roman joy

I am in love with how the roman shades turned out! It was definitely a labor of love and I put so much into the detail of it that I truly think they will stand the test of time. And they clients are over the moon with them so I couldn't be happier.

Here is the finished project sitting on my carpet all done. Wanna know how I did it?

Supplies:
-Bamboo roman shade
-home decor weight fabric
-fabric liner {not always necessary but was with this fabric}
-scissors
-iron
-spray adhesive
-fabritac
-ribbon

With this tutorial as my guide I dove right in! I started by laying out the roman shade flat and giving it a once over. Cut liner with at least 1 1/2 inches overhang on sides you will not need to cover under the top flap completely because it won't show and the strings cannot be covered. Then I repeated with the fabric.

Note: I should have gone outside or in the garage for this next step probably but I was super careful of my spray and used the other part of the sheet set. I was fine, but if I was you I would do it in a smarter place.

Lay the shade on a drop cloth{or old 1970's sheet} I laid my ironed liner over the shade and got to the adhesive. I started at the top and worked my way down in sections. Spray the fabric and the bamboo shade with the spray adhesive. Making sure to smooth out any wrinkles as I went down. I just used my hands to smooth. Continue until you reach the bottom.

Repeat with fabric on top of liner.

I let them sit for a while after this step. A} because I think it needed it and B} because my kids woke up and I needed to feed them. So later on at nap time... I started ironing the sides over. Pulling tight as I made my way around the shade.

After a minute I got a kitchen towel and moved it along the carpet as I ironed but I didn't take a picture of that. The next step is to glue down all the edges with fabritac. I also glued the top of the fabric that is under the flap for extra strength. And I didn't get a corner picture, man!

Measure out ribbon for the back of the shade and fabritac that down as well over the edges of the fabric. Trimming off access as needed. This gives it more stability and also makes it look fancy from outside.

Looking good from the back.

And here it is. I will work on getting a better picture. It was taken right with the sun shining through so it won't always have the bamboo show. And the string has not been trimmed yet. But you get the jist!  I also left before the matching shade was put up on the other side. I also should say that the shades were a little stiff when we first rolled them up but after about 20 minutes they started to relax and take a better shape in the window.

But we were all super happy with the result! I am also so excited by how this room is coming along. We are getting so close! Pictures of the finished room coming as soon as possible! Still a few weeks out while we wait for furniture to come.

I wish I would have done this for my own house now! If you have any questions feel free to email me at notedhome@gmail.com. What do you think?