How to Make Roman Shades: A Window Treatment Worth Mastering

I've been making window treatments for nearly two decades, and I still remember the first time I attempted Roman shades. My dining room windows were crying out for something more sophisticated than the builder-grade blinds that came with the house, but custom shades were laughably out of my budget. That's when I discovered that making Roman shades isn't just doable—it's actually one of those rare DIY projects where the homemade version can genuinely rival the professional ones.

The beauty of Roman shades lies in their deceptive simplicity. When raised, they create these elegant horizontal folds that stack neatly at the top of your window. When lowered, they present a clean, tailored face to the world. But here's what nobody tells you: the magic isn't in the fabric or even the sewing. It's in understanding the mechanics of how weight, tension, and fabric behavior work together.

The Anatomy of a Well-Made Shade

Before diving into construction, let's talk about what makes a Roman shade actually function. At its core, you're creating a system where fabric can be raised and lowered smoothly while maintaining consistent, evenly spaced folds. This requires three critical elements working in harmony: the fabric face, the lining (which does far more heavy lifting than most people realize), and the rigging system.

The fabric face is what everyone sees, but the lining is where the real engineering happens. A good lining doesn't just block light—it provides body, helps the shade hold its shape, and prevents the face fabric from deteriorating under UV exposure. I learned this the hard way when my first set of unlined shades started sagging after just six months.

The rigging system—those rings, cords, and dowels—might seem like an afterthought, but it's actually the skeleton of your shade. Get this wrong, and you'll have shades that hang crooked, refuse to raise evenly, or worse, come crashing down at inopportune moments. Trust me on that last one.

Choosing Your Fabric Like You Mean It

Fabric selection for Roman shades is where most people go wrong right out of the gate. You can't just grab any pretty fabric and expect it to behave properly. The ideal Roman shade fabric has what I call "cooperative body"—enough structure to hold a fold but not so much stiffness that it fights you.

Medium-weight cottons, linens, and cotton-linen blends are your friends here. Avoid anything too flimsy (voiles, sheers, lightweight silks) or too heavy (upholstery-weight fabrics, canvas). The fabric should drape nicely when you hold it up and let it fall, creating soft folds rather than stiff creases or limp puddles.

Here's something I discovered after making shades for a beach house: consider how your fabric will age. That gorgeous white linen might look pristine now, but in a sunny room, it could yellow within a year. Patterns hide a multitude of sins—fading, slight staining, minor imperfections in your sewing. Solid colors, especially light ones, are merciless.

Measuring: The Make-or-Break Moment

I cannot stress this enough: measure your windows three times, write it down twice, and then measure once more for good measure. Roman shades are unforgiving when it comes to measurement errors. Unlike curtains, where you can fudge a bit with fullness, Roman shades need to fit precisely.

Decide first whether you want inside mount (shade fits within the window frame) or outside mount (shade hangs over the frame). Inside mount looks cleaner but requires perfectly square windows and at least 2 inches of mounting depth. Outside mount is more forgiving and can make windows appear larger.

For inside mount, measure the width at the top, middle, and bottom of your window opening. Use the narrowest measurement and subtract 1/4 inch total for clearance. For outside mount, add 2-3 inches on each side of the window frame for proper light coverage and visual weight.

The length calculation depends on your mounting style too. Inside mount: measure from the top of the opening to the sill. Outside mount: measure from where you'll mount the hardware to wherever you want the shade to end—usually 2-3 inches below the window opening.

The Construction Process: Where Theory Meets Reality

Now comes the part where we actually build something. Start by cutting your face fabric and lining to the finished width plus 3 inches, and the finished length plus 8 inches. Yes, that seems like a lot of extra, but you'll need it for hems and headers.

Here's where I diverge from most tutorials: I always interface my lining. Use a lightweight fusible interfacing on the wrong side of your lining fabric. This extra step takes maybe 20 minutes but adds years to the life of your shades. The interfacing prevents the lining from stretching out of shape and helps the shade maintain crisp folds.

Sew the face fabric and lining together along the sides with a 1/2-inch seam allowance, right sides together. Press the seams open—and I mean really press them, not just a quick pass with the iron. Good pressing is the difference between homemade-looking and professional-looking shades.

Turn the shade right side out and press again, making sure the lining doesn't show from the front. The face fabric should wrap around to the back by about 1/4 inch on each side. This is called "favoring" the face fabric, and it's a small detail that makes a big difference.

Creating the Ring System

The ring placement is where math meets art. The standard formula suggests rings every 6-8 inches vertically, but I've found that 7 inches is the sweet spot for most windows. Any closer and your shade becomes bulky when raised; any farther and the folds look sloppy.

Mark your ring placements on the lining side with a fabric marker. You'll want vertical rows of rings spaced 8-12 inches apart horizontally, depending on your shade width. For shades wider than 36 inches, use three rows of rings. Wider than 48 inches? Consider making two separate shades instead—the weight becomes unwieldy otherwise.

Sew on your rings by hand with a sturdy thread, catching just the lining and interfacing, not the face fabric. This is tedious work, I won't lie. Put on a good podcast or audiobook. The temptation to use plastic rings and fabric glue is strong, but hand-sewn metal rings will outlast your house.

The Dowel Dilemma

Every fold in your Roman shade needs a dowel or batten to maintain its shape. You can use wooden dowels, plastic rods, or even metal rods, but my preference is 3/8-inch wooden dowels for most applications. They're heavy enough to create good folds but not so heavy that they strain the fabric.

Create pockets for your dowels by folding up the lining at each ring row and stitching across. Leave one end open for inserting the dowel. Some people skip this step and just thread the dowels through the rings, but pockets give you much cleaner, more consistent folds.

Rigging: The Part That Scares Everyone

The rigging looks complicated but follows a simple logic. You're creating a pulley system where all cords work together to raise the shade evenly. Start by attaching your shade to a mounting board—typically a 1x2 piece of wood cut to your shade width.

Screw eye hooks into the bottom of your mounting board, aligning them with your ring columns. Add one extra eye hook on the side where you want your pull cord to hang. Thread your cord through each vertical row of rings, starting at the bottom. Tie off securely at the bottom ring—I use a square knot followed by a drop of clear nail polish to prevent unraveling.

Run each cord up through its column of rings, through the corresponding eye hook, and then across through the remaining eye hooks to the side. When all cords exit through the same side eye hook, your shade should raise evenly when you pull them together.

The Mounting Board Mystery

The mounting board deserves its own discussion because it's where many DIY Roman shades fail. You need a board that's sturdy enough to support the weight of your shade but not so bulky that it looks clunky. A standard 1x2 works for most shades up to 45 inches wide. Wider than that, upgrade to a 1x3.

Cover your mounting board with fabric—either your face fabric or lining. This seems like an unnecessary step until you realize the board is visible when the shade is raised. Wrap it like a present, securing with staples on the back.

Attach your shade to the board using heavy-duty staples or Velcro. I prefer Velcro for its adjustability, but staples are more secure for heavy shades. If using Velcro, sew the soft side to your shade and staple the hook side to the board.

Installation Insights

Installing your finished shade is the moment of truth. For inside mount, you'll need to attach brackets inside the window frame. For outside mount, the brackets go on the wall or window trim. Use a level—eyeballing it never works out well.

Here's a pro tip: install your brackets slightly wider than your board. This gives you wiggle room for adjustment and makes it easier to remove the shade for cleaning. Speaking of cleaning, that's another reason I love Velcro mounting—you can take the whole shade down for washing without unscrewing anything.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Even with careful construction, issues arise. If your shade won't raise evenly, check that all cords are the same length and tension. Uneven folds usually mean inconsistent ring spacing or dowel weights. A shade that won't stay up needs a better cleat or cord lock system.

The most frustrating problem is when shades develop a lean over time. This usually happens because the mounting board wasn't level to begin with, or because one side of the shade is heavier (common with patterned fabrics where the design isn't perfectly centered). Sometimes you can fix this by adjusting cord lengths, but often it requires remounting.

The Learning Curve Reality

Making your first Roman shade will take a full day, maybe two. Your fifth one will take three hours. The skills compound quickly, and suddenly you'll find yourself looking at every window as a potential Roman shade candidate. Fair warning: once you start making custom window treatments, store-bought options will never satisfy you again.

The real secret to beautiful Roman shades isn't in following instructions perfectly—it's in understanding why each step matters and adapting to your specific situation. Every window is different, every fabric behaves uniquely, and every room has its own requirements. The instructions I've given you are a framework, not a rigid recipe.

I still have those first Roman shades I made for my dining room. They're not perfect—one has a slightly wonky fold, and the pattern matching could be better. But they've hung there for years, operating smoothly, looking custom-made because, well, they are. That's the satisfaction you can't buy: creating something beautiful and functional with your own hands, tailored exactly to your space and taste.

Authoritative Sources:

Singer Sewing Reference Library. Window Treatments. Minnetonka: Creative Publishing International, 2006.

Babylon, Donna. Window Treatments: Fabulous Fabric Ideas for Your Home. Iola: Krause Publications, 2001.

Constantine, Maryanne. The Complete Photo Guide to Window Treatments. Minneapolis: Creative Publishing International, 2011.

Ferro, Kathleen. Quick and Easy Window Treatments: 15 Easy-Sew Projects that Build Skills, Too. Iola: Krause Publications, 2004.