those projects that by the time you really know what you are doing, it is finished! Roman shades are quiet simple but I over thought this one. The best tutorials that I followed are here and here.   The second link is great for ordering the hardware. She also has the wonderful idea of using Velcro to attach the shades to the board.  My window was so big that I had to order the plastic dowels from her.  Also, the first link recommended sewing the sides and bottom of the lining together and this is what I did but in hindsight I would sew only the sides together and hem the fabric and lining separately to eliminate pucking.  Anyhoo, I FINALLY completed them and yes, I made mistakes but I had rather learn on my own projects than with someone else's money. Here are the before pics of the breakfast room without a window treatment.

After:
Without the valance

Valance added, I used a 1.5" PVC pipe that I painted on the ends to reutilize the holders I already had mounted for something I had previously hung.  I hope to in the near future add fancy pulls to the cords and something on the end of the pipe.

 

I am really hoping to save energy with the addition of these shades.  I have never covered these windows but there has always been a considerable difference in temperature in this room.  I also have a small window to the left of this large window that I made a shade for but did not get a picture of it.

I hope this inspires you to make this if you have contemplating this project in the past.

Linking to:   

The French Country Cottage