DIY No Sew Roman Shades (Quick & Easy Method)

Hey friends!

Do little things make you happy? Little things make me very happy!

For instance, my latest project: DIY No Sew Roman Shades that can be done in less time than it takes to get dinner on the table!

No joke.

And that's saying a lot for me because I don't spend more than 30 minutes putting dinner on the table!

And do you know what's the secret to making these no sew roman shades in no time?

Iron on Hem Tape and Tension Rods!

That's right! If you can use an iron and set up tension rods, you can do this!

Before I get ahead of myself and let you know how to make this easy project happen, let me show you what I had to work with:

Sad? Very Much So!

Do you want to know what's even sadder?

This window has looked like this since we moved in 5 years ago! I didn't even bother to remove that ugly privacy film.

Go me.

I've actually been wanting to do this small project since I was inspired by this tutorial at Love Grows Wild but I never seemed to find the right fabric.

Our kitchen is a somewhat bright golden yellow and I didn't want a fabric that was too busy but I also didn't want something plain or boring. But I definitely wanted a print.

And I just found the perfect one!

And in case I have inquiring minds, I found this lovely fabric at my home away from home, Hobby Lobby.

It has my favorite neutral, gray, a little cream and some yellow that just happened to match our wall color.

And I'm loving the print, not too busy but not boring either.

I love you all so much that even though this is pretty self explanatory, I went ahead and made a tutorial for you!

How to Make No Sew Roman Shades using Tension Rods

As you may already know, making this project happen doesn’t require a sewing machine. Even though I have a great sewing machine and can do some cool things with it, I am always more motivated to try and do no sew projects. They seem more fun and don’t require extra time to sew and practice.

Required Supplies and Tools

*Note: The amount of fabric I used is based on my window and what I think is enough for it. If you have larger windows, you will need to get more fabric or less, if you have smaller ones.

Directions

Now let’s jump into the tutorial:

1. Start by gathering all your materials: fabric, tension rods (I used 3), iron on hem tape, iron, measuring tape and scissors (not pictured).

*Note: The amount of tension rods you will need depends on how many folds you want to achieve. I used 3 tension rods but only have 2 folds since the first tension rod holds up the curtain. If you plan to do a roman shade with more folds, then get several more tension rods.

2. After you gather all the materials together, you should first measure your window. You need to get the dimensions of the width and length of the inside of your window.

The length of the shade will depend on how many folds you are creating (the more folds the more fabric you will need).

My length is about 2 inches longer than my window.

I just added an inch to each side and 3 inches to the bottom and top. The top is for the pocket where the tension rod will go into and the bottom because I wanted to create a faux last fold instead of it just looking like the seam.

See, perfect!

But if you go ahead and measure, also add one inch to each side and to the bottom (or 3 inches if you want the faux fold) and about 3 inches to the top where you will make the pocket for the tension rod.

I'm just more of an eye-ball it kinda girl.

3. Make your cuts based on what you need. Don’t forget to add the extra inches to fold over so you can make finished edges.

4. Now, you should give the fabric a nice ironing and then iron the edges to create seams.

After that, you need to iron your hem tape to both sides and to the bottom.

Place the fabric tape under the flap of the seam, press it down and then peel off the back of it. Next, place flap over tape and follow the package instructions to apply it.

If you need a liner, repeat this process with lining fabric. You can use any liner you like, but a lot of people go for a plan white cotton fabric as a liner.

Use the fabric tape to attach your preferred liner to the shade fabric.

5. Now, you will need to create the pocket where you will insert your tension rod into.

To make the top and bottom pockets, fold over and press the top and bottom of the fabric around 1-2 inches (depending on your rod’s diameter, make the pockets large enough for the rod to go easily all the way through.)

6. Next, you need to put the rods in place. Hang your curtain and place your other tension rods where you want the folds to begin.

You can always adjust as you go. I adjusted a lot!

7. Grab your fabric and pull it over the first rod. In this step, you will end up with the fabric hanging and covering the window while being attached to the top rod.

This is what it will look like after the first fold:

8. Grab more fabric and pull it over the second rod.

Keep going for as many tension rods that you have.

And now, to finish it off, simply pull the fabric to bottom until it is straight down and behind the bottom rod.

That’s it, your roman shades are up my friend!

I just know you're all totally jealous of my stellar view.

Because nothing says beautiful like a fence and a green waste bin.

Let's see some before and after action, shall we?

I'm still surprised by the difference when I walk in my kitchen!

And I even removed that ugly privacy film. It's not like I cook naked anyway.

I'm especially glad that I can adjust the tension rods for different variations.

And I love that I can just remove them from the tension rods for shade when the summer sun is blazing in my kitchen in the afternoon!

What are your thoughts on roman shades? Do you love them as much as I do?

Thanks for stopping by!

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