With their clean, sophisticated lines, Roman blinds, or Roman shades as they are sometimes known, are one of the most stylish ways to dress up a window. Roman blinds can be made from all weights of fabric, are usually lined and can be used as a standalone window treatment or added behind curtains, pelmets or valances.
These free illustrated sewing instructions will enable you to make your own roman blinds to enhance your window treatments.

Requirements:

Fabric.

Strips of wooden or plastic dowelling (1.25" or 3cms less than the blind's width).

Lining.

Small plastic rings (0.5" 125mm diameter approx).

Wooden or brass Acorn.

Nylon cord ( 3 lengths each one being 1.5 * length of blind + width of blind).

Wall cleat.

Velcro (touch and close fastening) or ornamental pins.

Wooden Batten approx 1 inch (2.5cms) square.

Making the blind.

Step 1:

Cut out fabric. Remember, the amount you need will differ depending on where you want to place your blind.

Inside the recess: Measure across window (wall to wall) for width and add 2" (5cms) altogether for seams. Measure from top of window to sill and add 2" (5cms) for seams.

Outside the recess: Measure across window, allowing at least 2" (5cms) of overlap on to wall on each side, plus 2" (5cms) for seams. Decide on the height of blind, which should be no more than 6" (15cms) above the recess. Measure from this point to the sill if it protrudes, or a minimum of 2" (5cms) below if it does not. Add 2" (5cms) to this drop measurement for seams.

Take care to cut fabric accurately along grain, centralising and positioning any pattern. To spot grain: Lengthwise (warp) and crosswise (weft) threads of fabric should be woven at right angles on fabric. These are the grain lines, and patterns on fabric should be printed to follow these lines exactly.

Cut out lining fabric to exactly the same measurements as the top fabric.

Lay top fabric flat on table, face up.

Lay lining, face down, on the top. Smooth out all wrinkles and creases from the two fabrics and pin them together.

Machine sew down both sides and along the base 1" (2.5cms) from the raw edges.

Step 2:

Remove all pins, trim the corners and turn the blind the right way out.

Press blind, taking care to press out and flatten seams.

Lay blind flat, this time with lining face up, and pin the two layers together all over.

Draw a pencil line across the blind, 2" (5cms) from the top raw edge, this will later be attached to the batten. It is below this line that you should mark the sewing lines for the pockets to hold the wooden dowels. Each pleat or fold needs a wooden dowel to support the fabric from behind, and pockets need to be made from the lining fabric to cover them.Rings are then sewn to these pockets to carry the cording system.

The rest of the blind should be divided equally  into 8" to 12" (20-30cms) sections, allowing for a section of 4" to 6" (10-15cms) at the bottom. The bottom section should be half the the size of the other sections.

Draw pencil lines across the blind at these points.

Step 3:

To make up the pockets to hold the dowels, cut strips of lining fabric 4" (10cms) wide and as long as the blind is wide.

If possible, cut these strips from the length of the fabric rather than across the width as the weave is tighter and the pockets will wear better.

Cut as many strips as you have marked sewing lines on your blind.

Step 4:

Fold strip in half width ways, with wrong sides together and pin the open edges together.

Machine sew one side and along the length 0.5" (12mm) from raw edges.

Turn right side out and press.

Step 5:

Pin the folded side of the pockets to the pencil lines, 0.25" (6mm) from the fold. Setting the pockets about 0.5" (12mm) from each side of the blind.

Thread up the sewing machine with threads to match both the face fabric and lining and check the tension.

Do this by testing the machine with two different coloured threads, one colour on the top to match the lining and with bobbin threaded up with second colour to match the face fabric.

Make sure that only one colour shows from front of fabric, with second colour only showing on back. Alter tension accordingly. 

It is always worth using a new sewing machine needle.

Sew the pockets to the blind along the pencil markings 0.25" (6mm) from the fold.

The machine stitching should be as unobtrusive as possible on the front of the blind.

Step 6:

Slide a length of wooden dowelling  into each pocket and oversew open ends.

Hand sew plastic rings to the outer edges of pockets.

These should be positioned in rows down the blind, 2" (5cms) from each side and between 8" to 16" (20-40cms)  intervals evenly across the blind.

Step 7:

Decision time ! whether to secure the blind to the batten using Velcro or ornamental pins which will show on the right side.

Prepare the wooden batten, covering it with lining fabric if required.

If using Velcro glue this to the face edge of the batten.

Secure batten to the wall.

Screw in the eyelets on the underside of the batten to line up with the plastic rings that have been sewn to the blind.

Add an extra screw eyelet to the side that the cords are to pull from.

Turn in the top raw edge of the blind tucking 1" (2.5cms) between the fabric and the lining, press and pin in place.

If using ornamental pins slipstitch across this fold.

If using Velcro, pin and machine stitch in place close to the top of the blind.

Attach the finished blind to the wooden batten.

Check that the drop is correct and that the blind hangs straight before cording.

Step 8:

To cord the blind, tie a length of nylon cord to each of the rings on the lowest pocket.

Run the cords through the rings above and along the screw eyelets on the batten.

Extend the cord to approximately halfway down the blind, either to the left or to the right, depending on which side the blind is to pull up from.

Step 9:

At a convenient height and to the side of wall that the cords are to fall, screw on the cleat.

Pull up the blind, arrange the folds, and level off the cords.

Thread the cords through the acorn, knot them together.

Where you are fitting a row of Roman blinds together, as on a large window or in a bay, the blinds should butt together at the sides.You need to make sure that all pleating is identical, with the dowels running in a continuous line, and that the pattern on the fabric is level on all the blinds. This also applies to blinds hung on other windows in the room.