After coming off the Appalachian Trail, I've been sewing with a friend, making shades and curtains. I have always been intimidated about making Roman shades because of the stringing on the back. They are easy to measure and sew, but getting the round plastic loops correctly placed on the back and stringing them so that the shade lifts correctly has always stopped me short. My friend was determined to use this style shade though, and pointed out that we could get assistance with that part if we needed to. My husband stepped up and did the stringing and hanging. I had intended to watch him do that so I could learn something new, but became distracted with the next project, a set of beautiful, heavy velvet curtains.
A McCalls pattern was used as a guide for the Roman shades. We used gorgeous dupionni silk that my friend had purchased on a trip to Cambodia a couple of years ago and lined the back with white cotton fabric.
We made four shades, one for each bedroom window. Decorative dragonfly pulls give a nice look.
