You will need the following items for your Roman shade Headrail:
· 1x2 board
· The hook (stiff) part of the hook and loop fastener (Velcro)
· Muslin or remnants from your shade fabric
· Two sets of flat pulleys or screw eyes, two for each lift line. The Hardware Calculator gave the total number for your shade.
· If you wish, two cord lock pulleys
You can read about each item in our shopping section.
You will also need the following tools:
· Hand saw
· Staple gun and staples
· Hammer
· Awl or ice pick (or a hand or electric drill)
· Phillips head screwdriver
You can read about the tools in the Fabric, Hardware and Tools section.
Size to cut your board:
Inside Mount: width of window opening at the top minus 1/8". Note that the Hardware Calculator gives you the wrong length. It assumes you are making an Outside Mount shade.
Outside Mount: Finished Shade Width plus at least 1". You can make the board and Valance for an Outside Mount as wide as you wish, but you need at least a half-inch clearance on each side so that the shade pulls neatly up into the Valance without touching the sides (Returns).
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Using a hand saw, cut a 1x2 board to the length given above. Cover the board using plain muslin or left-over fabric from the shade: Cut the muslin 4" longer than the board and 1/2" wider than the circumference of the board.
Staple the muslin to the mounting board like you would wrap a present. Use staples (out of a staple gun) to hold the fabric in place. You want all of the raw edges turned under. Everyone wraps their board a little differently. Don't stress over it, just pull the muslin as tight as possible and staple away. |
You don't have to cover the board with fabric. It is not visible when the shade is installed. However, I assure you that your friends will pull your shade out and look behind it to see how you did such a beautiful job. For this reason, and because it look so much more professional, I always cover my board with fabric.
Staple the hook fastener (stiff part of the Velcro) to the side(s) of the mounting board. Be sure the smooth side is down and the hooks are up. The Velcro goes on three sides for the board for an Outside Mount shade. This is shown in the drawing at the top of the page. If you are making an Inside Mount shade, the Velcro is attached to the front of the board only.
You should read the section on Making a Classic Shade Headrail. It contains a lot of information about where to place your pulleys based upon the number of lift lines on your shade. If you are using cord locks, read that information as well (Cord Lock Pulley FAQs.). You will be doubling the hardware for your TDBU shade. The drawings below show a shade with 3 lift lines. If you have a different number of lift lines, you will have a different number of pulleys (two times the number of lift lines).
Attach Pulleys or Screw Eyes. The outside pulleys should be placed 1/2” from the ends of the board for an Inside Mount Shade. If you are making an Outside Mount Shade, make sure that the distance between the centers of the outside pulleys are no more than your Finished Shade Width – 1.5”. This gives you 3/4" on each side of the shade for the outside lift rings.
Top-Down Pulleys. These are attached to the FRONT of the mounting board using the screws supplied with the pulleys. The front is where the Velcro is attached. Place the pulleys close to the front edge of the board, since the Bottom-Up pulleys will go directly behind them. Unlike the pulley placement for a Classic Roman shade, the outside pulleys don’t go right next to the side of the board. You need to leave at least 1/2” for a small (knot) screw eye. If you are using a cord lock pulley, you can place it right at the side of the board because you will not need a knot screw eye.
Bottom-Up Pulleys. These are attached at the BACK of the mounting board directly behind the Top-Down pulleys. Place the pulleys close to the back edge of the board.
Attach “Knot” Screw Eyes and Angle Irons. Attach a small screw eye on each side of the board as shown below. This drawing shows the Top-Down cords pulling from the right-hand side of the shade (you’ve got to visually flip the image over) and the Bottom-Up cords pulling from the left-hand side of the shade. If you wish, you can reverse the sides of the pull cords. You can also have both cords on the same side of the shade. Note that if you are using a cord lock pulley, it will be placed in the location of the Knot Screw Eye. The outside pulley becomes the tandem pulley and, of course, everything is moved in because the cord lock pulley is much wider than a tiny screw eye. You do NOT have a knot screw eye if you are using a cord lock.
If you are making an Outside Mount shade, attach angle irons to the board. You will not need angle irons for an inside mount shade since you will be screwing the board directly into the top of the window frame. Place one at the first convenient location inside from the edge. This will probably be several inches in, after your outside pulleys. Then space additional angle irons every 15” to 18” across the board.
That’s it. You have finished making the headrail for your TDBU shade. Measure the headrail "length" and verify that it is the same as the estimation you used when you drew your Pattern. If not, modify the Finished SHADE Length to adjust for the difference. Now you can finish your shade and use the headrail to mark the locations of your lift rings. Continue the instructions by scrolling up and clicking on "Close the Top of Top-Down Shade" in the left-hand navigation column.
