Our kitchen has recently been re-done. Not by choice. We rent, and the landlord decided it was going to happen. 5 weeks of camping in the living room with a kitchen full of rubble. Grumble grumble. Anyhoo, it’s all done now and it’s fine, but a bit bland. Beige cabinets, magenta walls, grey floor tiles etc. So we added a window blind (or “shade” to any American readers)…
Before (yawn)…
After (omag amazing!!)
Choosing gorgeous wonderful fabric was easy (isn’t it always??) but I got home and realised I hadn’t exactly thought through how the mechanics were going to work. I liked the look of Roman blinds but as renters, we’re not allowed to drill holes in the walls and the flimsy, stick-on curtain rail was clearly not going to withstand any kind of tugging on strings. Hmmmm…
I chatted it over with M and we threw a few ideas around before M suggested sewing magnets into the side seams. Magnets?? I poo-poo’d the idea and moved on but couldn’t think of anything else convincing. Eventually I begrudgingly agreed to giving it a go.
Sew-in magnets – yes, they’re a thing
Folding the hem and stitching the magnets in to place
I measured the window, cut a rectangle of fabric and folded and ironed the edges. I then folded the blind up to roughly how I wanted it and put pins to mark where the magnets should go. I used special “sew-in” magnets, bought on Etsy, which come in this PVC coating that you can sew right through. I sewed them to the back of the fabric before turning the hem and sewing it down. It took some concentration to work out which way they all needed to face but I got there.
All folded up
Close-up on the magic magnet mechanism
I put an extra bit hem at the top, so I could poke the curtain pole through, then hooked it on to the sticky hooks and stuck it to the window. I have to admit, it works irritatingly well. Needless to say, M is delighted and is looking in to patenting the idea to make his fortune.
Siobhan xx
Just Keep Sewing 
Love it! My daughter and I are going to try this week! It seems much easier than other Roman blinds instructions.
Where do you find sticky hook curtain rods, please?
I would like to know that also!
Hi both. Thanks for your interest. We just got them at our local DIY store. They have a plastic adhesive square, with a small metal post, which the net curtain rod slips over. There are similar ones on amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adhesive-Hooks-Curtain-Centre-005342/dp/B002WO4OHC. Full disclosure: we’ve had to replace them twice since we put them up (two years ago) as the adhesive gradually dried out and they came unstuck, but they’re pretty cheap so we didn’t mind too much. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Hi Siobhan – Great idea! I have made so many roman shades with the little rings! This idea is amazing. Question – did you sew the magnets across the fold lines? You do with the rings, so i was wondering? I am thinking anything wider than your size the folds would gape.
Hi Val, thanks for stopping by! The magnets are sewn at the fold line if that makes sense. And yes you’re right about gaping. After a couple of years use, ours can look a little droopy even on this little window. I guess you could insert dowels to correct it? Or maybe even stiff fusible interfacing along the fold lines would help?
At IKEA they have the same thing. However, they use long thin magnets from one end to the other. I’m looking for those magnets. If I can’t find them, I’m using your idea. Thanks doll
Did you ever find the long magnets? I, too, am hoping to make Ikea sequel ones.
Maybe steel rods would work ,as long as there are strong magnets sewn in the bottom.
What are the magnets sticking to once folded up?
How many magnets did you put on each side? And where is the other magnet located at that it sticks too?
Great idea, I made a new one for my bathroom window the tradional way 2 weeks ago in a very similar fabric I got in a local fabric store in the sale
I love the fabric, but unfortunately, the folds are going the wrong way. It should fold downward not upward if you want it to look like a roman shade.