Written by Linda Chaney, mother
I needed window shades for my sewing room. Now that summer had finally arrived, I had to block the afternoon sun streaming into the room without darkening the room. I had some indoor/outdoor fabric that was going to be used originally on the patio but was repurposed for Swedish roller shades (think Bamboo roll up shades) in my sewing room.
The fabric was just over 54″ wide, and I needed the full 54″ to cover the windows.
The length was cut and the sides were trimmed to allow 1/4″ foldover to the wrong side and held in place with 1/4″ double fusible tape (my favorite Steam-a-Seam 2!). The top and bottom were also turned under 1/4″ and fused with 1/4″ double fusible tape.
The top of the fabric was then stapled to a closet pole that had been cut to fit the inside of the windows.
Eye hooks were evenly spaced and screwed into the closet pole.
In addition, at each end, a screw was place to prevent the rod from rotating once it was in position on the closet pole hangers.
Cording was tied to the eye hooks, wrapped around the front of the fabric to the back, and threaded through the eye hooks to the end of the rod. This was done in three locations – center and one on each side of the center.
On the bottom, a pocket was created to hold 1-3/4″ PVC pipe. This provided the weight to “hold” the fabric down when unrolled and the support to roll the shade up when not in use.
The shades have been quite successful in preventing the intense heat from invading the sewing room and still allow some light to pass through.
Great idea. I have net curtains up in my room for the summer. Old fashioned but they do the job
Great idea. I have net curtains up in my room for the summer. Old fashioned but they do the job