curtaint to blinds

daisy_doughnut

hi all

i have a huge bay window that i cant find any cheap blinds for
ive got some curtains tho that are tab topped and i cant put them up as its a runner rail so im going to try an turn them in to roman blinds as ide only put them on ebay

any way i can see how to do it in my head as to where to double the curtain to make a pocket for the rods

but what i cant fathom is how to put the pully string on

any one help?

angelavdavis

I have handstitched small plastic rings to the inside of the curtain, at equal distances (usually 3+ colums of rings spaced across the blind about 6 inches apart). You then thread a cord through each ring going down the curtain and knot to the bottom ring.

Its really tricky to explain, but I found the following instructions

http://www.alternative-windows.com/roman-blind.htm

Hope this helps!

daisy_doughnut

ok just looked at that an its great
just a few questions...lol

i wasnt going to put a lineing on the back as there good quality quiet thick curtains will this be ok?

also do u just sew the rings for the cord on to the pockets direct

and are these rings the same as what you use on net curtain wire?

i can make the pockets out of the left over curtains so u wont rally see them from the outside an im going to try and dye the cord

this may sound stupid but can i use red food dye on the cord rather than buy a dye its much cheeper...lol

nodwah

I made roman blinds by stitching on special tape (you can prob get it at John Lewis). It has a central tube sort of that you run a piece of thin dowel thru and then has little loops that you thread the cords through. It's really very easy to use as I'm a sewing dunce and because you have the rigid rods the blinds don't sag, the only thing is to get it in a dead straight line.
Just google roman blind tape, i just did and there's loads of suppliers for the tape and the rods.

angelavdavis

daisy_doughnut wrote: »

i wasnt going to put a lineing on the back as there good quality quiet thick curtains will this be ok?

should be fine as long as your stitching is neat.

daisy_doughnut wrote: »

also do u just sew the rings for the cord on to the pockets direct

You can do

daisy_doughnut wrote: »

and are these rings the same as what you use on net curtain wire?

No - look at the brass version here - http://www.buybypost.com/en-gb/dept_25.html - 20mm Curtain Rings Brass - you don't need brass ones though - just ask in your local fabric shop for the same in plastic.

daisy_doughnut wrote: »

i can make the pockets out of the left over curtains so u wont rally see them from the outside an im going to try and dye the cord

this may sound stupid but can i use red food dye on the cord rather than buy a dye its much cheeper...lol

I would avoid it as you are unlikely to be able to wash them in a machine! Woolies does really cheap dye - about a £1 per packet. Else, post a request on freecycle and see if anyone has anything they can offer you.

As mentioned, you can buy tape but its hard to find and pretty pricey from my experience - although you might be lucky!

scotsgirl_3

THere are two ways to do this - either using small plastic rings to thread the string through, or using roman blind tape. The rings are cheaper, but it is a very fiddly job and quite time consuming - and in my experience I've never managed to get it looking quite as good. The blind tape is more expensive but it's far easier - you don't need to sew pockets except for one at the bottom. The tape as a puch built into it ( which is ideal for using 3mm from b&q) and you only need to do one row of stitching per bit of tape.

the best way to put it up is to get some a baton from b&q - just basic wood - and some little metal screw in eyes. you will also need a piece of stick and sew velcro. Sew the sew on side along the top of your blind, and the stiky bit goes to the front of your baton. attach the strings to your blind first, then lay the blind down beside the baton so you can position the eyes. Screw an eye into the bottom of the baton in a line with where each cord, and put a final extra screw in at the edge where you would like the cord to be - this makes it easier to pull smoothly

hope this makes some sense - if you want i can give you step by step instructions.

nodwah

Re cost: as I recall, I made 2 blackout blinds to fit in my son's windows and the cost was £21 all together, including fabric - bargain I reckon!

I do remember making them, as I was threading the cords through which is a bit fiddly, left the room for a minute and when I cam back in my son had snipped all the cords at every loop, saying' look Mummy I'm helping' !!! ( no lectures about leaving kids with scissors please, it has long been proven that I'm the worst of all possible mothe, send in the social)

scotsgirl_3

On a similar note, if you have any cats, lock them away whilst doing this or it will take 5 times as long!!