Roman Shade DIY Shortening i.e. customizing

Previously a DIY tutorial was promised to give you a step-by-step on shortening off the shelf woven roman shades.  Sorry about the poor photography.... In my spare time I plan to hone my photography skills as well ;)



STEP ONE:

Have a window, add a window A/C because you moved from the West Coast to East and whole house integrated A/C is something that is apparently not "necessary". (Don't tell that to the 90 degree, 90% humidity weather). Tie curtain up with scraps of yarn (because the knitting bag was the closest thing to the window) so said curtain is not obstructing the glorious cold air raining toward you.  Decide that it is time to dump the curtains and install roman shades, but choose not to spend 3x as much and wait 6-8 weeks for custom shades.







STEP TWO:

Spend $35 at local Big Box on a woven roman shade, which is about 1/2-1" too narrow and about 14" too long for the window.  Take note that the width is not something I tackled.  This tutorial is only for shortening the length.








STEP THREE:

Open package. Lay out blind (wrong side up).
Have handy:
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Tape Measure

Measure window length.  Measure blind to match.  Add at least 3" (depending on your weave) and mark. I used an extra 4" as it was just enough after folding it under and up that it ended in between two reeds.


STEP FOUR:

Find the back strings.









STEP FIVE:

Slide little metal brace out of roman shade stitching. You can cut it as well, because who cares... you don't need that part (if you did you wouldn't be reading this).








STEP SIX:

Reattach metal bar by sliding it into the stitching (higher up on the shade as to accommodate your new length.






STEP SEVEN:

Untie string and retie to tighten.








STEP EIGHT:

Trim excess string.






STEP NINE:

Repeat steps 5-8 on the second string.









STEP TEN:

Hot glue stitches right above the location you plan on cutting. (Picture right)

Trim bottom of shade by cutting stitches.  (picture left)





STEP ELEVEN:

Fold up end to make a nice "seam" and hot glue in place.






STEP TWELVE:
Hang blind in window and enjoy!


TA-DA!!!!

Ability to enjoy the cold breeze in your face instead of up the curtain, well worth the hot glue finger burns!