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Roman Shades are a classic, timeless window covering that come in a wide variety of styles from plain and simple, to simply elegant. These shades are made from a single piece of fabric that fold into either a flat or hobbled style. Therefore, choosing the right fabric for this window covering becomes that much more significant.
It is far from an easy task to choose the perfect fabric for your Roman Shades; however, Shade Works Window Fashions makes it as easy as possible with the amount of options they provide. Shade Works allows customers to customize their Roman Shades from fabric collections that range from Light Filtering to Blackout to Designer Prints, and all the way to Solar Shade Fabrics! Talk about variety!
More recently, consumers have discovered the DIY (Do It Yourself) trend in their home and have taken more responsibility to build parts of their home décor and help save them money. Making your own Roman Shades is a trend that has been growing over the past couple of years, and while it is quite challenging, choosing the right fabric is by far the most important aspect. Once you have decided you are going to take on the challenge of fabricating your own Roman Shades, keep in mind these simple factors. Fabric Selection There are many factors we must take into consideration when choosing the fabric for your Roman Shade. Firstly, we must contemplate how the shade will look when drawn all the way up, as well as the look in the closed position. Don’t forget, that with the addition of a liner, you can still choose a lighter coloured fabric and still achieve the amount of light control you would like.
Even though there are a variety of fabrics to choose from, not all fabrics will be suitable for a Roman Shade. Linen and silks are lighter than other materials and will not bear as much stress on the Roman Shade mechanisms over its lifetime. Furthermore, the lighter the fabric, the easier it will be to sew, so these lightweight fabrics are perfect. Consider that these lighter fabrics may receive sun damage when exposed to direct sunlight. Please avoid placing these kind of fabrics in high sun exposure levels. Fabrics which can fold easily, and being resistant to creasing are ideal for Roman Shades. Heavier materials have a tendency to fold and leave crease marks. Fabrics which contain 100% cotton and cotton-polyester blends are highly recommended. To help increase durability and lifetime of your shade, treat with Scotchguard or your preferred brand of fabric protector. This treatment will prolong the initial quality and colour over time. Fabrics to Avoid – Apparel Fabrics – Quilting Fabrics – Wool – Heavier Fabrics – Loose/Stretchy Fabrics – Silks and 100% Polyesters (Avoid unless very confident with sewing skills) I hope these tips and suggestions have helped. You are now on your way to being a true “Handy Man” and DIY extraordinaire! Follow the link HERE to read through a first hand experience of a DIY Roman Shade creation! If you are interested in seeing the fine details and what it takes for you to make your own Roman Shades at home, please CLICK HERE to watch a video for all the help you will need. Enjoy and good luck!