Office Window Do-Over

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a No Sew Roman Shade for my office.

I saw the project in blogland , and immediately decided to try it. Like…that night.

I used what supplies I already had and made this…

You can read about that project HERE.

I had intended to paint my office first, before making a shade, but I was just too impatient.

I liked the shade, (sort of), but not with my yellow walls.

So I finally painted the walls my favorite color, Khaki Shade by Sherwin Williams.

I forgot to take a picture of the roman shade with my new paint color, but let’s just say, I wasn’t diggin’ it.

The cream-colored shade just didn’t go with the Khaki Shade paint like I hoped it would.

So I got rid of the shade and decided to start over.

I decided to make another shade. Here it is…

My husband got me the “blessings” sign for Christmas. It is a very sentimental word for me because it is the word my mom said over and over when she was sick. She always taught us to count our blessings no matter what our circumstances.

The sign was very big as you can see, and I was having a hard time finding a place for it in my house. But then I held it over my window, and I loved it. If may not be for everyone, but for me, I love seeing that reminder each time I walk into my office.

Here is how I made this curtain…it was sooo easy!

I measured the height and width of the inside of my window frame and then added 1 inch to each measurement. That allows for a 1/2 inch seam on each side as you sew.

I did not use a pattern for this window. I usually use them when making window treatments, but I figured I could do this without one.

I bought some cotton fabric from Hobby Lobby. I got it on sale for about $2.00 a yard. I picked up three yards which cost me a little over $6.00.

Since the material wasn’t very thick, I decided to line the shade with the same cotton material.

I laid the material on my bedroom floor two layers thick.

Then I measured across the material with the width of my window and marked it with a pencil.

My window measured 39 1/2 inches wide, so I marked my material 40 1/2 inches.

Then I drew a line down my material by connecting all of my marks. (I used a yard stick to draw the line.)

Then I cut my material down the line and pinned it together to keep it straight.

I did the same thing down the material to get the length of my shade.

The height of my window measured 37 inches. I added an inch to allow for my 1/2 inch seam allowances which made it 38 inches. Then I added 3 more inches to the total to allow room for the rod pocket. So my total for the length of my shade was 41 inches.

I marked it with my pencil and drew a line all the way across.

Then I cut the material and pinned it all the way around.

Next, I sewed a 1/2 inch seam all the way around the material, except for about 4 inches on the top.

I left the four inches open to pull the material through.

Trim your edges, but don’t cut your seam.

Press open your seams. This is an important step.

Then I turned my material inside out and pressed on the edges of the shade.

I turned down about 1 1/2 inches of material on top to make a rod pocket.

Then I sewed a straight stitch down the edge of the rod pocket.

The only other materials I needed were some black ribbon and a tension rod.

I got them at Walmart. The tension rod was $5.00 and the ribbon was $1.99.

So the total cost of this shade was a little over $13.00…not bad!

I took a long piece of ribbon and slid it over the tension rod and down the back of the shade.

(Yes, there is paint on my window that I haven’t scrapped off yet. But who will see it…really?)

Mmmm….I guess all of YOU will see it…oops!

Then I folded the shade up accordion style and tied a bow.

I also used a hot glue gun to attach the ribbons to the front of the shade. It just helped them stay in place.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

It’s not perfect. But like The Nester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

Doesn’t the tan paint look so much better than the yellow?

My husband made me this amazing desk. I love it. If anyone is interested in how he did it, let me know. I might post about it sometime.

Here is the HORRIBLE “before” from a few weeks ago…

Oooh, this is so hard to look at!

Then it went to this…

And now I am here…

I’m getting there…

Now I need to accessorize, find a cute little rug, a new office chair, and maybe a chandelier? Wouldn’t that be cute?

I’ll be sharing the progress on my office throughout the week.

I haven’t joined any linky parties in a few weeks, so I am so excited to be joining (a little late)…

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Get Your Craft On at Today’s Creative Blog

Show and Tell and Blue Cricket Design

And More!

Blessings,

Traci