I am so excited to share this with you! This window treatment turned out better then I had even hoped! I had seen them pop up on Pinterest from time to time and I thought it might be time to give them a try. I don’t know if you had a Hancock Fabric close to where you live but they all went out of business a few months ago and so I loaded up on fabric to try it out! Who can resist a roman shade window treatment made out of a Walmart $5 mini blinds and 85% off fabric? Seriously this little beauty cost me less then $10!
Like my little makeshift window? That’s how things work when you are trying to show it on TV! I thought I was pretty clever!
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DIY Window Treatment Supplies:
- Mini Blind
the size of your window
- Fabric of your choice – the amount depends on the window
- Head n Bond Hem Tape
- Iron
- Scissors
- Fabric Glue
- Glue Gun
- e6000
DIY Window Treatment Instructions:
Window treatment fabric:
Step 1) Measure your fabric leaving an extra inch on all sides, so your fabric should be 2″ longer and 2″ wider than your mini blind measurements for your window. This is for the seam allowance.
*Diva tip: You all know I do not sew, I can sew as long as it is just straight lines but it is not something I usually do. Because of that this project made me nervous. I am here to tell you, don’t worry. Just cut a small notch where your measurement is and rip the fabric. This will give you a straight line to work with.
Step 2) Make your seam by folding in one inch all the way around the fabric and ironing it to give you a crisp edge. Do this on all 4 sides.
Step 3) Put your Heat n Bond tape
Window Treatment Mini Blind:
Step 1) Lay the mini blind flat.
Step 2) Cut off the ladder strings down the middle. These are the strings that open and shut the blades.
Step 3) Cut the ladder strings down both sides being careful not the cut the larger strings that pull the blades up and down.
Step 4) Take the caps off the bottom of the blind and cut the knot to pull off the bottom.
Step 5) Pull off extra blinds… well wait a minute you are probably saying, how many do I pull off? I may have jumped the gun on this step! Keep this in the back of your mind and keep reading…
Step 6) The mini blind will have a hook that you attach the wand to that opens and shuts the blinds. You need to break that off or use wire cutters to cut it off.
Step 7) Now lay the mini blind face down on the fabric. (I was testing this when I took the picture, you will want to make sure to iron your fabric well to get out all the wrinkles)
Step 7) Decide how far apart you want you fabric folds to be. The average is between 6-8″ apart.
Diva tip: Because I used very cheap blinds the blind pieces themselves were flimsy so I used e6000 to glue 3 blinds together for each fabric fold. If you have stronger blinds this step may not be necessary.
Step 8) Measure out the blind spaces and slide off all the blinds you do not need. (yep that is the step 5 part)
Step 9) Measure each blind to made sure it is in the place you want it.
Step 10) Measure the other side to make sure the blind will be straight across.
Step 11) Flip the blind so that the curve is up. This is the side you will want to glue.
Step 12) Put Fabric glue on the blade making sure not to put glue where the strings are. I also smoothed down the glue with the tip of the glue bottle to make sure there would not be any raised lines on the other side of the fabric.
Step 13) Put two small drops of hot glue on each end to help hold the blinds in place while the fabric glue dries.
Step 14) Flip the blind over onto the fabric and gently smooth the blind down on the fabric.
Step 15) Put the strings back through the holes in the bottom of the blind and glue it to the end of the fabric making sure not to put glue where the strings are.
Step 16) Glue the top of the blind down to the top of the fabric, again not getting glue on the strings. You could do this part first, I just made sure it was lined up and did it last.
Step 18) Pull the strings tight and tie them off on the bottom.
Step 19) Push the string inside the bottom and replace the plastic caps.
Step 20) Hang your blind in your window and enjoy!
If you do not want the blinds showing from the outside or you want more light blocked out you can sandwich the blinds inside by adding a curtain lining piece to the back, basically doing the same thing from start to finish. Mine will be hanging to the backside of my house so I honestly didn’t think about it until I was writing this post.
My camera girl Sarah was impressed and ready to head home and make her own. She rents and can not hang things on the wall so she was excited to use this idea to add some personality to her apartment! I can’t wait to see how hers turn out!
Each and everyone of you inspire me and I LOVE to see the work that you’ve created. Feel free to share with me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. And as always, be sure to follow Diva Of DIY on Pinterest and sign up for our FREE Newsletter to receive the latest projects delivered straight to your inbox!
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