Use the headrail to mark the location of the lift rings. Lay the shade face down on your worktable (the lining side is facing you). Position the headrail so that the front of the board (the side with the Velcro on it) is facing down, with the pulleys pointed towards the bottom of the shade. Move the mounting board so that it is lying along the bottom batten. (If you are not using battens, use a tape measure on each side of the shade and place the bottom of the headrail along the lowest fold line.) Make a small pencil mark on the lining of the shade in the center of each pulley.  Mark the rest of the ring locations by placing the mounting board above every-other batten. Your top batten will not have lift rings. Let me stress this point: there will be lift rings on only half of the battens (or fold lines). If you sew rings on every batten, your shade will automatically make additional folds in-between the battens.

Sew the lift rings in place on the back of the shade, using thread that matches the front fabric in each location. The rings will be sewn on every other batten along the lift lines, beginning at the lowest batten. First tack the ring to the lining only, then continue sewing the ring on by looping the thread through the front fabric and back to the lining around the internal battens. The stitches will show on the front of the shade, but you should be able to make the visible portion less than ¼". 

I always try to use upholstery or button & carpet thread when sewing on the lift rings. It is thicker and stronger than regular all-purpose thread. The only drawback is that it only comes in about 30 colors. You can purchase this thread (in a limited number of colors) in our Online Store. If I am using this heavy thread, I attach the ring to the shade using 3 stitches (not counting first tacking the ring to the lining. That is I go through to the front side of the shade and back to the lining 3 times. On the bottom row of rings, I use 5 stitches. The lift cords will be tied to the bottom row of rings, so these need to be attached really well. If my fabric front is an unusual (such as lavender) and I can't find a heavy duty thread to match, I double the number of stitches I use to 6 for the upper rows of rings and 10 for the lowest row of rings.

The rings only need to be large enough to accommodate one lift cord. It is very important that they be made to withstand years and years of sunshine, or they will break. You can find lift rings at your local fabric store, or at our Online Store.

How to String your Roman Shade
Look at the front of the shade and mark the side on which the pull cord will be with a safety pin. The following directions are for a right-hand pull. Simply reverse left and right if your cord pull will be on the other side. 

Turn your shade upside down on a table or on the floor. Attach the headrail to the shade using the Velcro. If you want the pull cord on the right side of the shade, this is now the left-side of the upside down shade. You use one cord for each vertical line of lift cords.

Begin with the right-most column of rings. I start at the bottom of the shade and pass the cord through every ring in a vertical line up to the board. Now pass the cord through all of the pulleys (or screw eyes), threading each from the right to the left. The cord will now be at the top of the shade at the left-hand side. Run the cord down the left side of the shade (not through the rings, but next to the shade, this will be the part that you pull) to about 10-inches longer than you want the final cord to be. Cut the cord several inches past the lowest ring (where you started stringing the cord) and then tie the end of the cord to that bottom ring using a square knot.

Repeat with each remaining column of rings. The second cord will go straight up and pass through (right to left) and out all of the pulleys that are above it and to the left of it. Tie at the bottom ring only.

Your last cord (on the left-hand side of your upside-down shade) will go up through the rings and out through the one pulley.

While the shade is still upside down, pull evenly on all lift lines and knot all cords together near the top of the shade, after they exit the shade on the left. Make sure that the shade remains flat, you want taunt lines with equal tension. This is only a temporary knot. While the shade is still upside down, pull firmly on each knot at the bottom of the shade where each cord is tied to a lift ring. Trim the extra cord to about 1/2" past the knot and put a small dab of glue on both the knot and the very end of the cord. Use a glue meant for fabrics, such as Aleene's Jewel-It, Gem-Tac, or Fabri-Tac. Regular white glue, such as Elmer's, will dry out in the sun and crack. Let the glue dry overnight or at least until it is clear.

Test your shade by pulling on the lift cords with one hand while holding the mounting board with the other hand. If your shade is large, you may want to have someone help you with this. Check that the shade lifts evenly and that the cords go through every ring. Now go to your window and hold the shade up. Make sure that it is the correct size. 

What will probably happen if you do not use battens: You will most likely get "poofing" when you pull up the shade if you did not use battens in the folds. You can "train" the shade to fold correctly by pulling it all the way up and folding carefully. Then leave it for a few days before you install it. What you will find, however, is that there will always be sticky areas that you have to refold (that's why I love those battens).

Remove the shade from the mounting board, carefully removing the lift cords from the pulleys, but making sure they stay threaded through the lift rings. Loosely tie all of the cords into a knot at the top of the shade so that they don’t slip out of the rings. 

How to Insert the Weight Rod
Using a hack saw, cut the weight rod 1/2" shorter than the width of the lining.  File off any burrs. Slip the rod into the lining hem pocket. (This is another reason that I like Thermalsuede lining. It doesn't ravel, so I just leave the slit in the hem alone. If I need to remove the weight rod later, it is easily accessible.)

Why do you need a weight rod? A weight rod in the bottom of the shade does two things. First, it makes the shade hang better. Second, it makes the shade fall down correctly. If you don't use a weight rod (or you use one that is too light, such as a wooden dowel rod), your shade will tend to "catch" before it is all the way down.  You (and the neighbor's kids with sticky hands) will be pulling the bottom of the shade down the last 5-10 inches. You have gone to all the trouble to make the shade pull up nicely by using pulleys and battens. Now, add that weight rod to make it fall nicely.

Get complete information on weight rods in our Online Store. Be sure to read the discussion about whether you need to use a steel rod or an aluminum rod. Note that our Hardware Calculator recommends the correct rod when you input your Finished Shade Width and Finished Shade Length. 

if you are making a shade, you must return to the specific type of shade you are making:
Return to "Make Classic Roman Shade"
Return to "Make Top-Down/Bottom-Up Shade"
Return to "Make Top-Down Only Shade"

Continue the Learning Process with "Mount Shade"

Back to  the top of this page

A Comment on Copyright
These directions are meant for you to print out and make your own shades. My intention in posting them here for anyone to see and use is two-fold:

	I no longer have to answer the same questions over and over again.
	I am hoping that when you make your shades, you will order some or all of the hardware and supplies from me.

There is, of course, no way that I can guarantee that you purchase anything from me. However, there is one thing you should NOT do. That is, modify and claim these directions as your own. 


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

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