How hard is it to make a Roman blind?

[Lemonblossom]

I have a sewing machine. I’ve never really been taught how to use it but I can certainly do straight lines. The limit of my experience to date has been book day costumes and straight forward hemming like table cloths and basic cushions without zips.

Im assuming it’s straight lines and a bit of hand stitching if I use a Roman blind kit for the mechanism?

I’d have to buy a pair of curtains to make the blind (I need a particular fabric) so I don’t want to tackle it if it’s tricky for some reason.

Pretty straightforward but useful to follow some instructions for working out the measurements between the lines of tape on the back

There are probably plenty of YouTube tutorials which you can watch

I have a book (Soft Furnishings by Wendy Shorter) which includes really easy to follow instructions if you can get a copy from the library or ebay

A friend who is a good seamstress made mine and she still made a small mistake(easily rectified).
They're normally lined.
Basically if your maths is spot on and you can sew straight then you could have a go.
Perhaps practice on some old material just to check measurements.

The hard part with blinds is that measuring, sewing and hanging all need to be exact or the blind won't fold square or hang straight. Getting the linings accurate is essential.

As long as you take your time and are reasonable at maths, the sewing part is pretty straightforward.

I have a book called Soft Furnishings by Heather Luke that gives the best explanation I've found.

Old joke. Poke them in the eyes. I'll get my coat.

😄

Do you have to do more than one next to each other? Lining them up so they look the same (folded and unfolded, front and back) is tye hardest part. Otherwise, go slow, triple check every measurement and buy excess fabric just in case and you'll be fine.

The measuring, making straight and cutting is the difficult bit (for me!). Also it's extremely helpful if you have a flat surface that is bigger than your cut out blind to work off, as being straight/even is pretty key and it's not the sort of thing you can scrunch up. I made one that looks a bit like a banana.... Not sure what happened but I suspect I wasn't paying attention when placing the rid pockets...

Relatively straightforward if you take your time and watch a video first. I found it a really miserable experience, all the checking and measuring. It is much easier once you have done one. Unless you already have the fabric I would suggest buying one. They aren't that expensive and you could save yourself hours of stress. Even if you do already have the fabric you could send it off to someone to make one for you. That is what I would do. I don't ever want to have to make another one again. I don't mind doing curtains but blinds make me miserable, probably because it is not that hard to make a good one but much harder to make one that looks 100% professional.

Beat me to it 😀

Agree with @Sprig1.

Not hard to do, but also really not fun to get right.

John Lewis sell kits in a range of widths which can be cut down to fit exactly. They have all the necessary cords and tapes etc and and have good clear instructions. Used them for all my blinds with good results

Depends how big, the wider they are the trickier they are.
I'd made curtains before and imo they were slightly trickier.

There are online calculators for the calculation of the drops.
Eg www.sew-helpful.com/blind_calculator.php

I bought my header cassettes online which came with the rods and rings etc.

www.terrysfabrics.co.uk/products/deluxe-pvc-cassette-roman-blind-kit-1

Meant to add, watch a couple of YouTube's first, find someone who makes sense for you - really helpful to eliminate mistakes before you make them.

Pretty easy with patience. Did some pre internet, sewn by hand. But I did use an old bed sheet as a practice/template first.
The two advantages of doing them yourself are 1) it’s cheaper. 2) you get exactly the desired effect.

It's not difficult but it depends how good your machine is, don't try to sew in a blackout lining without checking your machine is capable of handling the extra thickness of the fabric and the lining. I've made several and I don't have a degree in sewing 😉

They are pretty easy to make but I will warn you that making your own stuff is often not very cost effective compared to buying them! I am a great seamstress, been sewing for nearly 60 years, and I often simply don't bother because stuff is cheaper to buy.

Never made them myself as I have memories of my lovely mild mother making some when I was a child and I had never heard such swearing and cursing before in my life! It took her days and she was grumpy the whole time. It was the 80's though so no YouTube videos to help.

It's not difficult but it is a pain in the arse. I replaced the ones in our rental flat with hand made new ones and lined them with blackout fabric.