Follow these guidelines for accurate measuring:
   Study your window. A trimmed window has a wood frame and may have a sill and an apron. An untrimmed window is simply recessed into the wall, but may have a projecting sill and apron.
   Sketch the window you will be measuring, including the trim and distances to the ceiling, floor and any other objects, such as light switches.
   Measure in three dimensions. You need to measure not only the width and length, but also the depth of the window trim and the window frame.
   Use a metal tape for measuring. Cloth tapes may stretch or sag. Measure to the nearest 1/8".
   If you will be covering more than one window, measure every window. They will often be different sizes, even though they look identical.
   Take pictures. These will prove invaluable later when you are designing your shades.

You need three numbers to design your Roman shade: Finished Shade Width, Finished Shade Length and Ideal Stackage. Each type of shade installation (Inside Mount, Outside Mount and Hybrid Mount) has its own measuring requirements.

Inside Mount Roman 
Installing a Roman shade inside the window trim results in the cleanest look. If the window is framed in wood, the appearance is that of a picture frame around your fabric art. The shade is out of the way, even when lowered. The disadvantage of an inside mount shade is that you will lose part of your view and light even when the shade is fully raised. The Stackage will cover the top of your glass.
   Measure the width and length of the inside of the window in at least three places (top, middle and bottom).
   Measure the depth of the inside of the window frame at the top of the window where the headrail will go. This dimension must be at least 3/4" so that the mounting board can be placed inside the window. If it is not at least 3/4", you cannot use an inside mount.
  Hold a ruler up to the top of the window and decide the Ideal Stackage that you want. If you are making a Top-Down shade, place your ruler at the bottom of the window.

Inside-Mount Roman Shade
Finished Shade Width: the SMALLEST measurement of  the width of the inside of your window.
Finished Shade Length: the SMALLEST measurement of  the length of the inside of your window.
Ideal Stackage: 15% to 20% of Finished Shade Length

In my book, I recommended subtracting 1/4" from the window width so that the shade would not rub the sides when raised and lowered. Well, seven more years of making Inside Mount shades has led me to change that recommendation. Due to the thickness of two layers of front fabric and two layers of lining, your shade will never come out exactly the desired width. It will always shrink. Measure and cut your fabric so that your IDEAL shade will be a Finished Width that is the smallest inside window measurement. A note on heavy decorator fabrics: you need to ADD 1/4" to the width of your window opening in order for your sewn shade to end up the correct dimension. 

Outside-Mount Roman Shade
Installing a Roman shade outside the window trim allows you to raise the shade up to the top of the glass (assuming that you have adequate wall space between the top of the window and the ceiling) letting the maximum amount of light into the room. The sides of the shade usually extend at least 2" beyond the window trim. The disadvantage of an outside mount is that the Roman shade will be larger, requiring more fabric, hardware and sewing time.
   Measure the width of the window frame from the outside of the trim in at least three places (top, middle and bottom).
   Measure the length of the window from the outside of the top trim to the sill. In addition, measure the space above the window trim to the ceiling.
   Hold a ruler up to the top of the window and decide the Ideal Stackage that you want. If you are making a Top-Down shade, place your ruler at the bottom of the window.
   Measure the depth of the window trim if your window is trimmed with wood. You need to know what this measurement is in order to decide if you will place your headrail flat against the wall above the window or projected.
   Measure the depth of the window sill if you have one.
   Measure the distance to the first object that is on each side of the window. This might be a wall, a light switch, or the next window.

Since you will be placing your mounting board on the wall above the window you need to place your shade several inches above the window trim to allow room for the lifting hardware. In general, I plan on placing the mounting board about 4" above the top of the window. 

Outside-Mount Roman Shade
Finished Shade Width: the LARGEST measurement of the width of the outside of your window + 4" (this adds 2" to each side).
Finished Shade Length: length of the window from the outside of the top trim to the sill plus 4". If your window does not have a sill, add another inch to the Finished Shade Length to make sure that the entire window is covered when the shade is lowered.
Ideal Stackage: 15% - 25% of the Finished Shade Length

You can also begin with your Ideal Stackage and then determine the Finished Shade Length. Suppose I want a Stackage of 12" and I want the shade to pull up to just below the top window trim. I hold a 12"-ruler up to the window so that the bottom of the ruler is where I want the bottom of the fully-raised shade. I make a light pencil mark on the wall above the window at the top of the ruler. This will be the top of my shade. Now I simply measure from that mark down to either the window sill, or about 1" past the bottom of an un-trimmed window. This is my Finished Shade Length.

Hybrid-Mount Roman Shade on a Window
There may be a situation when you want to use a hybrid mount, where the mounting board is attached to the window trim, but not inside the window. When you cover a French door, the door is the same as the window trim, and you are using a hybrid mount. Separate directions for a French door are given below.
   Measure the width of the window frame from the outside of the trim in at least three places (top, middle and bottom).
   Measure the length of the window from the outside of the top trim to the sill. 
   Hold a ruler up to the top of the window and decide the Ideal Stackage that you want. If you are making a Top-Down shade, place your ruler at the bottom of the window.

Hybrid-Mount Roman Shade
Finished Shade Width: the LARGEST measurement of  the window frame from the outside of the trim 
Finished Shade Length: the SMALLEST measurement of  the length of the window from the outside of the top trim to the sill.
Ideal Stackage: 15% - 25% of the Finished Shade Length

You can also make the shade any size you wish. Let's say that you have beautiful, wide trim on your windows and can't do an Inside-Mount because you have no place to put your mounting board. You can make your shade so that 2" of the window trim shows on the top and sides your shade.
   

Special Measuring Requirements for a Roman Shade Mounted on a French Door
When you cover a French door, the door is the same as the window trim, and you are using a hybrid mount. 
   Measure the width of the glass, including the small (usually 1/2") trim that holds the glass into the door.
   Measure the length of the glass, including the small trim.
   Measure the distance from the glass trim to the door handle and lock. You want the smallest distance. This will be the furthest out that your shade can extend past the glass. If your door handle is a crank, rather than a knob, measure to the collar that attaches the handle to the door. Your shade will drop down behind the handle so you only need to be concerned with the round part on the actual door.
   Measure the length of the wood trim at both the top and the bottom of the door. The top portion is normally 4" to 6" and the bottom portion can be as long as 18".
     Hold a ruler up to the top of the door (the part that actually swings open, NOT the trim around the outside) and decide the Ideal Stackage that you want. I wouldn't recommend using a Top-Down shade on a French door since the mounting board must be placed "projected". 

I normally place the top of the shade very near the top of the door. This way you will be leaving as much glass uncovered as possible when you raise the shade. The drawing above has the shade mounted 1/2" below the top of the door.

French Door-Mounted Roman Shade
Finished Shade Width: the width of the glass plus two times the distance to the handle.
Finished Shade Length: the length of glass plus length of top wood trim minus 1/2" plus 1" on the bottom (to make sure that you cover up the glass.
Ideal Stackage: about 15% of Finished Shade Length

You can also make the shade any length you wish as long as it is at least a few inches shorter than the door.

Continue the Learning Process with "How to Plan Your Design"

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Contact Information:
Terrell Designs, owned by Terrell Sundermann 
5325 Sanford Cir. E. Englewood, Colorado 80113
Phone: (303) 758-0188  Email: