A Roman shade is very simple to sew. You are making a flat panel of fabric that is backed with a drapery lining. You determine your Finished Shade Width and Finished Shade Length by following the instructions in the Plan Design Section.  

How to Cut the Front Fabric:
Place the length of the shade on the straight-of-grain of the fabric.

Cut width = Finished Width + 2" 
Cut length = Finished Length + 8" (Classic Roman Shade)
Cut length = Finished SHADE Length + 10" (Top-Down/Bottom-Up and Top-Down Only Shade)

Cut the Lining:
Cut width = Finished Width + 1" 
Cut length = Same length as Front Fabric

How to Join Multiple Fabric Widths for Wide Shades for both the Fabric Front and the Lining:

If the required Cut Width of your fabric and/or lining is wider than the width of your fabric, you will have to join two or more fabric widths. Standard practice is to place one full width in the center of the shade and two smaller widths on each side. If you will have a lift line running down the center of the shade, it is alright to have a center seam instead. I use a 1/4" seam and press to one side. Don't press the seam open since you might see light through it.

I use the same rules when joining widths for the lining. However, if I can "bury" a seam in the hem, I do that. I still use a 1/4" seam and press to one side.

How to Hem both the Fabric Front and the Lining:
Mark and sew a double 3" hem. (Fold bottom of fabric 3", wrong sides together. Make a second 3" fold. Top-stitch or hand sew the hem.) You are hemming the front fabric separately and you are hemming the lining separately. You may have been taught to sew the sides of the shade together first and then make the bottom hem. DON'T DO THAT. You first hem each panel separately and then you join the panels at the sides.

A note on using Thermalsuede or Black-out lining. The foam side of the lining is the WRONG side. The front side of the lining is the woven fabric. It is very difficult to tell the correct side. The wrong side is "slick", the right side is a little rough.

How to Join Lining and Front Fabric at Sides:
Check that the lining is 1" narrower than the front fabric. Lay the front fabric right side up on a work surface, with the bottom (hem) to your left. Lay the lining with the right side down on top of the front fabric. If you are using Thermalsuede, the "slick" foam side is up. (The right-sides are together.) The bottom hems will both be to your left. The bottom of the lining should be 1/2" above the bottom of the front fabric. (This also means that the top of the lining is 1/2" above the top of the front fabric. Don't worry about that. You will be trimming more than an inch off the top of the shade in a later step.) Pin every 2" to 3" close to the edge. You can leave these pins in while you stitch. Also pin the front fabric and the lining together every 6" to 8" several inches towards the center of the shade to stabilize and prevent pulling during stitching. 

Using a 3/4" seam, sew the first side seam beginning at the hem edge (back-stitch at the beginning of the seam) and ending at the top edge. When you are using Thermalsuede, you are always sewing with the plastic side up. The plastic side is the WRONG side of the lining. You may need to use a Teflon or walking presser foot on your sewing machine. Or you can use a piece of thin paper under the foot (such as Adding Machine Paper, which is available in Office Supply stores or at our Online Store), and sew through it to prevent sticking. After pinning your seam, position your shade to sew the seam. Before lowering the pressure foot, slip the Adding Machine Paper on top of the fabrics, lower the pressure foot and sew the seam. Remove the paper when you are finished stitching by carefully tearing the paper along the seam line.

Press the seam towards the lining. 

With right sides together and with the lining still on top, pin the second side seam. The hems are now on your right-hand side. Notice that your front fabric is still wider than the lining. Make sure that you have the sides flush. Once again, make sure the bottom of the lining is 1/2" above the bottom of the pieced front. This time you will be sewing from the top of the shade to the hem. Backstitch at the hem. Be sure to start at the top of the shade when you sew the second side seam. The different types of fabric move differently relative to your sewing machine bottom plate and presser foot. You want the same sequence of fabrics. You sewed your first side seam with the front fabric on the bottom and the lining on the top. You want to sew your second side seam with the front fabric still on the bottom. Trust me, your shade will twist slightly if you reverse the order of the fabrics in your machine.

Using an ironing board, press the second seam towards the lining. You now have a tube, so it is much easier to press the seam by slipping the fabric tube over your ironing board rather than lay it on a pressing table.

Turn the shade right side out. You have a tube, open at the top and bottom. Place it upside down (lining facing up) on a large work surface. Smooth into a rectangle. You should have a 1/4" overlap of the front fabric around to the back on each side. 

Pull the shade firmly from both sides to achieve this. Make sure that the bottom of the lining is 1/2" above the front across the entire bottom of the shade. Press thoroughly. Pin in several places before turning over. Press again, being careful not to iron directly on the pins. Carefully smooth the shade and measure the width in at least three places. Verify that the measurements are within 1/4" of your finished width. If it is not, decide if you can live with the "new" width or whether you need to re-sew one or both side seams.

After you have sewn and pressed your side seams, you are ready to finish the top of your shade. Since the top closure varies depending upon the type of shade you are making, you must return to those instructions:
Return to "Make Classic Roman Shade"
Return to "Make Top-Down/Bottom-Up Shade"
Return to "Make Top-Down Only Shade"

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A Comment on Copyright
These directions are meant for you to print out and make your own shades. My intention in posting them here for anyone to see and use is two-fold:

	I no longer have to answer the same questions over and over again.
	I am hoping that when you make your shades, you will order some or all of the hardware and supplies from me.

There is, of course, no way that I can guarantee that you purchase anything from me. However, there is one thing you should NOT do. That is, modify and claim these directions as your own. 

Contact Information:
Terrell Designs, owned by Terrell Sundermann 
5325 Sanford Cir. E. Englewood, Colorado 80113
Phone: (303) 758-0188  Email:

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