October 9, 2015

tutorial of working Roman blinds - it's much easier than you think!

how about some working Roman blinds in your roombox, house or whatever project?

don't worry, it's much easier than a quick look at all the steps might suggest. And yes, I'm talking about working Roman blinds, they are very easy, just trust me ;) Don't believe me? Oh well, then you go on and grab all the needed stuff, make them and see for yourself ! It's fine with me for you to admit I was right when you're done :D



when I needed/wanted them as a quick prop last year (for a little scene still not finished btw), I didn't really know how they were made. So I just looked up how to make a fullsize one, which is surprisingly easy! Making them the working kind is just a few easy extra steps to a non working one.

update: because Sarah asked if it could be she'd seen a videoclip of the working blinds, which she did, I decided to add that short video I made for the actual scene here as well. Makes sense too, doesn't it? ;)



so here it goes, my version for you to enjoy and to enrich your mini-house/roombox/whatever with some - or many - working Roman blinds! I didn't take photo's during, so I illustrated most things digitally. Maybe it's enough to look at the photo's of the finished front and back to understand how it's done, but if you do need or like more info on the process, I've tried to include all of the steps in the clearest way I could think of.

I hope it all makes sense, if I missed anything or something is not clear, please ask!



I hope you agree with me that this is very doable and that you'll enjoy making some. If you might run into  difficulties, please let me know and I can see if I can help.

36 comments:

  1. Great work! Thanks for the fabulous tutorial.
    Hugs, Drora

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  2. These Roman Blinds are FABULOUS! Your work never disappoints Monique as you think of Every little detail and then make it happen! :D

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    1. Thank you so much Elizabeth, that's great to read! You do know you've seen them before? ;)

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  3. Thanks for a great tutorial, I will give this a try when I get as far the window treatments. Well done on a really great blind. Thanks for sharing

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    1. You're so welcome, it's been my pleasure! Really? That would be great, I'll be seeing them when you do then :D

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  4. Really well done, and very clearly explained as well. Thank you, Monique!

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    1. Thank you very much, I'm glad you find it clear, I go for that, but find it hard to see if it is :D. And you're very welcome!

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  5. Ingenious, what a fantastic tutorial, Monique :D! Geniaal, schitterend en ook 'n mooie jaloezie om te zien!
    Wat een pracht van een tutorial (en ook nog eens in goed te begrijpen Engels, iets wat ik nog steeds niet al te best beheers ;O)!! Dankjewel voor alle moeite die je gedaan hebt om elke stap zo duidelijk aan ons te laten zien.
    Ik zit niet echt in de moderne wereld qua miniaturen om er eens eentje te proberen, maar je weet nooit, toch ;)?!
    Heel fijn weekend gewenst. Groetjes, Ilona

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    1. Dank je wel Ilona! En ik ben erg blij dat je het goed te begrijpen vindt, daar ga ik altijd wel voor, maar vind het lastig in te schatten of het dat ook is ;D. Heel graag gedaan, ik vind het leuk om te delen zodat anderen het ook kunnen gebruiken. Haha, ze passen ook in niet moderne interieurs, maar het moet dan nog passen bij wat je zoekt en dat doet het lang niet altijd, maar inderdaad, wie weet ooit. Jij ook nog hele fijne zondagmiddag!

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  6. Excellent tutorial Monique; the blinds look very realistic. Thank you for sharing it. =0)

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  7. Great tutorial, and one for the pinterest board! Thanks for sharing. I remember you made a video of it in action, I think? or did I imagine it working in my head :D

    Sarah :)

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    1. Thank you Sarah, and you're welcome of course! You remember correctly dear, no imagining in your head ;). And because of your remark I added that little video to this post. Weird that I hadn't thought of that before, it does fit here very well too of course, being a tutorial about the working blinds :D :D :D

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    2. Ha, I thought I just had great imagination! :D I was looking at your book making tutorial again, to see what the paper weight was and saw that you were looking for bible weight paper, there is a supplier in the uk. Out of stock at the moment, but there is a "notify me" when back in stock button below. http://store.bookbinding.co.uk/store/product/1149/Offenbach-Bible-Paper-40gsm/

      hmmmm better go to bed, bit late here :D Hope you get that bible paper some day!

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    3. Oh but you have great imagination, of the good kind :D. And thanks a lot for the tip about the paper, already have it, see your email ;).

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    1. That's so nice to read Rosanna, thank you! And you're welcome of course!

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  9. Hello Monique, I have just found your lovely site. The fridge make-over is brilliant and I think I will try making this gorgeous Roman blind for the bathroom in my dolls house :-)
    Polly

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    1. Hi Polly, it's so nice to have you: welcome! And thank you for your very nice comment :D. I hope you'll have fun making the Roman blind and it will look great! And if you run into any trouble, please ask and I'll see if I can help. Enjoy!

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  10. Hi Monique! Sorry I am so late to comment... I caught a bug and have been unwell and had no energy to do anything! But now I am getting better and am getting caught up on blogs!
    Your tutorial is Fantastic! it is so clear and detailed and very straight forward and easy to see what you mean with all your diagrams! I think that helps a lot because sometimes words alone can be confusing! I wish I had a window in need of a blind right now! Lol! Actually, I probably have several windows.... but have not gotten to the curtain stage yet! I Love the little "cleat" you made to fasten the cord.... I remember mentioning it when you first showed the blinds... but I forget how you made that part. was it just a piece of metal? How was it fastened to the wall? I ask because we always had bamboo blinds when I was little that pulled up with a pulley system and had a cleat to fasten them! The cleat just feels like the ultimate in tiny real detail!!! Bravo for this great tutorial... and thank you for sharing so much of your great techniques!

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    1. I'm sorry to read that Betsy, but I'm glad your getting better! Thank you so much, it's always nice when people get excited and more so that you find it clear, it's what I hoped to achieve. Haha, you'll find yourself a window then :D.

      Ha, that cleat, yes, it's a thin piece of brass you can just cut with scissors (K&S Engeneering, available in several webshops). I made 2 little holes with some distance (I had to guess not having or could find measurements) and then cut a strip with the holes in there as this was easier than cutting a strip first and having to make holes in that straight and in the exact right spots etc! And then cut a little bit rounder at the edges.

      I had real tiny nails fortunately that I used to glue it in the wood (made small holes in the wood first of course). Not easy to get it glued, being so very small, even with tweezers, so I was really pleased when I got it and it won't go anywhere now :D Thanks for your compliment about it, I thought it was a real fun detail too! ;)

      You're so welcome dear, it's gives me pleasure to share, like others share their techniques and I've always been happy with them.

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  11. Thanks for sharing! I have to try some day, but I'm a bit afraid it's not that easy as you say ;) But you do make it look easy. And so beautiful and realistic!! Hannah

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    1. You're so welcome Hannah and thanks for your kind comment! I understand it can be daunting looking at it, but I'm confident you'll manage! And if you get stuck on something, anything, please let me know and I will try to help, okay? Will that help? I do hope you try!

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    2. It's added to my (very long..) to do list =) Thanks for offering help too! I'll remember that =)

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    3. haha, I get it, there's too much things fun too make right? Sure, you're welcome Hannah, be sure to ask if you need it, no matter how far in the future it will be ;)

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  12. Hoi Monique..wat een geweldige gordijntjes. Ik wil ze ook graag maken maar kan je misschien een Nederlandse uitleg geven want ik snap er echt helemaal niets van.

    Bedankt..

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    1. Hoi Brenda, dank je wel voor je compliment en natuurlijk vind ik het erg leuk dat je de tutorial wil gebruiken. Je hebt ook groot gelijk dat je vraagt wat je vraagt en ik weet dat het Engels niet voor iedereen te volgen is. Ik zou je er ook erg graag mee willen helpen, alleen is het door omstandigheden voor mij niet haalbaar mijn tutorials (of enkel deze) in het Nederlands aan te bieden, het is al heel wat dat het lukt überhaupt af en toe iets te kunnen doen en tutorials te maken. Om die reden moet ik je dus helaas teleurstellen wat dat betreft.

      Wat ik wel kan doen is je een link geven, dat ik voor je heb gezocht op Google met zoekopdracht 'vouwgordijnen maken', ik vond deze: http://www.handwerkatelier.nl/FREE/POPPENHUIS/vouwgordijn.htm . Dit is een NL'se beschrijving. Het is misschien hier en daar iets anders dan dat van mij, geen idee, maar icm met mijn plaatjes en/of je eigen invulling voor hoe je dingen het liefst wil kun je je daar vast/hopelijk mee redden.

      En anders kun je via google andere Nederlandse beschrijvingen vinden van het maken van mensen-formaat-vouwgordijnen, met dezelfde zoekopdracht en dat is ook wat ik heb gebruikt voor het maken van mijn miniatuurversie. Ik hoop dat ik je hiermee toch heb kunnen helpen en dat je veel plezier hebt met het maken van minivouwgordijntjes! Hartelijke groet, Monique

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