Roman Blinds

Before I start this post, I must mention that two nights ago, we heard this loud noise in the middle of the night.  Upon investigating what could have caused this, we found that the leg of the folding table where I have my sewing machine had collapsed and everything had fallen to the floor.  I had a moment off panic as this was my big Janome machine but everything seems to work fine on it.  Phew!


On to the roman blinds.  After watching several youtube videos, I decided I could make these for our windows.  They seem fairly straightforward to make.  Some people use only glue and slats from old mini-blinds rather than sewing and using wooden dowels.  I guess this method is good for people who don't have a sewing machine but I don't think I would be happy with the results.  God knows I have enough mini-blinds in this house, 19 windows, but I will donate the blinds.  They are still good just ugly and annoying.  I am going to make a test blind before I launch into buying a whole lot of fabric.  This is the fabric I'm going to use for the first one - its something I picked up at a thrift store for $1.00 and an old sheet will serve as the lining.  Of course, as soon as I put it on the floor to take a picture, Ralph thought I had put it there for him to lie on.

So off I went to the local hardware store to see if I could get any of the hardware I needed to make these blinds.  Well lo and behold, the lady, her name is Fonda, told me she makes roman shades all the time and gave me several tips.  The most important one was about Roman Shade Tube Tape which cuts your sewing time in half.  The tape incorporates a sleeve for the dowel and, eyelets for lack of a better word, to thread your cord through, so no sewing of annoying little plastic rings. I told Fonda I would likely be back to get more advice and help from her.  People are so helpful here, she ran home, in the pouring rain even though I told her it was not necessary,  to get me a sample piece of the tape so I would know what to look for.   I immediately came home and ordered some from Amazon. The tape will not be delivered for a month or so, so this project will go on hold for a while.   I love Amazon more and more since moving out here.

Oh, and by the way, it poured rain here for a good part of the day.