6.07.2023

No Sew Fabric Shade

While I love roller shades because they're so cheap, darken a room wonderfully, and are easy to have cut for your windows, they are pretty ugly.  That white vinyl just reminds me of the previous owners of our house (I'll spare you the details) because they had them in every room, and of course they didn't work so well and kept falling on our heads.

For the nursery, I really wanted to keep the window light and airy with white curtains, though I did need something to darken the space when the baby is sleeping.  Rather than just put up a white roller shade, I decided to cover it with some cute fabric.

It was simple to do, but involved much patience.  Tip: don't try to adhere large swaths of fabric to anything on a windy day.  If I hadn't used up much of my fabric stash on it, I'd like to redo this shade, but I'll just use what I made, and maybe down the road make another one.

Here's what I used:
Tacky glue, Elmer's Spray adhesive, scissors, roller shade, fabric (slightly larger than the size of the shade), and a foam brush for applying the glue.

First I measured the fabric to about 2 inches wider and longer than the shade.
Then I ironed my fabric to get all the wrinkles out.
Next I took the fabric outside and covered the back of it with spray adhesive.  Worked well until a big gust of wind wrinkled it up!
I did the same on the roller shade, spraying the "right" side of the shade where the fabric will be adhered.
Due to the windy conditions, I brought the shade and fabric back inside, then started adhering them together. (notice the wrinkles...ugh!)
I started at one end, centered the fabric so there was a little overhang on each side, then kind of "rolled" the fabric little by little onto the shade.  I smoothed it out as I went along with my hands and also with the straight edge of a ruler.
Eventually I covered the entire shade, and then smoothed it out some more.  If only that darned wind hadn't messed up my crisply ironed fabric!  Live and learn, Kathleen.
Next, I folded over the excess around the edges, and adhered them with tacky glue.
I liberally spread the tacky glue around the edge, then spread it out with a foam brush. 
For the corners, I trimmed them at a 45 degree angle so they'd make a nicely mitered corner.
(yeah, ignore the messy cutting. I was working against the clock of Chris' outing with Soren to the park...I don't work so well under the pressure of knowing a 3 year old will be back in the house soon)
Finally, fold and smooth the edges down.  Hang your shade and you're done!
I'll post some photos when it's hanging in the finished nursery. We're having our upstairs windows replaced on Thursday, so I can't hang it until they finish installing them.

In retrospect, I wouldn't attempt this on a windy day, and I think I'd use PVA glue rather than spray adhesive.  I have noticed a few wrinkles in the shade after having it rolled up for a few days.  I think a different glue would have worked better.  But all in all, I love how adding fabric really dressed up an ordinary roller shade.


7 comments:

JDaniel4's Mom said...

This looks so much better than a plain white shade.

blueviolet said...

I never would have thought to do that, but it's SUCH a great idea!

Muthering Heights said...

What a cute idea! I'll bet it adds such a nice touch to the room!

Kanelstrand said...

Great idea to brighten up and give a new life to the shades! I will try and use it!

Naomi said...

Okay, this looks like even I could pull it off. Must try!

Ammie said...

Awesome project! It will be so handy, I'm sure, and looks nicely finished. Thanks for sharing this project and tute with us!

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