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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

DIY custom patterned fabric Roman shade tutorial!!!

Possibly my favorite project of the year!!! though I started it in 2020 and just finished installing it now, so I'm not sure what year. I am SO happy with how this DIY custom fabric Roman shade came out!

I wanted to add pattern to Lucy's room but because the back wall is so small and has a pointed ceiling, there wasn't room for curtains and art, and curtains can look funny on unique windows anyway. I'm very particular about the pattern and color we bring in here and I didn't expect to find the right thing from a custom window treatment company (or want to pay for super custom).

So, I took an affordable fabric blackout Roman shade I found online (same as this one for more sizes) and covered it with the perfect Indian block print cotton. It was super fast, pretty easy (with a few tips I'll share below), and it turned out AWESOME and unique!!!


DIY custom patterned fabric covered Roman shade

You will need:


This worked really well with the super lightweight Indian block print cotton I used. It would probably work okay with a quilter's cotton as well, but I wouldn't go much heavier than that on a Roman shade since you're asking it to crease on the folds and be stuck on there only with spray adhesive, no stitching or anything. 

I did not pre-wash my fabric as I don't plan to ever wash this other than maybe spot cleaning. I think that helped it look so smooth.

Instructions:


1. Stretch out the Roman shade and hold in place (I used weights). Cut fabric to approximately/more than the right lengths (valance and full length of shade). (Guess you could do those two things in whichever order you want.)


Line up the pattern on the valance if you can. It should line up pretty well if you align the selvedge on one side and have enough room to move the valance piece up or down as needed.

2. Press pieces well. This will probably reveal some imperfections/parts where it's not woven straight, as you can see below. So if that happens to you, too...

3. Trim with a straightedge. If your fabric has a linear pattern like this does, try to cut so the pattern is straight as well as (or instead of, if you have to choose) the grain.

4. Line up the pieces on top of the shade and spray evenly with spray adhesive

Start at the top and go down. Work in 10-12" or so long sections.

Smooth it out with your hand starting in the middle and pressing outward.

5. Trim edges closer. I left about 3/8" hanging over the edges. 

6. Turn edges under carefully. The spray adhesive is too messy to use on the edges, so use a line of Tacky Glue. My Roman shade had extra fabric(/metal? I don't know) at each fold, so I snipped one crisp snip at each and bent the fabric inside.

You may also need to trim excess fabric at the corners. I hate leaving raw edges, but it would get too bulky any other way. The Tacky Glue keeps them in place nicely and I haven't had any issues with fraying!

At the very top, by the Velcro that keeps the valance on, trim a reeeeeally tiny edge (1/4"?) and fold/glue over.

That's all!! Mount with the hardware it came with and enjoy!!!!!

This window opens out so I did an outside mount shade so it doesn't get in the way. (Most shades/brackets can be mounted either way; you just have to order a wider shade if you're doing outside mount and covering the trim. See my blog post here on how to order custom/semi-custom window blinds/shades if you've never done it before!)

I think it looks awesome!!

The shade I used (similar) comes with a clear plastic piece you clip on at the bottom, which still works over the fabric I added. It works as a handle and keeps the fabric clean. 

Lucy's room is still coming together (also see my post on how we painted the wood paneling), getting really close!

I LOVE this project!! Would love to see if you try it; tag me @suzannahstanley on Instagram or send me an email!

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