DIY Shades

This is it, off we go to Austin Texas! House sitter and dog sitter in place, we are ready to fly!

Before we left, I wanted to finish a project that would give our house sitter some privacy in the kitchen.

I had bought some killer material to make some shades for the kitchen windows. I had no instructions, only a shade that had been bought like 10 years ago.

I came up with this: instructions (kind of) for everyone else to use. Of course, you have to understand my ways, I wish you much luck!

 I bought one yard of the most lovely material. It was 60% off of the 15.99 per yard on sale. Yippy!!

 I cut the material in half lengthwise after measuring the windows. For me, this was the ideal size, but of course you will have to judge the amount of material that you will need after you accurately measure your own windows.
I came up with measurements by measuring the INSIDE of the window frame as I am using pressure suspended rods.
Next, I ironed the seam hems on all 4 sides, which were 1/2 inch seam allowances.

 Take the material to the sewing machine and seam all four sides.
Next you will need a rod pocket, which for me was a 2 inch fold that I again ironed. Be careful to NOT seam the ends, as that is where the rod needs to enter and exit.

 
After  sewing the rod pocket, I needed to mark for the grommets (yes I said grommets) these are used to raise and lower the finished shade. I used silver grommets which my husband picked up at our local Menards.
I set them every 10 inches starting to measure from the bottom of the rod pocket (don't miss this) and marked for 5 grommets on each side. (inset the length of the box, I know, soooooo technical!) I am not sure that it is necessary to have an odd number  or an even number when finished I just chose an odd amount.

Next, on the back of the shade, in line with the grommet markings, I sewed in a 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch strand of twill tape. The wider needs to be laying against the shade as it is reinforcement for the grommets. The thin strand is used to thread thru the grommets and it raises the shade.

 I am not going to show you how to place grommets, as the box of grommets has superb instructions for you! But know that when you put the grommets on, you go thru the material AND the wide twill tape!!! This is important.

 Here you can see the finished shades. You can see the twill tape threaded in and out of the grommets.

 Lift the shade by simply holding the bottom of the thin twill tape and pushing up the material. Tie it off behind the shade and voile!

 The shade that I used as my "vision" was priced at $16 for a single shade and that was 10 years ago. My shades came in at a cost of $13 total (including the cost of material, grommets and twill tape) for the pair!
And I love that they add pattern to the room and a bit of drama.
Of course, the color that you can add to a room is limitless with these type of shades and completely custom to your own taste!