How To Make a Hobbled Roman Shade

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Before one starts making a hobbled roman shade, one must understnd what it is. If one rides horses, one is already familiar with the term hobbled meaning to tie up your horse in a specific way. The Hobbled Romans have an excess amount of fabric tied up in a specific way for creating a soft-fold fullness that is present when the shade is in its down position. Hobbled Romans also need horizontal stays that are also called as ribs. These stays support the fabric, keep it in its folds and allow it to be raised and lowered properly. A hobbled Roman will never work well without these supports.

Making the Hobbled Roman - The first tip in making a hobbled Roman shade is deciding its vertical fullness. Two-to-one is the common fullness, but three-to-one provides even light control throughout its length as there are three layers of fabric over the whole shade. Next, one must determine the finished width of the shade. Then pillowcase the side and bottom edges with its lining or turn side hems, whichever method one uses for typical Roman shades. One of the easiest ways to make a hobbled Roman is sewing a small pocket to the back of the shade large enough to hold the rib. The ribs can be round plastic dowels, offered by a variety of suppliers, or they could be flat plastic strips or wood dowels. Allow enough play in the size of the pocket for sewing the shade rings on its edge without making the pocket too small for puting the rod into.

Next stitch all pockets and using a pencil or fabric marking pen, make a mark every 5 1/4 inches on white twill tape. Then match the marks on the twill tape to the edge of the sewn pockets. The Zigzag or hand stitch rings through the twill tapes and onto the edge of the pocket all in one step. Staple the top edge and the ends of the twill tape to the top of the mounting board. Each of the soft fold will be five inches apart except at the top, which will be 7 1/2 inches due to the amount of fabric actually hanging in the fold. The rows of rings are placed with same spacing as the typical Roman shades. String vertically through the rows of rings and through the screw eyes placed into the mounting board. Then, tie all the cords together and braid them for a finished look.

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