DIY Ribbon-Edged Roman Shades

While the rest of the world was watching the Super Bowl, I tackled a little project I've been meaning to get to for a few weeks. Pottery Barn used to sell roman shades edged in grosgrain ribbon. While they are no longer available, they were around $100 a piece, and finding anything similar now means going custom at several hundred dollars a window. I love the clean lines of those shades, and found several DIY'ers on line who had tackled making similar treatments themselves.

So, armed with an off-the-rack JCPenny white roman shade ($20 on sale), a spool of pewter colored grosgrain ($3.50) and an assortment of no-sew products ($5), I got to work on my no-sew ribbon edged roman shade.

First, I lightly penciled in a line 3" in around the shade. (If you're planning to use these behind a drape, you may want to set the ribbon in more to account for the drapery hiding the edge of the shade).

Now, the next part is where it got tricky. I first tried to adhere the ribbon with a regular washable fabric glue. Bad idea! The dry time would have turned this into a multi-day project, and it soaked through the grosgrain and created permanent wet spots. (OK, confession, because of this I had to buy a second $3.50 roll of ribbon) Next, I tried heat bonding tape. It worked great for the first length of ribbon, but for whatever reason, there were spots along the second length that would not adhere. A little heat-activated liquid stitch did the trick. My final recommendation would be to use the iron-activated tape, but run a thin bead of the heat activated liquid stitch for some extra bonding strength.

I was hoping that making this shade for my guest bathroom would act as a dry run for doing four more similar shades in my living and dining rooms. Since I worked the kinks out, I figure I can knock those out in about a half hour apiece.

What do you think of the final result?

Incidentally, that trio of prints beside the window is one of my oldest cheap decorating ideas. Back in college, I found a set of different greeting cards and popped them into discount store silver frames. I hadn't used them in years, but they seem to work in this bathroom.

Linking to: Metamorphosis Mondays at Between Naps on the Porch