DIY Custom Roller Shades

I wish I would have figured this out long before I spent a ton of money on roller shades at Smith and Noble.  But, you live, you learn, right.  I found this fabulous fabric by Michael Miller (find it here) that goes perfectly with the rest of my decor. 

Please ignore all of the toys outside :)

I was planning on making a shade that tied up with ribbons.  While I was at the Home Depot looking for a rod, I noticed that their cut-to-fit roller shades were under $8, which was actually cheaper than the rod I was looking at.  When I came home, I went online looking for some type of roller shade tutorial.  The only thing I found was this tutorial on Martha Stewart. 

When it came down to it, I didn't really follow much of the tutorial.  Instead, here is what I did:

1. I unrolled the shade completely and laid it on my fabric. Make sure to pay attention to which side of the shade you want your fabric on.  I wanted a reverse roll, so I put my fabric on the outside.  (This may not work with some hardware/windows, so be sure to try it out first.)
2. Using my rotary cutter, I cut all the way around, leaving about 1/4-1/2" for seams.
3. Next, sort of inch by inch, I sprayed the shade with spray adhesive and adhered the fabric as I went.  I did this very carefully because a.) I did not want to get bubbles, and b.) I wanted to make sure that the pattern stayed straight.
4. Since I used a rotary cutter and my cuts were very straight (and also since the last inch on either side of my shade will not be visible from the outside), I did not hem the fabric along the sides of the shade.  I simply folded it over and sewed down the length of the shade.  (This is why I used the spray adhesive - I think this would have been nearly impossible since the shades are so slippery). If you did hem the fabric first, you may find that the shade is too bulky to roll-up all of the way.
5. The bottom of the shade will be visible from the outside when the shade is drawn, so I did hem the very bottom to give it a nice clean look.



A look at the back

 So, even with the fabric, this project cost me about $15.  Not too shabby when you look at the final result.  This has me looking at all of my other windows longingly now.

One last look