These simple homemade blinds are made from leftover fabric or cheap canvas drop cloths. They are beautiful, rustic, and very affordable!
Probably the best feature of our very tiny cottage was the 3 reclaimed antique windows on the southwest side. Not only were they incredibly cute, but they also let in enough light that we didn’t need to use our flashlights until well after sunset. However, they also let in the morning sunshine and opened right up to the rest of our property. So a simple window covering was necessary.
We decided that blinds were the best fit for our tiny space. The windows are set too close together for typical curtains. Avoiding overlap with the windows was very important since they provided most of our indoor lighting. Best of all, our homemade blinds only cost us about $12 in hardware! (We already had the drop cloths left over from another project.)
Homemade Blinds
I spent a bit of time searching window covering options. We really wanted something that fit with the simple and rustic style of our tiny cottage. In the end, inspiration came from one of my favorite blogs, Reading My Tea Leaves.
I thought that rolling the blinds would be complicated or difficult, but it’s actually really simple. Since the fabric is quite thick it’s easy to hold it in place while tying the twill tape. Though it’s not something I would recommend for a very wide window as that would probably be unwieldy. It’s perfect for our little 32-inch wide windows!
Homemade Blinds
Learn how to make simple homemade blinds from leftover fabric or cheap canvas drop cloths. Beautiful, rustic, and very affordable!
Materials
- Fabric: We used 100% cotton canvas drop cloths, however, you could use whatever you happen to have on hand. I recommend prewashing all fabric to take care of any potential shrinkage.
- Ties: To keep things simple we used white cotton twill tape to tie up the curtains. Really anything will work, including strips of fabric, ribbon, or braided rope. The ties don’t need to be too long or they’ll start to get in the way. Plan for two 4-foot lengths for each curtain. (So 8 feet total).
- Curtain Rod: Because our homemade blinds won’t get a ton of use, we used a cheap $4 curtain rod from a local hardware store. You could invest in something fancier.
Instructions
- Measure the size of your window frame. Since it’s important to cover the whole window, make sure you measure a few inches on either side of the window as well as the whole length, including the height of the curtain rod.
- Add 2-inches to the width of the fabric and at least 6-inches to the length of the fabric for finishing. Then cut the fabric to fit your measurements.
- Create a 1/2-inch rolled hem on all four sides of the blind. Then fold the top of the blind over to create a 2-inch pocket for the curtain rod. If your curtain rod is quite thick, you may need to use a 3 or 4-inch pocket instead. Sew the pocket in place.
- Attach the ties at the top of the curtain by sewing them into the pocket seam on the backside of the fabric. The ties should be roughly 2-feet long on either side of the curtain for easy tying.
- To hang your homemade blinds, simply thread the curtain rod through the pocket and attach it to the wall.
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